How to Start a Business Built for Success: A Shockingly Simple Formula
The toughest thing about starting a business is… well, starting the business.
It's so easy to get locked in prep mode, not wanting to begin until you can be 100% certain of the outcome. If you're like a lot of would-be entrepreneurs, you might be waiting until you know you're prepared for every eventuality, until you feel like a full-fledged expert.
The only problem?
All of this is impossible.
While you should create a business plan and form a clear vision and strategy for your new business, you also have to accept one undeniable truth:
You will never be able to predict the future. And you will never truly be "ready."
If you spend any time watching interviews or reading articles about highly successful entrepreneurs, you have probably already noticed that no one ever says, “I was absolutely certain we’d make $2 million in our first year, and we did!”
They say, “We thought that first idea was brilliant, but it never caught on.” Or “I was just excited about the mission; I had no idea it would redefine an entire industry.”
As an entrepreneur, your job is not to build a fail-proof business. It is to observe, adapt, and grow. Your job is to be open to feedback and failure, eager to chase progress and innovation.
Your job is to stop overthinking and get back to basics.
Want to know how to start a business that has a real chance at success? Start with a very simple formula.
First: What Do You Love?
Where does your passion lie? What change would you like to see in the world? What mission will you still care about a year from now, five years from now, twenty years from now?
What single goal will keep you motivated when it would be so much easier to quit… to settle for “good enough?”
So few business owners really take the time to think about this. They expect that the dream of prosperity will be enough to motivate them over the long term. But it’s never enough. It’s not enough to push you through those exhausting early years and it won’t be enough to help you stand out in your field.
Take Elon Musk for example. When we think of Elon Musk, we definitely think of money… and all the freedom money can buy. But money was not the driving force behind Tesla. Musk’s goal in creating Tesla was to push the industry towards sustainability.
He wanted to create a product that would force the kind of innovation our planet desperately needs. With that deeply meaningful, non-monetary goal in mind, he not only succeeded in his push for progress; he also led his company to become the name in clean energy and electric cars. The financial rewards followed because he didn't chase them.
Begin with what you love. It’s not selfish. It’s not frivolous. It’s smart.
Second: How Are You Going to Add Value?
Another big mistake new business owners make:
They focus on what they can gain from their business.
Makes sense, right? After all, most entrepreneurs become entrepreneurs because they want something for themselves or their families. They have financial and lifestyle goals. And as all driven people know, if you want something, you have to focus on it.
Here’s the issue. Your customers do not care about your financial and lifestyle goals.
They care if you can improve the quality of their lives.
If you want to know how to start a business that will succeed in your industry, start by finding the intersection of your passion and your buyer’s unmet needs.
Get to know your industry inside and out. Get to know your customer. Figure out how you’re going to add value.
Start your business with a strong focus on the value proposition that truly sets your company apart.
Then repeat the process over and over as you grow your business. Look for more unmet needs. Find opportunities to innovate, making your services better, faster, and more affordable for your clients.
In short, follow this extremely simple formula:
Focus your passion on the good of others.
It sounds warm and fuzzy, but it’s also how you get the things you want for yourself.
So stop overthinking. Take a step back. Simplify.
And finally get out of the truck.
Further Resources on This Topic
Free Video Course: Personal Development for Business Success
Free Ebook: Career-Defining Goals: Strategies for Setting Better Objectives and Achieving More
Free Tool: Business Plan Wizard
Book: Get Out of the Truck: Build the Business You Always Dreamed About