Table Of Content

START YOUR BUSINESS NOW! “The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.” —OPRAH WINFREY START YOUR BUSINESS NOW! | 1 12 TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 CONGRATULATIONS...YOU’RE AN 20 THE BORING STUFF: HOW TO GET 34 SUCCESS PATH #2: ENTREPRENEUR! A COMPANY OFF THE GROUND LEVERAGE YOUR IDEAS Being an entrepreneur isn’t all money and 36 CREATE YOUR OWN BOARD GAME 6 SUCCESS PATH #1: glamour: These steps build the stable Stake your claim in the board game business LEVERAGE YOUR TALENTS foundation you need for a business that by understanding the nuances of producing, 8 START YOUR OWN ETSY SHOP can go the distance. marketing, and distributing your game. You Tally up sales from the comfort of home 22 START A DOGWALKING SERVICE could win big! while you create, market, and sell original If you’re good with animals and love being 40 WRITE A KILLER SCREENPLAY or vintage products as a personal online outside, you can turn your puppy passion into Time to get that movie out of your notepad store owner. a successful business. and onto the big screen. Here’s how to build 12 LAUNCH A TASTY FOOD TRUCK 26 START A COOL COFFEE SHOP your idea into a blockbuster screenplay—and Got the business sense to back up your Keep customers buzzing—and the revenue give it a shot at getting made. culinary chops? Prepare to put your meals fl owing—with a solid plan for a cool coff ee 44 MASS-PRODUCE YOUR PRODUCT on wheels, and turn mouthwatering shop that wakes up the neighborhood. Whatever it is you want to sell—a T-shirt line, inspiration into reality. 30 BECOME AN INTERIOR DESIGNER a winning spaghetti sauce—we’ve got a path 16 BECOME A STANDUP COMEDIAN Got a love for re-creating spaces? Turn it into a to help you get it into the hands of customers. Set the stage for fame in the funny business high-demand business by combining your 48 THE BORING STUFF: FINDING with our strategic guide to honing your craft 3creative eye wi6th a reputation-building plan. THE MONEY so you can keep them rolling in the aisles. Here are the best resources available to help small business owners secure the funds they need...and identify pitfalls to avoid. 20 44 2 | START YOUR BUSINESS NOW! 72 22 50 L AUNCH A SUCCESSFUL APP 68 G ET PAID TO CONSULT 82 B ECOME A SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER Put your brilliant idea onto mobile devices in Leverage your industry experience, hard- Build your personal brand, promote yourself, pockets around the world. Here’s how to get earned insights, and general trustworthiness attract a loyal following, and win lucrative your app funded, published, and noticed. to help client companies succeed. endorsements as a successful online influencer. 54 I NVENT SOMETHING AMAZING 72 O PEN A YOGA STUDIO 86 FLIP HOUSES Got a great idea for something that Get certified for your craft, create a calming Buy low, build smart, and sell high by learning doesn’t quite exist yet? Take the steps space, and utilize the right business principles the tricks of the real-estate trade, and build a necessary to develop, market, and bring to create a prosperous and peaceful personal house-flipping business from the ground up. your invention to life. services practice. 90 THE BORING STUFF: PROMOTING 58 O PEN A RETAIL STORE 76 T HE BORING STUFF: MAKING A YOUR BUSINESS Design a store that’s the talk of the town, FIVE-YEAR PLAN Make sure potential clients and customers with strategies to maximize foot traffic, Analyzing the costs, projections, and can find you, recognize your merits, and pay strengthen sales, and keep customers challenges of your business can help you get you for your talents. Here’s how to make coming back for more. funding...and deepen your understanding of the magic of marketing and promotion the task ahead of you. work for you. 62 S UCCESS PATH #3: 78 BECOME A TALENT MANAGER LEVERAGE YOUR EXPERIENCE Follow our script and you too can become 92 S EIZE THIS MOMENT 64 B E A GUITAR HERO successful at the art of discovering future stars 86 Put music in the air—and money in the bank— or promoting talented performers. 95 MASTHEAD AND CREDITS with a fine-tuned plan to transform your hobby into a lucrative professional enterprise. 48 START YOUR BUSINESS NOW! | 3 INTRO Congratulations... You’re an Entrepreneur! 4 | START YOUR BUSINESS NOW! If you’ve got a great idea, the skill to back it up, and a willingness to work hard, you might just have what it takes to grow a prosperous business from the ground up. “I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.” —ESTÉE LAUDER L et the countdown begin, future business owner! You’re about to turn your dreams into reality and inspire people along the way. Who knows? Maybe you’ll even change the world. Starting your own business is exciting and rewarding and exhausting and challenging, and a whole lot more, all at once. Our blueprint for building your business is designed to help entrepreneurs understand the opportunities, risks, legalities, and hard work and decisions that lie ahead, to help you get the doors open faster. In this comprehensive guide you’ll find the best resources and expert advice from the business world to help you plan for the smoothest and most successful journey possible, no matter your level of experience. Every minute of every day, someone dreams of creating something new: a better mousetrap, a network TV show, a specialty shop. And these ideas have other ideas embedded within them, like creating a positive work culture, building a happy, productive team, and improving an industry. To be your own boss is the great American dream—and there’s no time like the present. So cultivate your ideas, believe in your abilities, and let’s shake things up. Because you can. You’ll make some mistakes, you’ll absorb some changes, and you’ll work your tail off. But you’ll never, ever, ever regret investing in yourself. (cid:81) START YOUR BUSINESS NOW! | 5 : Success Path NO1 LEVERAGE YOUR TALENTS Ready to start your own business? Focus on what you’re good at, but remember: skills and talents alone aren’t enough. There are a few other important factors to consider. Here’s a simple, effective tool for identifying your sweet spot based on a Japanese concept called ikigai (‘eye-ka-guy’). Start by drawing four overlapping circles, just like you see in the image on this page. Each circle represents an element in your success matrix. (cid:79) THE CIRCLE ON THE LEFT IS WHAT YOU’RE GOOD AT. Identify your skills, talents, and all your unique abilities, whether you were born with them or mastered them over time. (cid:79)(cid:3)THE TOP CIRCLE IS WHAT YOU LOVE. WHAT Consider the things you’re passionate about. What brings you joy and motivates you to get out YOU’RE of bed in the morning? GOOD AT (cid:79) THE CIRCLE ON THE RIGHT IS WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS. What would people love but doesn’t exist yet? Pinpoint the market for your idea or the need for your product. (cid:79) THE BOTTOM CIRCLE IS WHAT MAKES MONEY. Take inventory of what products or services you could off er that people would actually pay for—otherwise, your idea is just a hobby. (cid:79) THE CENTER, WHERE THOSE FOUR CIRCLES OVERLAP, IS YOUR IKIGAI: This is the all-important focal point where your passions and talents merge with what the world needs and will pay for. That’s your business. Starting here improves your odds of launching a successful business in multiple ways. It helps you put your fi nger on a viable idea that will make you money while also making you happy. You can always expand your ikigai by improving your skills and talents through education, training, mentoring, and—best of all—real-life experience. So let’s get started!(cid:3)(cid:81) 6 | START YOUR BUSINESS NOW! WHAT YOU LOVE WHAT THE I K I G A I WORLD NEEDS WHAT MAKES MONEY START YOUR BUSINESS NOW! | 7 LEVERAGE YOUR TALENTS Start Your Own Etsy Shop O ne thing we learned during the pandemic is that the internet is always open for business. That’s why an online marketplace like Etsy is so important for creators. It’s one of the top destinations for buying and selling anything handmade, vintage, and/or personalized—a global platform for artisans and entrepreneurs. Etsy provides plenty of user-friendly resources to help people like you launch their own shops effortlessly. 8 | START YOUR BUSINESS NOW!