Read online - Startup for $ 100. Create a new future by doing what you love - Chris Guilbeaux. Startup for $ 100. Create a new future by doing what you love The road ahead: what we will learn

Chris Guilbeaux

This book is well complemented by:

Jason Fraid, David Heinemeier Hensson

Whole life

Les Hewitt, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen

Transform yourself into a brand

Tom Peters

Dream, create, change!

Sarah Lacy

Create and sell

Svetlana Voinskaya

Publishing partner's foreword

The art of minimalism

Singularity University CEO Salim Ishmael likes to talk about one interesting fact in his lectures. A few decades ago, the cost of starting a high-tech business in Silicon Valley, a solid business with a solid client base, already generating a decent income, was several million dollars. And the creation of such a business was a matter of concern and a point of application for venture capital. Now the cost of organizing such a business in the same place, in California, has dropped significantly - to about 100 thousand dollars. It is no longer necessary to look for such money in a venture fund; it is quite possible to collect it on your own using the crowdfunding scheme. Moreover, according to Salim, today this applies not only to Internet and IT startups, for which the threshold for entering the business has always been not too high, but also to projects related to biotechnology. Yes, people manage to successfully do biotech in a garage on decommissioned equipment (like the founders of today's IT giants once did).

Within this trend towards minimalism, the initial costs of setting up a startup of $ 100, a 140-character tweet-style mission statement, a one-page business plan, and a similarly sized business promotion plan fit into this minimalist trend. These are the parameters that Chris Guilbeaux sets in his book "Startup for $ 100".

But minimalism is a great art. Remember, for example, the most striking example of this style in music - "Bolero" by Ravel.

High art is required to organize a successful business, although for this, according to Chris, only three elements are enough: a product or service, customers who are willing to pay, and a mechanism for accepting payments.

Yes, the skeleton of any business project is simple, you just need to correctly combine these three components. Check the viability of your business idea, choose the right business model, attract the attention of potential customers to it.

As for PR, it can also be done in a minimalist style. The first winner of the "innovative" nomination of the well-known prize in the field of PR "Silver Archer" established by RVC and "Rusnano" was the "Sun" company. Not California, but Novosibirsk - which started with the distribution of Chinese printers, and then invented its own inks for printing - and fell under the wing of Rusnano.

Once Anatoly Borisovich Chubais, representing the company at one investment forum, said: "Oh, these can print even on impossible surfaces." Journalists picked up this phrase, and it fell on the lips of the hosts of the show "ProjectorParisHilton". They made fun of it and in the end advised the Novosibirsk people to learn how to print on water.

PR woman "Sun" came to her developers with this advice. They scratched their heads - and really came up with a way to print on the surface of the water. It is not clear why, but no one else in the world knows how to do this. Of course, only the lazy did not write or report about the printer that prints on water. And these notes again got into the "ProjectorParisHilton" - the circle closed. The Novosibirsk company twice got on the main TV channel of the country, and the budget of this PR project was practically zero.

In general, it is possible to become a successful (and well-known) entrepreneur within the framework of minimalism, and without even giving up your hobby. The main thing, Chris Guilbeau warns, if you want to call your hobby a business, you need to make money. How? Check out Chris's tips and tricks.

RVC Library Editorial Board

This book is for those who are taking their first steps,

for those who inspire others with their deeds

Manifesto

A quick guide to making your wishes come true

Imagine spending all of your time on activities that you enjoy.

Imagine that you are only engaged in your own projects and you are no longer a cog in a machine that serves to enrich others.

Imagine that you are handing your boss a letter with the following content: “Dear boss, I hasten to inform you that I no longer need your services. Thanks for all. Now I will go my own way. "

Imagine that today is your last day as an employee. Let's say that very soon - not in such a distant and unpredictable future - you start your work day by turning on your laptop in your home office, opening your own store, calling a client who trusts you and appreciates your recommendations, or something else, but with that , what you want to; you no longer follow anyone else's orders.

Thousands of people around the world do just that. They rewrite employment standards, become their own bosses, and shape their own new future. This business model has proven itself excellently by the example of "casual" entrepreneurs who never thought of themselves as such. There was a revolution microbusiness, thanks to which you can earn decently, while maintaining independence and purpose in life.

Some books on the rise of internet startups end with praises for venture capital and fantastic stories about gourmet restaurants for employees. Many tutorials tell you how to write 80 page business plans that no one ever reads and that have nothing to do with real business. This book is about something else entirely. It relies on two key points: Liberty and values... We all strive for freedom, and values ​​are the means to find it.

A taste of freedom

More than ten years ago, I began a lifelong journey, and this path, one way or another, had to lead me to starting my own business. I never aspired to become an entrepreneur, I just didn't want to work for anyone but myself. From a cheap apartment in Memphis, I watched other people, trying to analyze their progress. I ended up importing coffee from Jamaica and selling it online as I saw others making money off of it. I didn't know much about importing, roasting, or selling coffee beans, but I tried almost all coffees thanks to the free samplers.

When I needed money, I didn’t think about how to cut costs or find a job, but I thought about how to create and sell a certain product. That is, he did everything contrary to generally accepted norms, since usually budgeting begins with finding a profitable niche and analyzing the available opportunities. I did it differently: I started with a list of what I would like to do, and then I thought about how to implement it.

My small business didn’t make a lot of money, but it did allow me to pay bills and gain something more valuable - freedom. I didn’t stick to any schedule, didn’t fill out time sheets, didn’t write meaningless reports, didn’t follow office rules, and didn’t even attend obligatory meetings.

Part of the time I was engaged in company affairs, but I did not allow my busy schedule to interfere with my enjoyment of life - for example, cozy up with a book in a cafe or moonlighting as a jazz musician in the evenings.

Wanting to give the world something truly beautiful, I traveled to West Africa and volunteered for a medical charity for four years. I sat behind the wheel of the Land Rover and delivered medicines to hospitals in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Then I realized that freedom is inseparable from responsibility and I can combine my desire for independence with things that will serve the good of humanity.

Upon my return to the States, I was building my writing career according to my usual scenario: I started with an idea, and I learned everything else in the process. Deciding to travel all over the world, I visited 20 countries a year and managed my business from anywhere in the world. At every stage, my desire for freedom served as a constant compass.

There are no rehabilitation programs for “free-lovers”. If you have ever felt the taste of freedom, then try to live by someone else's rules - it will not work.

Doctrine of values

I dedicated the second part of the book values- this word is often used, although its meaning is rarely understood. Value is usually created when a person does something useful and shares it with others. The people you will meet on the pages of my book have succeeded because they did just that. The combination of freedom and values ​​usually occurs when a person enthusiastically gives himself up to his favorite work and as a result it turns into a business.

The microbusiness revolution is raging around us. People say to traditional employment: "No thanks," and choose their own path, building their own future on their own. The idea of ​​microentrepreneurship is not new, but never before have so many opportunities been offered at one time and in one together. Information technology has become much easier to access and its costs have dropped dramatically. You can bring an idea to the market immediately, without waiting months for potential customers to respond to the offer. It is enough to register with PayPal in five minutes and receive payments from more than 180 countries around the world.

Moreover, by forming a group of loyal customers, you will be able to anticipate their needs and increase the chances of success, keeping investment to a minimum. The better you understand how your knowledge and skills can help others, the more likely it is that fortune will smile at you.

And probably the most important career question - where is it more risky to work? - now you can answer in a different way. Previously, you had to choose from an alternative: work quietly in a company or take risks and start your own business. Today, the first option is fraught with greater risks. So take the safe route and work for yourself.

Suppose you live the way you want to, without everything that previously seemed necessary. Do not borrow money, but start - right now - without serious investments. Give up hired employees and create a business on your own, relying solely on a unique combination of personal qualities and skills. Instead of going to business school (which basically doesn't teach the basics of small business), you save $ 60,000 and learn by doing.

Keep in mind, this book is not about starting a big internet startup or starting a regular company, putting on a suit and begging for money from a bank. Here is a story about people who managed to realize their dreams and earn decent money doing what they are really interested in. Maybe we can try to repeat their success? Let's adopt a general strategy and learn from those who have succeeded.

This is a specific program, not a chaotic stream of consciousness.

In the future, I will tell you more about myself, although this book is not about me, but about those who have found freedom, as well as how to repeat their path. During the book preparation tour, I visited 63 cities in the USA and Canada and in fifteen other countries, meeting with people who decided to take a bold step - they gave up “working for an uncle” in favor of their own business.

With a small group, I did a very detailed long-term study with over 100 questions. After analyzing piles of documents (more than four thousand pages of questionnaires, hundreds of transcripts of phone calls and Skype conversations, emails), I have combined the most important points and presented them here for review and practical use. Before you is a completely real, practice-tested plan for gaining freedom. In the process of reading, you can pause at any time and compose your own, corrected, version, and then return to reading.

Very few of the people I interviewed are born rebels who dreamed of freedom from childhood. Most are ordinary people who did not intend to turn into businessmen, but some were fired from their jobs, and they were forced to look for ways to pay their bills. (Almost all members of this group say something like: "Losing a job is the best thing that happened to me. If I hadn't been kicked, I would never have made such a leap.") Others were prompted to make this decision by other circumstances.

Be careful: the program is not aimed at reducing the volume of work, but at increasing it. efficiency... The goal is not to get rich quick, but to create a decent product that others will happily buy. You are not just organizing your workplace, you are creating a legacy.

There are no secrets, cheat sheets or other tricks in this book. Visualization exercises are also missing. If you think you can get money just by thinking about it, put it on the shelf and meditate. On the contrary, the book contains only practical advice on how to take responsibility for your own future. Read it if you want to create something beautiful on the way to freedom.

Is it possible to change everything, live a full life and do only what you like? Can. Can you make money on this? Yes, and here are the stories of people who succeeded. Is there a way to achieve this? Yes, and he is in front of you. Thanks to him, you will find the long-awaited freedom.

Entrepreneurs by chance

1. Revival

You already have all the necessary skills, you just need to know where to look

On the morning of May 4, 2009, Michael Hannah donned an expensive suit and tie and headed to an office building in downtown Portland. A 25-year sales veteran, Michael spent all his days negotiating, offering products to customers and relentlessly responding to emails. Having settled down as usual in his corner, he decided to read the news and check his mail. The chief also sent a letter with a request to look at him a little later. The morning passed without any special incidents: a lot of letters, calls and plans to get a large client. Michael talked with one of them at lunch, and on the way back he stopped at a coffee machine to refresh himself before new achievements. He returned on time, answered several calls in a hurry, and went to the chief.

Michael sat down in front of the principal and noticed that he was looking away. “Further,” he recalls, “everything that happened was like slow motion. I've heard stories about how it happens before, but I've always distanced myself from them. I never thought that something like this would happen to me. The director said something about the collapse of the economy, the inevitable loss of valuable employees, and much more. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a HR manager appeared and handed me a cardboard box - real box!- for things. I didn't know what to say, but I tried to save face in front of my colleagues. "

Michael left the office at 2:30 pm wondering how to inform his wife and two children that he was now unemployed. Recovering from the shock, he plunged into harsh everyday life, lived on unemployment benefits and hunted for vacancies. The search was hard. Yes, he is an excellent specialist, but thousands of the same are on the street every day. The economy did not develop, and it would be naive to believe that it will be possible to get a well-paid job and occupy the same position on the career ladder.

One day his friend, the owner of a furniture store, complained that he had a whole bunch of discounted mattresses in his warehouse, and he did not know what to do with them. “You could sell them over the Internet in one fell swoop and you could make good money,” he suggested to Michael. The idea seemed crazy, but there was no change on the working front. Since there was nothing else, Michael decided, he could do the mattress sales too. He called his wife, "Honey, it's a long story, but do you mind if I buy a dozen mattresses?"

Now it was necessary to decide where to store the goods. After scouring the city, Michael found a recently closed car dealership. The real estate industry also fell on hard times, so when Michael called the landlord asking if it was possible to open a shop in the former salon, he immediately agreed. Store information quickly spread through the Internet and word of mouth. But a problem arose: it was necessary to answer the questions of potential buyers about the product. “I didn't have a business plan, and I didn't know anything about mattresses,” says Michael. - About this kind of stores, I have a strong opinion that these are wretched premises with a depressing atmosphere. I had no idea what kind of interior I wanted to create, but I knew that the environment should be comfortable and stress-free. "

After the first successful deal, Michael decided to take a serious step and began researching the mattress market, communicating with local suppliers. At the same time, he negotiated with the landlord to leave the store in the same premises. Wife Marie Ruth developed the company's website. News of the cozy mattress store spread throughout Portland. Business took off when the store was the first in the industry to offer mattress delivery by bike... (Michael's friend, at his request, built a tandem bike with a platform for transporting even very large mattresses). Customers riding their own bicycles could count on free shipping. The offer not only boosted customer loyalty, but also rave videos on YouTube.

Michael never intended to do anything like that, but in the end he created a fairly profitable business and was able to provide for his family. But it all started with a heap of useless mattresses. Two years after a sudden unforeseen departure to free bread, Michael rummaged in the closet and came across the very expensive suit that he was wearing on his last working day. Over the past two years, he has not worn it even once, as, indeed, other business-style clothes. He put the suit on his bike and took it to a charity, and then went to his store. “It's been two wonderful years since I was fired,” he says now. - From office plankton, I turned into a mattress distributor. And you know? I've never been so happy. "

* * *

While the new mattress store was welcoming customers, an aspiring entrepreneur Sara Young opened a knitting store in a nearby town. When asked how she decided on this in the midst of the economic crisis, without having experience in managing a company, she replied: “It's not that I didn't have experience, it's just that I had something different. I have never been an entrepreneur, but I have been a customer. I knew which store I wanted to go to, but there wasn’t such a thing nearby. I had to create it myself. " Sarah's store, which we'll return to in Chapter 11, became profitable in six months and gained loyal customers around the world.

Many people, bypassing the stage of opening a real store, create a virtual business from scratch. Englishwoman Suzanne Conway started teaching photography just for fun and was surprised to find that she earns more from it than working as a journalist. (“What didn't you foresee when launching a startup?” “I didn't know I was launching a startup!”)

Irishman Benny Lewis, an engineer with a college degree, has never worked in his specialty. He earns as an expert in linguistics by traveling around the world and helping students to learn foreign languages ​​quickly. ("Is there anything else we don't know about your business?" "Don't call it business! I'm just enjoying life.")

Welcome to the unknown new world of microentrepreneurship, where (despite the fact that it is silent on the business news), the income of Indian bloggers is $ 200,000 a year. And companies set up by independent entrepreneurs receive $ 100,000 on their first day of operation, forcing discouraged bank managers to block their accounts.

These extraordinary companies thrive despite the fact that their owners share their know-how with everyone, and amass legions of fans and followers who also profit from wherever they are. “The essence of my marketing plan is strategic giving,” says Megan Hunt, who sells handmade wedding dresses and accessories. “Helping others is our main marketing goal,” explains Scott Mayer. "We conduct trainings, distribute materials and answer any questions by mail for free."

* * *

Actually, rebel entrepreneurs who resist the system and work on their own are not new. Micro-enterprises(with one employee) have existed since the inception of trade. Merchants walked the streets of ancient Athens and Rome selling goods for sale. In remote regions of Africa and Asia, most of the trade is still conducted through small deals and barter.

Unconventional approaches to marketing and PR have also been encountered in history. Long before this became a practice, a music group figured out how to communicate directly with fans, bypassing the official structures of the record companies whenever possible. Her fans felt like they were part of a single community, and not just a crowd of adorers. The musicians relied not only on albums, but also on ticket sales and related merchandise on long touring tours. Today it happens everywhere, but then it was 1967, and we are talking about the Greatful Dead.

Nowadays, it doesn't cost anything to quickly establish a company and find a target audience. The process of building a business has become much easier and cheaper. The transition from idea to startup can now take less than a month and cost less than $ 100 - ask any of the characters in the book. Entrepreneurship has always existed, but its scale, goals and level of contacts have changed dramatically today. A handyman or construction worker used to post ads at grocery stores, but now he advertises himself on Google to people who wrote in the query "installing a kitchen."

This is not an elite club, but a spontaneous movement of the middle class. All over the world, ordinary people massively abandon traditional employment and go their own way. They do not fight the system, but create jobs for themselves with their own hands - without any training and high costs. These casual entrepreneurs have turned their hobby into making money and are living life to the fullest.

Maybe you can do it too? Let's pretend you're living on your own schedule and prioritizing yourself. The good news for you is that freedom can be achieved. And one more thing: freedom is not something that awaits you in the uncertain distant future. Future has already come.

$ 100 startup model

I've been studying non-traditional companies for almost ten years now, and I've even managed some of them myself. Through business and writing, I have seen many examples of startups - profitable companies run by one person with little or no investment. I began my preparations for my in-depth research by examining the experiences of friends and colleagues, but did not stop there.

In 2010, I co-hosted a series of seminars on low-cost business with Pamela Slim, author of Escape from Cubicle Nation. After the announcement of their holding, all seats for the first seminar were sold out in an hour and a half. Then we announced another seminar, which was planned in a few months, and tickets also went flying before lunchtime. When it became clear that there was a demand for this information, I began to dig deeper.

During the seminars, I focused on the principle of “follow your passion,” which implies that a successful small business is built on personal passion. I spoke with entrepreneurs around the world and captured their stories for an online course called Empire Building Kit, which in turn inspired me to expand the project and write this book.

I have already accumulated enough suitable examples, but before sitting down to the book, I threw the net even wider. I searched for respondents online and offline, collected questionnaires and ended up with gigabytes of information. During a special tour of 63 cities around the world, he continued to meet people and collect stories about the weirdest random entrepreneurs.

When I finally finished gathering information, there were 1,500 respondents in my arsenal. Moreover, all met at least four of the following six criteria.

1. The principle of “follow your passion”. People had to build a business around hobbies and activities that interested them. In the future, we will figure out that not every hobby provides a decent bank account, but the possibility of this has already been proven.

2. Low startup costs... I was interested in a business that would require a start-up capital of less than $ 1,000 to launch, especially one that would require almost no investment (less than $ 100) in the beginning.

3. At least 50 thousand dollars of annual income... I was looking for companies with profits equal to or higher than the North American average annual income. Their range is very wide, many have six or even seven figures in their balance sheets, but the bottom level of profit is at least $ 50 thousand per year.

4. Lack of special skills... Since we were looking at ordinary people who have built successful businesses, I leaned towards startups that anyone can run. It is difficult to give this criterion an exact definition, but the main difference is the following: many beginnings require special knowledge and skills, but they are easy to acquire in a short period of time through training or self-study. For example, you can quickly learn how to roast coffee beans, but quickly become a dentist, alas, will not work.

5. Comprehensive information about the financial position... Respondents must disclose projected earnings for the current year and actual earnings for the previous two years. In addition, they were required to be willing to discuss profits and costs in concrete terms.

6. Less than five employees... Mostly I was interested in people who deliberately kept a small business. The examples mainly describe companies with one employee, that is, the most vividly embodying the principle of personal freedom.

I excluded business in semi-legal or “adult” markets, and almost all examples that require high-tech solutions or special skills. Test question: "Could you explain to your grandmother what you are doing?"

I really wanted companies from different countries to come into my field of vision. Almost half of the heroes of the book live in the United States, the rest represent other parts of the world. After all, in other countries, people also start their own micro-enterprises, both reproducing the American model and creating something special.

Finally, at the last stage of the selection, I gave preference to "entertaining" stories. Not every business is destined to be attractive or fashionable - and most of the ones I've described are not - but I love stories that feel originality and creativity.

Two years ago, Lisa Selman caught my attention with her story about the dog grooming business. I never thought about it before. How profitable can such a business be? Liza did not hide her income: $ 88,000 last year and over $ 100,000 this year. I am attracted by everything unexpected and extraordinary. How did Lisa achieve such results and what lessons can be learned from her experience?

Each study participant completed several detailed questionnaires about their company, including financial and demographic data, and also answered dozens of open-ended questions. Then I asked follow-up questions, wrote letters, called and met with respondents in fifteen cities around the world. I set myself the goal of deeply exploring the topic and finding something in common that unites various groups. The collected information would be enough for a dozen thick volumes, but I tried to leave only the most important.

* * *

Typically research and startup books focus on two business models. The first is conservative. The author of the idea convinces the bank to lend him money for business development, or the company creates a new company on the basis of one of the divisions. Most corporations listed on the stock market fall into this category. The second business model is an invested startup that operates in terms of venture capital, buybacks, advertising, and market share. Typically created by one person or a group of partners, it is managed by a team of hired managers who report to the board of directors. Managers are trying to increase the value of the company in order to go to an IPO or sell it profitably.

Each of the traditional models has advantages, disadvantages and varied features. For each there are many examples of successes and failures. But these models and related stories have nothing to do with us.

Our story is dedicated to people who open their own micro-enterprises without investment, hired employees, and sometimes even have no idea what will come of it. They almost always dispense with a formal business plan, and generally without any plan other than "try and see what happens." And the business is quickly getting back on its feet. Market research takes place on the fly. Do you have clients? If so, good. If not, then you can do something else.

Like Michael, who retrained from an office worker to a mattress salesman, many of our members started their own businesses by accident after experiencing serious troubles such as losing their jobs. So, the husband of Jessica Zaltsman called from work and said that he would come earlier, and the next day he did not return to his workplace. The unexpected dismissal pushed Jessica, a young mother with a three-week-old baby in her arms, to take action. Accounting, a hobby that she did at home, became a full-fledged business for the family. Tara Gentile opened an office at home to keep up with babysitting. The business grew so fast that her husband eventually quit his job and joined her as well.

David Henzel has worked as the director of the largest UK advertising agency. He resigned, partly because he was tired of the job, and partly because of the diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome, which rewarded him with "chronic director responsibility." At his new company Lightbulb Design, he sets the rules himself. “For a while, illness controlled me,” he says, “but now I control it. Lightbulb is the result of a desire to live and earn by our own rules. She still works according to my rules, but we gave everyone the heat! "

We will meet people who have organized their projects in completely different ways. Someone decided to expand, hiring hired employees or creating groups of "virtual assistants". Erika Kosminski, for example, expanded her audio and visual transcript team to seventeen people, but signed contracts with them, thus maintaining the freedom and simplicity of the structure. Tom Bean's bag factory generates seven-figure revenues. Maintaining complete independence, Tom rejects offers to sell his brand to hypermarkets.

Some create partnerships that allow each member to do what they do best. Jen Adrion and Omar Nuri, recent graduates of the school of design, frustrated by their work in design studios, began to make geographic maps to order right in their apartment. Former competitors Patrick McCrann and Rich Strauss have teamed up to create their own community and triathlete training program. There are also married couples building a joint business.

But many choose the path of a loner in the hope of finding freedom by working on their own. Charlie Pabst was a successful architect and had his "dream job" designing buildings for the Starbucks coffee chain. But the desire for independence outweighed the usual comfort and free latte. “One day I was driving to work and realized that I could no longer do this. He said he was sick on the phone, outlined a plan for the next two weeks and ... You know the rest. " Charlie has not changed his occupation, but now works at home and only for those clients with whom he wants to do business.

All these stories will appear before us as an ensemble- a group of diverse voices that together make up the original composition. In analyzing how different people have freed themselves from the hardships of office life, the most important thing is to acknowledge their courage, but not to exaggerate their skill. Among them there are few geniuses and born entrepreneurs, these are ordinary people who once made decisions that changed their lives. Few of our respondents attended business schools, and more than half had no business experience at all. Some dropped out of college, and some never entered.

In telling their success stories, my goal is to provide a program for gaining freedom, a blueprint for extrapolating these lessons into my own life. Each of the examples contains three lessons on microentrepreneurship. We will return to them many times throughout the book.

Lesson 1. Convergence

As practice shows, convergence is the process of bringing together, crossing over your favorite activities or what you do best (preferably both) and what other people might be interested in. It is easiest to imagine convergence in the form of two intersecting circles, one of which is what you are interested in, the second is what others are willing to spend money on.

Take a look at these circles.

Not everything that attracts you or what you know is interesting to the rest of the world, and not everything can be brought to the market. I am passionate about pizza, but no one will pay me for it. No one person can solve all problems or be interesting to everyone, but in the intersection of two circles, where passion or skill is superimposed on benefit, a micro-business built on freedom and values ​​can flourish.

Lesson 2. Transforming Skills

The projects we will study were founded by people with derivatives skills, not necessarily the specific skill required for a given project. For example, teachers not only know how to teach, but also do a good job with communication, adaptation, maintaining order, planning a lesson and coordinating the interaction of groups with different interests (children, parents, administration, colleagues). A teacher is a responsible profession, and abilities for it can also be used wisely when building a business.

You can understand the principle of transformation of skills by your own example, it is enough to realize that you are good at a variety of tasks. German-born Kat Alder worked in London as a waitress, but one day someone told her: "You know, you could work in PR." Kat didn't know anything about PR - not even how the acronym stands for - but the waitress was excellent. She always got decent tips and customer praise for recommending dishes they would love.

When Kat left another temporary job at the BBC, she remembered that conversation. She still didn't know much about PR, but she found her first client within a month and understood what he needed. Four years later, her firm employed five people serving clients in London, Berlin, New York and China. Kat was an excellent waitress and learned how to apply people skills to promote clients' companies and create a business that was more profitable, more stable and more interesting than hiring and endless stories about the dish of the day.

Contrary to popular belief, entrepreneurial success is not necessarily associated with being the best in the business. Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic book series, explains his success:

I have excelled as a comedian artist with dubious artistic talent, basic writing skills, an average sense of humor, and tiny business experience. The Dilbert comics are a combination of all four skills. There are many more talented artists in the world, smarter writers, funnier humorists and more experienced businessmen. It so happened that all these modest abilities were combined in one person. And so it turns out to be something worthwhile.

To succeed in a business endeavor, especially if it occupies all your thoughts, carefully analyze your own skills, think about which of them can be useful to others and what will happen when they are combined.

Lesson 3. The magic formula

If you combine the first two ideas, you get a not-so-mysterious recipe for the magical power of microbusiness:

Passion or skill + benefit = success

Throughout this book, we will study examples and relate them to this formula. Jaden Hair has gradually moved towards being the host of Steamy Kitchen, a cooking show and site dedicated to Asian food. It started with a $ 200 investment, and then, through the combination of passion and usefulness, cookbooks, TV ads, and corporate sponsorships emerged. The recipes that Jaden shares with a large audience on a daily basis are simple, healthy, and very popular. When I met her at a seminar in Austin, I could barely get through the crowd to say hello. (Read more about Jaden's story in Chapter 2.)

Brandon Pearce taught piano and almost fell victim to the administrative side of his work. An amateur programmer, he wrote a program to help allocate time to students, schedule and keep track of payments. “When I was working on this project, I had no intention of turning it into a business,” he says. "But when my colleagues started showing interest, I thought I could make a couple of bucks out of it." A couple of bucks turned into full-time employment and more than 30 thousandth monthly income. A native of Utah, Brandon occasionally leaves his second home in Costa Rica and takes his family on long trips. (Read more about Brandon's story in Chapter 4.)

The road ahead: what we will learn

In the pursuit of freedom, we will analyze all the mechanisms for opening a micro-enterprise using the example of businessmen who have already done this. The basics of starting a business are very simple: you don't need an MBA (save $ 60K), venture capital, or even a detailed plan. All you need is a product, a group of people willing to pay for it, and a payment acceptance mechanism. As a result, we get the following components:

1. A product, that is, what you sell.

2. People who are willing to pay for it, or your customers.

3. Payment acceptance mechanism: a way to exchange a product for money.

If you have a stakeholder group but nothing to sell, the business won't work. If you have something to sell, but no one wants to buy it, the business will not work. And in any case, nothing will come of it without a simple and easy way for the client to pay for your offer. Combine all three and congratulations - you've become an entrepreneur!

Before you is the skeleton of any project, there is no need to complicate anything. But if you think well, it doesn't hurt to also have sentence- a combination of a product a plus a message to a potential customer justifying the appropriateness of the purchase. At the initial stage, many difficulties await you, but when the company is working, you should take a number of measures that can to raise sales and income. Of course, if you like. It is also useful to develop a strategy for generating interest from the audience, described here as attraction... It’s not a good idea to show up one day with your proposal like a devil in a snuffbox. Spend launch event so that customers dream of your products before they even appear.

We will look at each concept in great detail and calculate everything to the last cent thanks to those who have already done it. My goal is to explain what my respondents have done to make the business work, and to analyze how to replicate their experience anywhere in the world. All lessons and examples illustrate the main principle of building a business, which has proven its effectiveness many times: create what people need and give it to them.

You won't find tricks here that work flawlessly, and in truth, failure is the best teacher and motivator. We will meet the artist, under whom the roof of the studio collapsed when he enthusiastically cleared it of snow. Let's find out how the seller of extreme tours came to himself from shock after he heard that the island in the South Pacific Ocean, where he sent clients, refused to accept tourists.

Sometimes problems arise from doing business too well. I'll tell you how a Chicago company got out of a situation when two thousand unexpected customers literally fell on it one day. We will see how these and other courageous entrepreneurs overcame all obstacles and continued on their way, turning potential obstacles into long-term success.

* * *

Concepts of freedom and values ​​run through all research as a common thread, but in each of them the concept of change is hidden. From his Seattle home office, James Kirk once operated information centers across the country. But in a creative burst, he loaded things into the Mustang and left for South Carolina to open his own coffee shop in the land of cookies and iced tea. Less than six months passed from idea to implementation. According to him, when he made the decision, all other opportunities were closed for him. “At one point, I realized that this is what I want and will do. Like this. Decision is made. I left the analysis for later. "

Later, James was seriously engaged in developing a plan, but he had already taken the main step - he made a decision, which became a guide to action. Maybe he was not absolutely ready, but he was aimed at major changes, although it took time for them. A couple of months later, a Jamestown Coffee store opened in Lexington. Prior to that, James and his new employees worked ten hours a day for several weeks in a row. But it happened: the ribbon was cut, the mayor introduced the company to the business community, and a line of people wishing to try a new product lined up at the entrance. The day finally arrived, and everything else became history.

Key points

Microenterprises are not new, they have existed everywhere since the dawn of entrepreneurship. But today there is an opportunity to quickly and inexpensively test, launch and expand your project.

Starting a business requires three components: a product, a group of people willing to pay for it, and a method of accepting payments. The rest is optional.

If you are strong at one thing, you may be strong at another. Many projects begin with a “skills transformation” process where you apply existing knowledge to a new activity.

The most important thing is to combine your passion and skills with something that will benefit other people.

2. Give them fish

How to sell happiness in a box

Catch a fish and you can sell it. Teach a man to fish and you ruin a great business opportunity.

Karl Marx

We'll come back to Jamestown Coffee as well as the other stories in Chapter 1. But first, let's look at a key principle of freedom: use microbusiness based on skill, hobby or passion. Don't poke around and wonder if your grandiose plan will interest potential customers. It's easier to figure out what people want and then decide how to offer it to them.

Let's take fish as an example.

So, imagine. Friday evening. After a tiring week at work, you head to a cozy restaurant. While you relax with a glass of wine, the waiter talks about the dish of the day.

“Today we have an amazing salmon risotto,” he says.

“It would be nice to try,” you think and place your order. The waiter writes something in his notebook and returns to the kitchen, while you sip wine and chat.

Everyone is happy and happy, right? But suddenly the chef comes out of the kitchen and heads to your table.

- Didn't you order the salmon risotto?

You nod in the affirmative.

- You see, risotto is a difficult dish in itself, and salmon must be cooked correctly ... Have you cooked salmon before?

You do not have time to answer yet, and the chef is already confronting you with a fact:

- In general, I am going to warm up the olive oil. Wash your hands and follow me into the kitchen.

I think nothing like this has happened to you, otherwise you would hardly be happy. Recovering from amazement (does the chef really want me to help him in the kitchen?), You will find his proposal very strange. You know that food in a restaurant is much more expensive than in a store, and you pay a lot of money for the atmosphere and service. If you wanted to make risotto yourself, you would. You don't go to a restaurant for cooking lessons, but to relax while others fulfill your every whim.

What does the proposed plot have in common with microenterprise and freedom gain? Here's what. Many companies believe that customers should go into the kitchen and prepare their own dinner. Instead of giving people what they really need, business owners try to get them involved because think that they want it. And all through the fault of the ancient wisdom: “Give a man a fish, and he will be full one day. Teach him to fish, and he can feed himself all his life. " It may be a good idea for hungry fishermen, but not for business at all. Clients generally don't want to learn to fish. We work all week and go to a restaurant to have someone take over some of the worries and feed us. Why should we delve into the intricacies of cooking? We are not really that and want.

Try to give people what they really want. How? Try to understand human nature. Take this simple truth as a basis, and then everything will go like clockwork.

* * *

John and Barbara Varian have been making furniture for 15 years on their ranch in California. The idea of ​​an additional source of income came into their heads quite by accident. One day, a group of horse-riding enthusiasts approached them with a request to rent a ranch for horseback riding. By the way, they were willing to pay for lunch too. John and Barbara agreed.

In the fall of 2006, a terrible fire destroyed almost all of their production facilities, forcing them to take a fresh look at life. They decided not to return to the furniture business and change their field of activity. “We have grown to love horses,” says Barbara, “so we decided to open the ranch for all horse riding enthusiasts.” The Varians built a guest house, renovated outbuildings, and prepared special rider kits that included food and equipment. John and Barbara opened a new business - a ranch, spread over 20 thousand acres of land.

Barbara's story sunk into my soul because of one phrase. I always ask business owners what they are selling and why customers buy from them, and I always get curious answers. Many say they sell what people need. But the most wonderful answer I heard was from Barbara.

We sell not just horseback riding. We offer freedom. Our work helps guests to forget for at least a few hours and become what they have never been before.

Do you feel the difference? Most of the ranchers work full-time and cannot boast of long vacations. Why do they go to the rural outback, instead of basking on the Hawaiian beaches? John and Barbara's proposal has a very deep message. By helping clients “forget and become someone else,” they provide something more valuable than just horseback riding. The ranch sells happiness first.

* * *

Excellent student Kelly Newsom was selflessly preparing for a dizzying career. While still an applicant, she knew exactly what she wanted. At the law school of her university, she was the best in the course. She then landed a high-paying job as a lawyer in Manhattan - the goal of a six-year textbook vigil. But alas, Kelly soon discovered that checking the company's documents on a daily basis for compliance with the Securities Act was not at all what she dreamed of in law school. When the euphoria of getting a dream job passed, and the prospect of becoming a high-paid office rat appeared in all its glory, Kelly wanted a change.

Five years later, Kelly said goodbye to her career as a corporate lawyer and a salary of $ 240,000 a year and moved to the international charitable organization Human Rights Watch. This work was not only more interesting than the previous one, but also helped Kelly find herself. Before the next step, Kelly paused and went to travel the world. She has always been fond of yoga, and during her vacation managed to complete a 200-hour course of study, then she herself taught in Asia and Europe. Upon returning to her home state, she opened the Higher Ground Yoga private yoga school. There were plenty of similar establishments around, but Kelly focused on a very specific audience: business women from 30 to 45, including those who were pregnant or with small children.

Less than a year later, Kelly has created a business with an annual income of over $ 50,000 that promises to grow to $ 85,000. However, it has drawbacks. During a heavy snowfall, Kelly could not get to school for three weeks and, naturally, suffered losses. Despite the decline in income and the threat of losing clients due to bad weather, Kelly claims that she would not return to her previous job anyway. Here's what she says: “When I was a lawyer, I had the opportunity to work with a wonderful masseuse. I told her once that it must be great to make people happy. And now I’m convinced that it is. ” Like John and Barbara, Kelly realized that the key to self-realization in a new business is directly related to the ability to give people a good mood.

Where do ideas come from?

As you learn to think like an entrepreneur, you will notice that new ideas are coming from everywhere. In a store, for example, pay attention to the information on the packages. Study the menu and prices in a restaurant, not only for the sake of economy, but also in order to compare them with prices in other establishments. What message is the company trying to convey to customers?

Thinking this way, you will be discovering business opportunities everywhere. Here are some of the most common sources of inspiration.

Empty market niches. Have you ever paid attention to marketing miscalculations or tried to buy something that doesn't exist? It is highly likely that someone else is just as frustrated or looking for non-existent products. Offer what you would like to buy yourself, and those around you are likely to want to buy it too.

New technologies or opportunities. For example, when smartphones appeared, out of nowhere new markets for software developers emerged. But the decision does not always lie on the surface. Manufacturers of chic diaries and paper notebooks have also reported sales growth, perhaps thanks to consumers who do not want to clutter their lives with a variety of gadgets.

A changing situation. During the fall of the auto market, Michael, whom we met in Chapter 1, rented his first makeshift store cheaply. Not everyone would have thought of locating a mattress store in a former car dealership, and Michael jumped at the opportunity.

Companion or side project. One business idea can lead to many others. No matter how well things are going, look for opportunities for side or side projects that can also generate income. Brandon Pearce, for example (we'll get to know him better in Chapter 4), founded Studio Helper as a spin-off of his main business, Music Teacher's Helper. Now Studio Helper brings in over $ 100K annually.

clue... Don't forget about profit when choosing from a variety of ideas. Get in the habit of equating despicable metal with projects. When brainstorming and evaluating various ideas, money shouldn't be the only consideration, but it shouldn't be forgotten either. To evaluate a project, answer three questions:

1. How will I make money on this?

2. How much will I earn from this?

3. Can you earn more on this?

We'll talk more about financial issues in chapters 10 and 11.

What are values?

The California Ranch and Higher Ground Yoga School are good examples of the relationship between freedom and values. John and Barbara figured out how to fulfill their desire to live comfortably in the countryside, and began to invite guests for whom the ranch became a place of relaxation. And although Kelly has lost her salary (at least for now), she feels much better physically and does what she likes - a compromise she made with pleasure. Her desire for freedom has prompted Kelly to take the plunge, but her key to her success is the values ​​she offers to her clients.

Let's take a break for a second and look at the concept values- this word is often used without thinking about its true meaning. What is value?

Value- something desirable or expensive, created through exchange or labor.

In our context, the explanation is even simpler. Value means helping others. If your business starts with her, you are on the right track. When stranded, ask yourself: How can you create more value? Or how else to help my clients? Freedom and values ​​are closely related. You will find personal freedom if you offer value to other people. We've already learned the concept of convergence and learned that business succeeds only when it offers its customers something of value.

Values ​​are closely related to emotional needs. Many business owners talk about characteristics their projects, whereas it would be more appropriate to say about advantages that customers will receive. The characteristics can be described, but the benefits affect the realm of the senses. Let us explain with the examples presented above. The California Ranch helps the guest "forget and become someone else." Isn't that more convincing than just offering horseback riding? Kelly's Private Lessons help women leaders prepare for their busy days in a relaxed environment, offering a more rewarding and unique experience than a gym with hundreds of visitors.

From the same point of view, you can consider the examples briefly described in Chapter 1. Without going into details, Jaden Hair (founder of Steamy Kitchen) simply posts the recipes on her website. But there are millions of such resources. Jaden, on the other hand, helps people to spend time with their families preparing delicious meals and eating together. Megan Hunt models dresses, but not only. She also creates the anticipation of the holiday in brides, gives them a festive mood and memories of the best day in life. Who won't pay for this? The table below summarizes the difference between features and benefits.

This analysis is applicable even to trading companies that seem unremarkable. Michael Hannah (a mattress salesman) recalled how he once sold a mattress for a crib. Two years later, this family again came for a mattress, but for a grown-up three-year-old baby. Such stories, which Michael enjoys and often talks about, are much more interesting than conversations about springs or the quality of mattresses.

So, the more attention you pay to the key benefits, the more customers you will get. As you try the $ 100 startup model for your situation, take on three strategies.

Strategy 1. Dig deeper and uncover hidden needs

It seems self-evident to you that a restaurant client does not want to go to the kitchen and prepare meals on his own, but sometimes a person's true desires do not coincide with the declared ones. Wedding photographer Kyle Hepp lives in Santiago and photographs weddings around the world. At one time, she realized that she needed to look deeper. Her clients are stylish young people who are attracted by Kyle's original photographs. Sometimes they even state that they don't want to no traditional wedding photos. “We are not some old people,” one couple even protested. Kyle agrees and takes funny and sincere pictures that young people will definitely like.

But that's not all. From experience, Kyle knows that the words and desires of clients can contradict each other. In addition, the family of the bride and groom often have different ideas about wedding photography. Here's how she deals with conflicting desires:

On their wedding day, I grab their hands and say, "Let's get the whole family together and take a couple of regular pictures." The whole process is quick and painless. I make sure everyone is smiling and looking good. I never get terrible shots where everyone stands in front of the camera with a miserable look. After the wedding, the parents of the bride and groom admire the photos they have sent (the parents are happy - the bride and groom are happy too), and the newlyweds finally admit that they refused in vain.

Kyle does more than expected by giving customers what they really want without even realizing it.

Strategy 2. Make the client a hero

In India, I met Purna Daggirala, an entrepreneur "helping to master Microsoft Excel to perfection." The app itself doesn't interest me much, but the financial details of the business caught my eye. The column "Net profit for the previous year" listed 136 thousand dollars. Such income would have made an impression in my homeland, but for India it is just incredibly big money. Moreover, Purna plans to earn 200 thousand dollars next year, although the company has only been in its third year. Customers are delighted with it. When I searched the web for information about him, I came across a comment from one user who proclaimed Purnu his "friend forever". How did an entrepreneur win such love from spreadsheet users?

Purna created the site several years ago, but at first only posted news about his family and life in India. In 2009, more serious information appeared there: step-by-step recommendations and tutorials on working with Excel. And most importantly, Purna was not targeting the people of India, but was looking for potential clients around the world. He also ditched additional income in the form of banner ads, which few of our heroes dared to do. Instead, he created products himself, offering e-tutorials and online lessons.

Purna was also a good copywriter. Working with tables seems like a very tedious task, but he did not dwell on numbers, but highlighted a key advantage. “Our training programs make our clients heroes in the eyes of leaders and colleagues. Clients not only make their lives easier, says Purna, “others are beginning to recognize and appreciate their ability to simplify complex processes.”

Purna stepped down as a business analyst when it became clear that he would earn much more in another field. Despite such a high income for India, Purna and his wife still live very modestly. “We have already provided for ourselves for years to come,” he admits. Not only that, every day new customers find it through Google, ads and hundreds of links. “If I even wanted to wind down the business,” he says, “it would be very difficult to do.” Purna has a lot to learn, as he even managed to make spreadsheets attractive.

Strategy 3. Sell What People Buy

When choosing an object for sale, be guided by a simple rule: sell what they buy... In other words, find out what people really want, not what you think they need. Hopefully the history of my ups and downs will help illustrate this principle. Taking my first steps in the field of business, I created a project called Travel Ninja. Since I have visited more than 150 countries and every year I fly at least 200 thousand miles by plane, I know almost everything about economical flights. Travel Ninja was intended to be a clear example of economy - how to book tickets for a trip around the world, how to take advantage of airline misses, etc.

I surveyed my audience and received rave reviews. There were many who wanted to get to know this topic better. My previous product sold 500 copies in the first hours of sales. So one fine day, early in the morning, I posted the update on the site. And he waited ... and waited. Orders came in, but not as quickly as I expected. By the end of the first day, I had sold only 100 copies - not too bad, but not much to be happy about either.

Several weeks passed, and I was still puzzled by the low response rate. Feedback from customers who purchased the Travel Ninja was almost unanimously positive, but there were so few buyers that I realized that something was wrong with my project. Finally it hit me: most people are not interested in the intricacies of airlines, they just want to know how and where to get cheap tickets. Technical details and unnecessary details discouraged buying. Like an overly ardent chef, I tried to lead customers into the kitchen instead of just giving them the dish they wanted.

Well, lesson learned. A year later, I introduced a new travel product, the Frequent Flyer Master. I did my best to make it as accessible as possible. And for advertising purposes, he referred to his own experience. “Perhaps you are not going to visit 20 countries a year like me, but if you want to visit at least one, choose any ".

This product proved to be much more successful: 500 copies were sold on the first day, and by the end of the year I had made more than $ 50,000 in net profit. The success was a relief, since for almost a year I was tormented by the question: will travel information be sold? Fortunately, yes, if you present it exactly the way your customers want it.

A year later, I used the lesson I had learned again. Frequent Flyer Master customers who liked the product asked for an updated flight information. This is how Travel Hacking Cartel was born, detailing how to benefit from frequent flights. This time around, the ad thoughtfully warned: Don't worry about the little things, just do as we tell you and you'll earn enough miles each year for free flights. This offer turned out to be the most successful - on the first day of sales, more than 3 thousand buyers contacted me. Finally I figured out how to give customers what they want.

Just six steps - and let's start

As the examples of the heroes in Chapter 1 have shown, starting a business does not require a lot of funds or lengthy training. All you need is a product, a group of people wanting to buy it, and a payment method. Throughout the book, we will consider each component in detail, but it does not make sense to wait long. It is enough to take only six steps.

1. Select a product.

2. Create a website, the simplest possible (there are special sites for creating free sites).

3. Develop a proposal (it differs from the product, see chapter 7 for details).

4. Select a payment method (you can start a free account with PayPal first).

5. Make your proposal public (see Chapter 9 for details).

6. Repeat based on previous experience.

Almost all microenterprises follow this order. Of course, in the future we will discuss the specifics of each stage, but it is better to start right now, and not wait for ideal conditions.

If you already have your own business and are considering how to leverage new information, consider expanding your customer base or developing new products. It is these tasks that are most important for business, and not management, control and everything that only takes time, but does not bring either money or benefit to others. If you are unsure of what to do, please answer the following questions:

Can I send potential customers a special offer or discount coupon?

Can a new product be added?

For trainers and consultants: is it possible to work on special terms with clients offering prepayment?

How to attract new subscribers or customers?

In any case, you just need to do something. Friedrich Engels said: "Even a small step is worth hundreds of theories." Take this small step today.

What people really want

Experience has taught me that the most important thing for a business is to focus on what customers really want. Simply put, we want some experience. more while others less... The More list will include love, money, recognition and free time. We all want this, right? The "Less" column will include such unwanted things as stress, traffic jams, bad romances. If your business is geared towards giving people more desired experiences or eliminate unwanted ones (or both), you are on the right track.

Visitors to SPA centers feel surrounded by love and care and relieve stress. In advertising, you can often hear: "We will do everything for you - rest and do not think about anything." What a good restaurant shouldn't say is, "Go to the kitchen and cook your own dinner."

Artist and musician Brooke Snow tried to make money teaching in her hometown. She had enough to live on, she even managed to pay for college without getting into debt, which was not easy. But Brooke constantly had to make ends meet. One day it dawned on her. Why post announcements in your native Logan and hope that someone will call when you can teach somewhere else?

Changes broke into her life by accident and, as if on purpose, on one of the worst days. “I had to cancel classes because of a shortage,” says Brooke. “My husband had just entered graduate school, our baby was eight months old, and we still had to pay off the loan for the house.” Needless to say, the situation is not the best. She called Mike, one of the few enrolled students, to announce the cancellation. It turned out that he was preparing a dissertation on educational technologies and specializing in distance learning.

Brooke admitted that, being a good photographer and teacher, she knows nothing about information technology. Fortunately, she knew better about bartering, so she offered Mike private lessons in exchange for developing an online course for her. It was the perfect dissertation practice, so Mike was happy to help Brooke get his proposal online.

Brook earned $ 30,000 a year from lessons for the residents of her town. In her first year of teaching online, she earned over $ 60,000. Great result! The transition from offline to online has played a key role in success, but it is not the only one. Brooke was not afraid to share her knowledge. Early in her career, she attended a seminar in which someone said, "If your business helps others, you will always have a lot of work to do." Here's what happened next:

This statement changed my life. I have worked in a very competitive market of photographers who fight for every shot and are in no hurry to reveal their secrets. I got rid of fear, took the principle of helping others as a basis (I wanted me to have “plenty of work”!) And started teaching what I can. Skeptics warned that I was "educating competitors." But fortunately, helping businesses pay off every day.

We'll come back to Brooke's story later. I call this approach: Free Got - Free Share. If things aren't going well, ask yourself how you can help others.

What in fact do people want? By and large, just being happy. Companies that help their customers to become like that have chosen the right path. A ranch in California turns ordinary people into cowboys. Kelly's yoga lessons help working moms prepare for a busy day. The restaurant we go to at the end of the working week - unless it sends its customers to the kitchen - allows you to relax, unwind with a glass of wine and enjoy excellent service.

In conversations with respondents, we returned to this topic more than once. They all said the same thing: first you need to figure out what people want, and then figure out how to give it to them. Here it is - the direct path to success. When developing your own project, do not miss the main thing: you create true value if you give people what they really want.

Key points

Values ​​imply "helping others." Our casual entrepreneurs have learned from their own experience that only by prioritizing value can we create a successful business.

Give people what they really want, not what you think they should have. Give them fish!

The more key benefits are presented to the market (instead of the usual list of characteristics), the easier it will be to extract profit from the project. Key benefits are almost always related to emotional needs.

People want some things and emotions more (money, love, attention), and some less (stress, anxiety, debts). Focus on those that can improve the lives of others and get rid of problems. And ... get ready to accept money.

3. Follow Your Passion ... Whenever Possible

Earn money on what you love, but correlate it with the desires of other people

Like many of us, Gary Leff starts his day by checking his email. As CFO of two research centers in northern Virginia, he keeps in touch with colleagues from morning to evening. He likes his job, and he is not going to leave it. But the earliest morning letters have nothing to do with her and relate to his part-time employment as a special consultant.

Like me, Gary is an avid traveler who earns thousands of free miles every year through airline loyalty programs. Many top executives also earn a lot of miles by paying with business cards. But earning miles and spending them on your own vacation are two different things. Managers often have no idea how to do this and don’t have the time to study complex procedures. How many miles do you need to travel? What if there are no seats on the flight? If you do not know which side to approach, a person gives up and abandons his venture.

This is what Gary decided to do. For a flat fee ($ 250 for two passengers traveling on the same route), he will use your bonuses to purchase a dream trip. Customers report where they want to go, which airlines they earned free miles and other important details. Then Gary gets to work: he correlates the information received with the availability of seats for the flight, calls the airlines, using any loopholes for the benefit of the client.

At first glance, it seems unreasonable to pay $ 250 for something that you can do yourself, and for free, but the benefits of the service can hardly be overestimated. Gary's trips cost at least $ 5,000. He specializes in first and business class travel, sometimes including six airlines at the same time. Want to visit Paris on your way to Johannesburg in transit? No problem. Want to spend more time in Frankfurt on your way to Singapore? You are welcome. If the trip cannot be booked, the client does not pay. A business only succeeds when it benefits its customers.

In addition to top managers, Gary is also often approached by retirees going on a cruise and couples planning their honeymoon - in general, everyone who has accumulated a lot of miles, but does not want to understand the airline bonus system. Things took off when Gary ran an advertisement for Condé Nast Traveler, an American travel magazine. Except for calls to the airlines, Gary conducts all negotiations by e-mail. This hobby last year brought him $ 75 thousand, and in the future it promises over $ 100 thousand annually. At the same time, Gary is a full-time CFO and is also involved in other projects. He prefers not to spend money, but to invest. “I really enjoy it,” he says. For his bonus miles, Gary travels with his wife. Sometimes, in between financial planning meetings, they break out on fabulous trips to the Philippines or Thailand.

* * *

Gary's business, like the others we will talk about later, can be called a consequence of passion. Gary loved to travel and knew many creative ways to enjoy first class flights at a great price. He began to help people do the same, first voluntarily giving advice on travel forums, then on a blog, and then individually for acquaintances. The fame of him quickly spread: "Hello, Gary, I want to go with my wife to Europe, I have so many miles ... What to do?" And before the answer was ready, more requests were piling up in the mailbox than could be processed.

The next logical step was charging advice. Gary created the simplest website and set up a payment system with no specific plans for the future. Is it possible that someone will pay for such an unusual service? And how! And although Gary is busy with his main job all day and is not going to leave it, now he does not depend on her. If something changes in the service, he will calmly live at the expense of his own business, or even expand it.

Gary's story is inspiring, but nothing out of the ordinary. When I collected data for research and conducted endless interviews, I even stopped being surprised. For example, I learned that a promotional coupon site run by a single mother generates $ 60,000 a year on a part-time basis. And the production of handmade toys is no less than $ 250 thousand a year, and it even uses the labor of hired employees.

Instant Consultant

Gary's business is thriving, although his website looks like it was created ten years ago. Gary doesn't expect approval or direction from anyone. It only takes one day, if not less, to become a paid consultant. Follow two rules:

1. Pay attention to anything unusual and contrary to the usual logic. Don't become a business consultant or coach. Think about what original you can offer to others.

2. There are no consultants who charge $ 15 an hour, so don't underestimate your services. Unless you intend to work 40 hours a week, ask for at least $ 100 an hour or a flat wage that is adequate for the benefits on offer.

Preparing to start a business

I will help clients ____________________ By hiring me, they will receive (Key Benefit + Additional Benefit).

I will charge x dollars per hour or a flat rate of __________ per service. This tariff will satisfy both clients and me.

My site will contain the following elements:

1. Key benefit to clients and description of personal skills. (Remember that skills have nothing to do with education or certifications. Gary, for example, can purchase tickets with bonus miles, as he has done for himself many times.)

2. At least two examples of how your service made life easier for someone (if no one has paid you yet, help someone you know for free).

3. Submit along with the standard rate. Don't force clients to text or call you to find out how much your service costs.)

4. Instructions for placing an order for the service (this should be very simple).

I will find clients through [word of mouth, Google, blog, flyer, etc.].

My first client will contact me on [date] or before [date].

Welcome to consultants! Now you have your own business.

I met Megan Hunt at her office, part of which she rents out. Megan arrived at work by 6pm. She prefers to work in the evenings when she can bring her child with her. Unlike most of our heroes, Megan dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur from a young age. “I started at nineteen when I was in college in my sophomore year. My plans never included employment, and I never aspired to traditional employment, as I knew that my destiny would be closely linked with art. I did a little work in several offices, but saw them only as a means to make enough money to start my own business. "

Meghan now creates bespoke wedding dresses and accessories and sells them to brides around the world (42% of buyers live outside the United States). After earning $ 40,000 in the first year, she expanded the business and hired two more employees, as well as leased out part of the office. (She is her own boss, so no one complains about her habit of working in the evenings.)

Almost all of the entrepreneurs we will meet on the pages of this book have experienced at least one critical situation, when all plans went to hell and the business was threatened with collapse. Meghan's biggest misfortune happened on the eve of the 2010 holiday season. After spending 70 hours creating exclusive floral decorations for two clients, she sent them by mail, and ... The package was lost in the bowels of the postal service. “It's just a nightmare,” Megan recalls. “I had to return the money, but I didn't have it, and the worst thing is the thought that the brides were left without accessories.” But she did everything she was supposed to: refund the money, apologize, write the story on her blog to warn others, and get on with her work.

Megan does not even think of complaining about the negligence of the postal service. She just loves her job and does not want to do anything else. “I am inspired by fellow entrepreneurs who work in my office. I speak every day with clients who are experiencing the best moments of their life. I have a little daughter who I can bring to work. My income potential is limitless, and I am free to invest every dollar I earn in my happiness. "

* * *

Everything seems simple: choose a business you like and build a business on it, as Gary and Megan did. And the money will flow like a river! But is it really that simple? As you might guess, the answer is ambiguous. Many people will succeed in building a business based on their hobby, but not all.

There are hobbies that don't fit into this concept. First, you can't take any hobby as a basis - no one will pay for many things that you like. Remember the convergence rule. Think only about how your project will be useful to others and why they will be interested in your proposal. I love eating pizza, but as much as I enjoy this activity, I doubt that you can build a career on the love of mushrooms and olives. You need to find something more interesting for those around you.

Sometimes a successful microbusiness is preceded by failure. Mignon Fogarty created the QDT Network project, well known to fans of the author's show Grammar Girl. The show almost immediately became an absolute hit, spawning a series of books, projects and earning constant media attention. But before creating Grammar Girl, Mignon made an unsuccessful attempt to gain popularity through podcasting (Internet radio). Here's what she says about it:

Before launching the successful Grammar Girl project, I created a science podcast called Absolute Science. I loved doing this show, I was just absorbed in it. I spent much more energy on promoting it than on Grammar Girl. And although Absolute Science was quite famous, after a year I realized that it would never generate income that could justify the time spent on it.

Mignon changed course, switching from science to grammar. She didn't give up on her goal, she just combined the right hobby with the right audience.

In addition, successful entrepreneurs who follow their passion understand an important principle that their ambitious (but unlucky) brethren do not understand. Keep in mind one important point: you are not paid for your hobby as such, but for the help it provides directly or indirectly. This is the main thing. My writing career began by blogging about my travel adventures, but no one paid me to do it. With my business, I have to create value just like everyone else. If you don't, no one will pay, and travel will remain just a hobby (no matter how much I love it).

Let's take a look at another example. Irishman Benny Lewis says he is paid to love languages. Benny's story is impressive. He earns over $ 65 thousand a year, does not depend on anyone, travels around the world and immerses himself in various cultures. But that's not all.

I met Benny while awaiting my flight to Bangkok. Benny doesn't drink, which is probably for the best, because he is the most emotional person I know. He talked about himself over a glass of mango juice. Benny went overseas twenty-four years ago and lived there for two years. As a child, he spoke only English, planned to become an engineer and was not at all known as a polyglot. Having traveled to Spain after graduation and continuing to work with Spanish clients upon his return to the States, he established himself in the thought of learning Spanish.

After living in Seville for six months, Benny was disappointed. He still did not know the language, as he spent most of his time in the company of foreigners like him, or English-speaking Spaniards. Benny decided to communicate exclusively in Spanish for a month. At first he was embarrassed and often embarrassed. He didn't know how to conjugate verbs, so he only used the present tense. If he wanted to clarify that something had already happened, he would point back. But the most remarkable thing is that the language was learned much faster this way. After a couple of weeks, Benny was already fluent in Spanish. Monthly immersion turned out to be much more effective than the previous six months, and he became addicted to learning foreign languages. He went to Berlin and learned German; then to Paris, where he studied French; and in Prague he mastered a very difficult Czech language.

Benny's method has been tried and tested. In two years, he learned seven languages ​​(perfectly!) And regularly checks his knowledge by communicating with their native speakers. From time to time he taught his method, but there was no system in these attempts.

“Benny, you have an amazing skill,” I told him in Bangkok. "Why don't you seriously think about opening appropriate courses?" (Honestly, I didn't have to persuade him for a long time. Benny had already thought about it himself. The crowd crowded around the bar approved the idea.)

He immediately came up with a bunch of titles and picked the best of them: Fluent in 3 Months. Everyone raised their beers in approval, and Benny took a sip of some juice. As soon as he learns Thai (the eighth language), he will start taking notes on everything he knows about learning foreign languages.

The idea was great, but there was still a lot of work to do. Benny worked tirelessly to transform his knowledge and experience into a pile of documents, videos and interviews. He achieved the perfect result ... “Finally, the edits were made, and I put the finished product on public display,” he says. The course is now available in eight languages, the same languages ​​that Benny learned on his own.

To advertise Fluent in 3 Months, Benny posted a video tour of his apartment on YouTube in five languages ​​(including various dialects). He stood in the streets in national costume and sang songs in the language of the country in which he was, and also offered free hugs. When I visited him in Texas, he greeted me with a hat hung with goggles. I asked what they are for. Benny's response was symbolic: “I wear them when I travel. When people ask me about glasses, it's easier to strike up an acquaintance and learn a new language. "

Benny says he gets paid to learn languages, but as you can see, not only for that. He is paid to help. Of course, he inspires others, and this is also important (Internet users like his videos, they are willingly shared with friends). But, without offering anything useful, he would just be an Irish polyglot, and this, alas, is not a business.

In addition to realizing that not every passion can turn into a business, and business and hobby are different things, there is another key point. A person does not always want to combine a hobby with work. If a hobby or passion helps you to forget about everyday activities, why devote a full working week to them and turn them into an everyday activity? Many people think that it is necessary to separate hobbies from work.

Study the Reality Assessment Checklist to determine if a passion-based business is right for you. Benjamin Franklin said in this regard: "If you are driven by passion, you can only submit to it."

Test questions for assessing reality

Self-assessment questions

Would you enjoy your hobby if you devoted not only your free time to it, but also twenty hours a week?

Do you enjoy teaching someone your hobby?

Do you love all its subtleties?

If you had to devote some time to solving administrative issues related to the hobby, would you still enjoy it?

Market Assessment Questions

Do people around you turn to you for help?

Are they willing to pay for your skill?

Are there similar services on the market (positive factor), but offered in a different way?

Important! Chapter 6 describes market testing in more detail. If you can't answer the questions about the market, keep reading.

When I asked casual entrepreneurs about the “follow your passion” model, I often got conflicting answers. Almost no one said: "Yes, you should always follow your passion, wherever it leads." But no one has rejected this idea once and for all. There is one nuance: passion + good business sense = real business.

Sometimes passion can be turned into a profitable business. Take a look at the table below. In addition to passion, you need to learn to solve the problems of others. Only passion combined with socially beneficial skills pays dividends.

Here's how it can be represented differently:

(Passion + Skill) → (Challenge + Market) = Opportunity

As an essential element, passion is only part of the equation. If Gary suddenly forgot how to order free tickets, his passion for travel will lose its value. No matter how much Megan loves her dresses, if there are no people willing to buy them, the business will not work.

The next step is to turn the hobby into a business. All of our heroes used similar models to monetize their project. Let's take a look at how the four described projects turned into full-fledged income.

Gary receives a flat fee for his unusual services (currently $ 250).

Benny sells the finished product (language learning manual) through the site at a fixed price.

Megan also sells a finished product (dresses and wedding accessories to order), but at different prices.

Minion offers listeners a popular podcast for free, earning money from advertising and sponsorship.

Each model has its own advantages and disadvantages. Gary receives $ 250 per order, but then has to work off the money by arranging a trip for the client.

Benny sells his allowance for only $ 29, but the process is automated, and once the payment is received, nothing is required from Benny.

Megan sells a variety of products (and also rents out part of the office), so her income is diversified. But the key project - sewing wedding dresses - is very laborious.

Mignon's sponsors bring her a stable and regular income, but advertising to some extent prevents her from freely communicating with the audience.

Despite the differences, the main goal of each model is to offer the right product to the right group of people. Otherwise, no project would have been successful. But an entrepreneur who finds the right formula and chooses a suitable hobby will be rewarded.

Gabriela Redding lost weight thanks to the hula hoop, and on this she created a business with a million dollars in income. She was previously a tattoo artist and then a restaurant owner. “I'm an artist at heart,” she said in an interview with Forbes. “Artists make good entrepreneurs, as we are constantly puzzling over how to sell our work. If you don’t sell, you will starve, and I don’t want to be a hungry artist. ”

Rather than working only for the sake of money, it is better to devote yourself to your favorite business and get paid for it. You just need to choose the right hobby, the right audience, and the right business model.

Key points

The examples of Gary and Benny clearly demonstrate that good companies offer solutions to problems: what to do with bonus miles, how to quickly learn a foreign language.

Not all hobby businesses are directly related to them. When evaluating various projects, ask yourself, is it possible to make money from this?

Not every hobby can be used to build a business, and not every person wants to make money with his hobby.

You can become a consultant in one day, and the narrower the sphere, the better.

End of introductory snippet.

Maya Angelu (b. 1928) is a professor, poet, writer, memoirist, director, actress, historian, educator, and civil rights activist in the United States. Approx. transl.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) - American essayist, poet, philosopher, and public figure; one of the most prominent thinkers and writers in the United States. Approx. transl.

Free Hugs is a movement in which members take to the streets and offer their hugs to strangers. Founded by Australian Juan Mann in 2004. Approx. transl.

This book is about how to heal in an interesting and meaningful way and at the same time earn good money.

Sometimes you can find a combination of pleasure and income without leaving your current profession. However, sometimes you have to sweat a lot to get away from traditional earnings and discover alternative sources of income. In any case, you will need to create a small startup with your own money, devote a little time to it and wait until this company is ripe for serious success in order to reap the fruits of your labor, ceasing to be dependent on circumstances and start living the way you want.

Who is this book for?

This book is for those who strive for a fuller, more interesting and meaningful life. It will be of interest to those who want to stop being dependent on circumstances and start living the way they want to for a long time. It is definitely worth reading for those who want to stop doing boring, unnecessary things, and start doing something that is both interesting and useful for others.

Why we decided to publish this book

We know how important it is to do what we love. We know how difficult it is to start a new business. We were interested to learn how to create a real business for real money.

We liked that the author of this book does not limit himself to general recommendations, but gives the exact amounts, the procedure for actions required in the first months, in addition, he analyzes the mistakes that aspiring entrepreneurs made at first.

Trick of the book

In preparing this book, Chris Guilbeau found 1,500 entrepreneurs who today own businesses that generate $ 50,000 or more in annual income, although they started with very modest investments (in many cases, it was really about amounts not exceeding $ 100). Then he studied 50 of the most interesting members of this group in detail. Based on the data from this study, a simple and understandable book was written, containing valuable advice from those who know how to turn their work into a source of joy and pleasure. Moreover, Chris does not limit himself to general recommendations, but gives the exact amounts, the procedure for actions required in the first months, in addition, he analyzes the mistakes that aspiring entrepreneurs made at first.

When I needed money, I didn't think about how to cut costs or find a job, but about how to create and sell a certain product. That is, he did everything contrary to generally accepted norms, since usually budgeting begins with an assessment of profit and an analysis of the available opportunities. I did it differently: I started with a list of what I would like to do, and then I thought about how to implement it. My small business didn’t make a lot of money, but it did allow me to pay bills and gain something more valuable - freedom. I didn’t stick to any schedule, didn’t fill out timesheets, didn’t write meaningless reports, didn’t follow the rules of conduct in the office, and didn’t even attend obligatory meetings.

Keep in mind, this book is not about starting a large internet startup or starting a regular company, putting on a business suit and begging for money from a bank. Here is a story about people who managed to realize their dreams and earn decent money doing what they are really interested in. Maybe we can try to repeat their success? Let's adopt a general strategy and learn from those who have succeeded.

There are no secrets, cheat sheets or other tricks in this book. Visualization exercises are also missing. If you think you can get money just by thinking about it, put it on the shelf and meditate. On the contrary, the book contains only practical advice on how to take responsibility for your own future. Read it if you want to create something beautiful on the way to freedom.

Is it possible to change everything, live a full life and do only what you like? Can. Can you make money on this? Yes, and here are the stories of people who have succeeded. Is there a way to achieve this? Yes, and he is in front of you. Thanks to him, you will find the long-awaited freedom.

Expand Description Collapse description

This book is about how to heal in an interesting and meaningful way and at the same time earn good money.

Sometimes you can find a combination of pleasure and income without leaving your current profession. However, sometimes you have to sweat a lot to get away from traditional earnings and discover alternative sources of income. In any case, you will need to create a small startup with your own money, devote a little time to it and wait until this company is ripe for serious success in order to reap the fruits of your labor, ceasing to be dependent on circumstances and start living the way you want.

Who is this book for?

This book is for those who strive for a fuller, more interesting and meaningful life. It will be of interest to those who want to stop being dependent on circumstances and start living the way they want to for a long time. It is definitely worth reading for those who want to stop doing boring, unnecessary things, and start doing something that is both interesting and useful for others.

Why we decided to publish this book

We know how important it is to do what we love. We know how difficult it is to start a new business. We were interested to learn how to create a real business for real money.

We liked that the author of this book does not limit himself to general recommendations, but gives the exact amounts, the procedure for actions required in the first months, in addition, he analyzes the mistakes that aspiring entrepreneurs made at first.

Trick of the book

In preparing this book, Chris Guilbeau found 1,500 entrepreneurs who today own businesses that generate $ 50,000 or more in annual income, although they started with very modest investments (in many cases, it was really about amounts not exceeding $ 100). Then he studied 50 of the most interesting members of this group in detail. Based on the data from this study, a simple and understandable book was written, containing valuable advice from those who know how to turn their work into a source of joy and pleasure. Moreover, Chris does not limit himself to general recommendations, but gives the exact amounts, the procedure for actions required in the first months, in addition, he analyzes the mistakes that aspiring entrepreneurs made at first.

When I needed money, I didn't think about how to cut costs or find a job, but about how to create and sell a certain product. That is, he did everything contrary to generally accepted norms, since usually budgeting begins with an assessment of profit and an analysis of the available opportunities. I did it differently: I started with a list of what I would like to do, and then I thought about how to implement it. My small business didn’t make a lot of money, but it did allow me to pay bills and gain something more valuable - freedom. I didn’t stick to any schedule, didn’t fill out timesheets, didn’t write meaningless reports, didn’t follow the rules of conduct in the office, and didn’t even attend obligatory meetings.

Keep in mind that this book is not about starting a big internet startup or starting a business, putting on a business suit and begging for money from a bank. Here is a story about people who managed to realize their dreams and earn decent money doing what they are really interested in. Maybe we can try to repeat their success? Let's adopt a general strategy and learn from those who have succeeded.

There are no secrets, cheat sheets or other tricks in this book. Visualization exercises are also missing. If you think you can get money just by thinking about it, put it on the shelf and meditate. On the contrary, the book contains only practical advice on how to take responsibility for your own future. Read it if you want to create something beautiful on the way to freedom.

Is it possible to change everything, live a full life and do only what you like? Can. Can you make money on this? Yes, and here are the stories of people who have succeeded. Is there a way to achieve this? Yes, and he is in front of you. Thanks to him, you will find the long-awaited freedom.

What this book is about This book is about how to heal in an interesting and meaningful way and at the same time earn good money. Sometimes you can find a combination of pleasure and income without leaving your current profession. However, sometimes you have to sweat a lot to get away from traditional earnings and discover alternative sources of income. In any case, you will need to create a small startup with your own money, devote a little time to it and wait until this company is ripe for serious success in order to reap the fruits of your labor, ceasing to be dependent on circumstances and start living the way you want. Who is this book for This book is for those who strive for a fuller, more interesting and meaningful life. It will be of interest to those who want to stop being dependent on circumstances and start living the way they want to for a long time. It is definitely worth reading for those who want to stop doing boring, unnecessary things, and start doing something that is both interesting and useful for others. Why we decided to publish this book We know how important it is to do what we love. We know how difficult it is to start a new business. We were interested in learning how to create a real business for real money. We liked that the author of this book does not limit himself to general recommendations, but gives the exact amounts, the procedure for actions required in the first months, in addition, he analyzes the mistakes that aspiring entrepreneurs made at first. The trick of the book While preparing this book, Chris Guilbeau found 1,500 entrepreneurs who today own a business that generates 50 or more thousand dollars in annual income, although they started with extremely modest investments (in many cases, it was really about amounts not exceeding $ 100). Then he studied 50 of the most interesting members of this group in detail. Based on the data from this study, a simple and understandable book was written, containing valuable advice from those who know how to turn their work into a source of joy and pleasure. Moreover, Chris does not limit himself to general recommendations, but gives the exact amounts, the procedure for actions required in the first months, in addition, he analyzes the mistakes that aspiring entrepreneurs made at first. From the Author When I needed money, I was not thinking about how to reduce costs or find a job, but about how to create and sell a certain product. That is, he did everything contrary to generally accepted norms, since usually budgeting begins with an assessment of profit and an analysis of the available opportunities. I did it differently: I started with a list of what I would like to do, and then I thought about how to implement it. My small business didn’t make a lot of money, but it did allow me to pay bills and gain something more valuable - freedom. I didn’t stick to any schedule, didn’t fill out timesheets, didn’t write meaningless reports, didn’t follow the rules of conduct in the office, and didn’t even attend obligatory meetings. Keep in mind, this book is not about starting a large internet startup or starting a regular company, putting on a business suit and begging for money from a bank. Here is a story about people who managed to realize their dreams and earn decent money doing what they are really interested in. Maybe we can try to repeat their success? Let's adopt a general strategy and learn from those who have succeeded. There are no secrets, cheat sheets or other tricks in this book. Visualization exercises are also missing. If you think you can get money just by thinking about it, put it on the shelf and meditate. On the contrary, the book contains only practical advice on how to take responsibility for your own future. Read it if you want to create something beautiful on the way to freedom. Is it possible to change everything, live a full life and do only what you like? Can. Can you make money on this? Yes, and here are the stories of people who have succeeded. Is there a way to achieve this? Yes, and he is in front of you. Thanks to him, you will find the long-awaited freedom. About the Author Chris Guilbeaux is a writer, entrepreneur and traveler. Chris works for himself and is involved in a variety of projects, from online publishing to volunteering in West Africa. In his thirties, Chris Guilbeau has traveled to almost all countries of the world - today he has more than 175 of them. Creator of the World Domination Summit, an international community of creative people, Chris helps people find their calling and share experience. He has a special talent for turning ideas into income, which he uses to lead an interesting life and benefit other people. ChrisGuillebeau.com has over 300,000 visitors a month.

Despite the growing role of the Internet, books are still popular. Knigov.ru has combined the achievements of the IT industry and the usual process of reading books. Now it is much more convenient to get acquainted with the works of your favorite authors. We read online and without registration. It is easy to find a book by title, author or keyword. You can read from any electronic device - the weakest internet connection is enough.

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• By opting for online books, you are helping to preserve the environment as traditional books take a lot of paper and resources to make.

 

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