- Drew Houston
I’m a dreamer. Although I can’t possibly pursue every idea I come up with, and I shouldn’t; taking the first step to move an idea to a business-in-process is more difficult than it should be. I know what steps I need to take, but excuses often get in the way. Instead of trying to build it all in one day, I’ve learned to take specific steps along the way.
Today brings with it an opportunity to move one step closer to building the business of your dreams, but you need to start it first. You don’t have to build the entire business in one day, but you have to start somewhere. If you’re serious about moving your idea in motion, take at least one of these steps today.
- Quit Your Job
In 2012, I listened to Mike Evans, COO and Co-Founder of GrubHub, tell over 1,000 students at an entrepreneurship conference that an important step to take as a new entrepreneur is to quit your job. Mike said, “Actual, physical hunger is a better motivator for entrepreneurs than metaphorical hunger.”
It’s a bold and daring move, but if you want to be a successful entrepreneur, there are risks you have to be willing to take, and sacrificing a little comfort for the business and life of your dreams is a small price to pay. For a less risky actionable goal you can accomplish in one day, find out how much money you need to survive on a monthly basis, and how you could earn at least that much each month in your new venture.
- Write it Down
Also read: Why You Should Be Writing Down Your Goals, Written Goals…Fact and Fiction
- Make it Official
Other steps: File a patent, incorporate your business, register a domain name, setup a landing page (mentioned above)
Also read: How – and Why – to Incorporate Your Business
- Lean Canvas
Lean Canvas resources: LeanStack, Why Lean Canvas vs Business Model Canvas,How to Create Your Lean Canvas, Create a New Lean Canvas
- Test
Ways to test: Create a landing page, create a special offer or pre-sale, setup a booth at a flea market, launch an ad campaign, start an email marketing campaign
Also read: 3 Steps to Validate Your Business Idea for FREE…almost
Sites: Wix, Instapage, Lander, LeadPages
- Create & Send a Survey
Take this one step further and treat each person as an actual customer you should be actively selling to. Involving them in the process of creating the product/service will help develop early relationships and work out the kinks before releasing you’re the final product to a larger market.
Sites: SurveyMonkey, KwikSurveys, PollDaddy
- Become a Freelancer
Freelance sites: Fiverr, oDesk, Elance
What step are you going to take today?
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Michael Luchies is the Founder of TrepRep, Director of Content Programming forPursuit, Interview Editor for Under30CEO, Entrepreneurship Lecturer at Illinois State University, TEW 2 contributor, and writer of all things entrepreneurship. Connect with Michael on Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.