How to Actually Start Your Own Business (No-Bs Guide) — Transcript

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1. 0:00Starting a business can seem
2. 0:01complicated. You might have a thousand
3. 0:03ideas but no clue where to begin. Or
4. 0:06maybe you worry about making the wrong
5. 0:08move. I've been there, too. And what
6. 0:10I've learned is that you don't need
7. 0:11millions in the bank to start your own
8. 0:13business. What you need is a clear
9. 0:15blueprint to follow that saves you from
10. 0:18wasting time and money. What I'll show
11. 0:20you today can truly increase your
12. 0:22chances of success and avoid all the
13. 0:24common mistakes most beginners make. So,
14. 0:27let's not waste any time and get
15. 0:28started. Part one, which business to
16. 0:31start. Figuring out which business to
17. 0:33start doesn't have to be overwhelming.
18. 0:35You don't need to invent something
19. 0:36completely new. There are already
20. 0:38thousands of business models out there
21. 0:40that work, and you can adapt them to
22. 0:42your needs. The risk, however, is
23. 0:44getting lost in too many options and
24. 0:46never actually starting. To avoid that,
25. 0:48it's smart to focus on four key
26. 0:50variables that will guide you in making
27. 0:52smart decisions. The first variable is
28. 0:54the initial cost. Every business
29. 0:56requires a minimum investment to get
30. 0:58started. Figure out how much you really
31. 1:01need to start, whether it's for
32. 1:02equipment, materials, or licenses.
33. 1:05Knowing exactly how much you need
34. 1:07upfront helps you avoid unpleasant
35. 1:09surprises and set a clear plan from day
36. 1:11one. If you're starting with a tight
37. 1:13budget, online businesses are often the
38. 1:15best choice because they usually require
39. 1:17much lower startup costs compared to a
40. 1:20physical location. The second variable
41. 1:22is the required skills. Some businesses
42. 1:24demand years of experience while others
43. 1:27only need basic skills that you can
44. 1:28learn quickly or delegate. Ask yourself,
45. 1:31do I already have these skills? Can I
46. 1:33learn them fast? Or can I hire someone
47. 1:35who has them? For instance, if you know
48. 1:37how to build websites, you can offer
49. 1:39that skill to people who need a site
50. 1:41that's ready to go. Generally, the
51. 1:43simpler the business, the easier it is
52. 1:45to get started. The third variable is
53. 1:47scalability. how easily your business
54. 1:49can grow without dramatically increasing
55. 1:51costs or the time you spend on each new
56. 1:54customer. For example, if you sell
57. 1:56software, once it's created, you can
58. 1:58sell it to thousands of people without
59. 2:00starting over each time. On the other
60. 2:02hand, if you offer one-on-one
61. 2:04consulting, you can only handle so many
62. 2:06clients at once, and each new client
63. 2:09takes more of your time, so growth is
64. 2:11limited by the hours you can work. The
65. 2:13last variable is the time to get
66. 2:15started. How quickly you can start your
67. 2:17business is crucial for testing your
68. 2:19idea in the market. If a business can
69. 2:21launch in a few weeks, you can
70. 2:23immediately gather real data and check
71. 2:25market demand. Projects that take months
72. 2:27to develop can slow down decision-making
73. 2:30and increase costs before you see
74. 2:32concrete results. That's why, especially
75. 2:34at the beginning, it's wise to pick a
76. 2:36model that can be operational within
77. 2:38about a month. Part two, determining the
78. 2:41break even point. When you start a
79. 2:43business, one of the first things to
80. 2:45figure out is how much money you need
81. 2:47before you start making a profit. This
82. 2:49is your break even point. It's the
83. 2:51moment when the money coming in covers
84. 2:53all your expenses. And from that point
85. 2:55on, every sale is pure profit.
86. 2:58Calculating it is pretty simple. Take
87. 3:00all your fixed costs and divide them by
88. 3:03the difference between the average price
89. 3:05of your product and your variable costs.
90. 3:07This tells you the total sales revenue
91. 3:10you need to generate to cover all your
92. 3:12costs. Knowing your break even point
93. 3:14also helps you see if your product or
94. 3:16service price is sustainable or if you
95. 3:18need to cut costs to make your business
96. 3:20profitable. Part three, problem and
97. 3:22value proposition. To build a successful
98. 3:24business, it's crucial to start with two
99. 3:27key concepts. The customer's problem and
100. 3:29your value proposition. The problem
101. 3:31represents the real need your customer
102. 3:33is experiencing. Understanding this
103. 3:35problem means identifying why someone
104. 3:38would pay for your solution. But how do
105. 3:40you find a real problem? There are
106. 3:42several ways like observe people's daily
107. 3:44behaviors, listen to recurring
108. 3:46complaints, or analyze online reviews of
109. 3:49existing products or services. Sometimes
110. 3:52there isn't just one problem to solve,
111. 3:54but multiple needs that intersect,
112. 3:56making your idea even stronger. For
113. 3:59example, the founders of Airbnb realized
114. 4:01that during events in San Francisco,
115. 4:04hotels became too expensive or even
116. 4:07fully booked. At the same time, many
117. 4:09people had unused apartments. So, the
118. 4:12problem was twofold. Travelers had no
119. 4:14affordable options and homeowners had
120. 4:17empty spaces generating no value. From
121. 4:19this insight, they created a business
122. 4:22that offered travelers affordable
123. 4:24accommodations while allowing owners to
124. 4:26earn money by renting out rooms. This
125. 4:28simple insight turned a widespread
126. 4:30inconvenience into a billiondoll
127. 4:32opportunity. The value proposition, on
128. 4:35the other hand, is the concrete answer
129. 4:37your business offers to solve that
130. 4:39problem, highlighting the main benefits
131. 4:41and what sets you apart from
132. 4:43competitors. Imagine the problem is that
133. 4:45busy urban professionals don't have time
134. 4:48to drop off their laundry and worry
135. 4:50about it getting damaged. A potential
136. 4:52business idea could be to pick up and
137. 4:54deliver cleaned clothes directly to
138. 4:56their homes. The value proposition could
139. 4:58be we pick up and deliver your clothes
140. 5:00straight to your door, guaranteeing
141. 5:02premium cleaning and total care. So, if
142. 5:05we were to summarize the exact path, it
143. 5:07would be identify a problem, offer a
144. 5:10solution, and develop a unique selling
145. 5:12proposition. Part four, business plan.
146. 5:14It's always a good idea to create a
147. 5:16business plan before starting a
148. 5:18business, even if you're not writing it
149. 5:20professionally to seek investors. The
150. 5:22important thing is that it helps you
151. 5:24organize your ideas and understand right
152. 5:27away how your business will work. In
153. 5:30general, a solid business plan helps you
154. 5:32clarify three fundamental things. Where
155. 5:34you want to go, how you will get there,
156. 5:36and what resources you need to do so. To
157. 5:39make it practical, you can divide it
158. 5:40into a few key sections. Market research
159. 5:43to understand who your competitors are,
160. 5:46who your ideal customers are, what
161. 5:48problems they face, and most
162. 5:49importantly, how much it costs to
163. 5:51acquire them. Product or service
164. 5:53description. Explain clearly what you
165. 5:55offer, why it's different, and what
166. 5:57problem it solves. the operational plan
167. 5:59which defines the practical processes,
168. 6:01suppliers, logistics, tools, work
169. 6:04organization, and the marketing plan in
170. 6:06which you outline how you'll make your
171. 6:08offer known and convert leads into
172. 6:10paying customers. This way, your
173. 6:12business plan becomes a practical tool
174. 6:14that helps you make informed decisions
175. 6:16right from the start. Part five, product
176. 6:19market fit. According to statistics, 50%
177. 6:22of businesses fail within the first 5
178. 6:24years. And the number one reason is a
179. 6:26lack of product market fit. Product
180. 6:29market fit measures how well your
181. 6:31product truly meets people's needs. And
182. 6:33understanding whether it exists can make
183. 6:35all the difference between your business
184. 6:37succeeding or failing. So how do you
185. 6:40actually achieve product market fit? The
186. 6:42first step is testing small before going
187. 6:44big. Before bringing your final product
188. 6:46to market, launch a minimum viable
189. 6:49product, a simplified version that lets
190. 6:51you see how people react. Step two, be
191. 6:54ready to adapt quickly. Sometimes you
192. 6:56start with a product idea that seems
193. 6:58perfect to you, but it doesn't resonate
194. 7:00with your target customer or they want a
195. 7:02slightly different version. Often a
196. 7:04small tweak in price, design, or
197. 7:06delivery can make all the difference.
198. 7:08The third step is to talk directly with
199. 7:11your target customers. Ask for feedback,
200. 7:13study their behavior, and pay attention
201. 7:15not only to what they say, but also to
202. 7:18what they do. If they're not buying,
203. 7:20there's a reason. A practical way to see
204. 7:22if your product really fits the market
205. 7:23is to use the Shaun Ellis method. This
206. 7:26involves sending a survey to your
207. 7:28customers asking exactly, "If product X
208. 7:31were to shut down tomorrow, how
209. 7:32disappointed would you be?" Then propose
210. 7:34the following answers. If at least 40%
211. 7:37of respondents say they would be
212. 7:39extremely disappointed, it means your
213. 7:41product has found the right product
214. 7:43market fit. If the percentage is lower,
215. 7:45your product still doesn't fully meet
216. 7:47the needs of your target market. Part
217. 7:49six, managing your business finances.
218. 7:52The second reason startups fail is poor
219. 7:54money and cash flow management. Even the
220. 7:57best product or the most brilliant idea
221. 7:59can fail if money isn't handled
222. 8:01properly. So, let's see how to
223. 8:03effectively manage your business
224. 8:04finances. Step one, separate personal
225. 8:07and business finances. When you start
226. 8:09your business, open a dedicated business
227. 8:11account right away. Never mix personal
228. 8:14and business expenses. It creates
229. 8:16confusion and tax problems. From your
230. 8:18business account, pay for all business
231. 8:20expenses and transfer a fixed salary to
232. 8:23your personal account. The golden rule
233. 8:25that can make the difference in your
234. 8:27business's success is to reinvest
235. 8:29profits into growth before upgrading
236. 8:31your lifestyle. In other words, first
237. 8:33build a business that generates income,
238. 8:36then buy the Lambo. Step two, plan your
239. 8:38budget. Set a clear initial budget. How
240. 8:41much you invest, how you invest it, what
241. 8:43you invest in, and when. Then divide
242. 8:45expenses into three categories.
243. 8:47Essential like products and website,
244. 8:49operational and extra. Step three,
245. 8:52monitor regularly. Each month, prepare a
246. 8:54mini income statement, revenue, costs,
247. 8:57profit, and track daily cash inflows and
248. 8:59outflows. I recommend using simple tools
249. 9:02like Excel to speed up data review and
250. 9:04adjust your course quickly. Step four,
251. 9:06manage cash flow. This is the most
252. 9:09important point. Cash flow is the
253. 9:11lifeblood of your business. It's the
254. 9:13flow of money in and out of your
255. 9:15company. Most businesses don't fail
256. 9:17because they aren't profitable, but
257. 9:18because they run out of cash to pay
258. 9:20salaries, suppliers, and taxes. If you
259. 9:23invoice $20,000, but your clients pay in
260. 9:2690 days, and meanwhile, you need to pay
261. 9:29$10,000 to suppliers immediately. You're
262. 9:31in a cash crunch, even if you're
263. 9:33technically $10,000 in profit. A simple
264. 9:36way to calculate it is to add your
265. 9:38starting cash to expected revenue. Then
266. 9:40subtract fixed costs, variable costs,
267. 9:42and taxes due. Let's say an e-commerce
268. 9:45business starts the month with $2,000 in
269. 9:48initial cash and expects $8,000 in
270. 9:51online sales. It has $1,500
271. 9:55in fixed cost, $3,000 in variable cost,
272. 9:58and $1,000 to set aside for taxes and
273. 10:02contributions. Applying this formula,
274. 10:04the business would have $4,500
275. 10:07in available cash at the end of the
276. 10:10month. To avoid running out of cash,
277. 10:12don't tie up too much money in inventory
278. 10:14or non- immediately productive
279. 10:15investments and maintain a cash buffer
280. 10:18covering 3 to 6 months of operating
281. 10:20expenses. Part seven, marketing and
282. 10:23sales. Marketing is the heart of your
283. 10:25business. You could say it makes up a
284. 10:27good share of a company's success. And
285. 10:29when it comes to online businesses, that
286. 10:32percentage grows even more because with
287. 10:34so many people online and no physical
288. 10:36presence, marketing is the only way to
289. 10:39get noticed. The truth is simple. An
290. 10:41excellent product with poor marketing
291. 10:43will always perform worse than a
292. 10:45mediocre product promoted the right way.
293. 10:47I won't go into too much detail on this
294. 10:49step because I've made a full video
295. 10:51where I show you exactly how to level up
296. 10:53your marketing skills. Let me know in
297. 10:55the comments what business you're
298. 10:57working on or thinking of starting.