1428: My Advice for Starting a Business by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits on Entrepreneurship

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[00:00:26] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Optimal Work Daily. My advice for starting a small business by Leo Babauta of Zenhabits.net.

[00:00:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Recently, I encouraged my 13-year-old daughter Maya to start a vegan cupcake business,

[00:00:39] [SPEAKER_00]: and it's so exciting to watch her get started. As I talked to her about starting,

[00:00:43] [SPEAKER_00]: she had some worries. For instance, she didn't know how. She didn't know what kind of business

[00:00:48] [SPEAKER_00]: to create, and she was worried that she'd fail. Do any of those sound familiar?

[00:00:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Those were my worries too when I had a day job and thought about building something of my own.

[00:00:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Worry about not knowing what to do, how to do it, and whether you'll fail.

[00:01:02] [SPEAKER_00]: These stopped so many people from starting. Today, I'd like to share the lessons I've learned

[00:01:07] [SPEAKER_00]: about starting a business in hopes of encouraging you to get started making something you love.

[00:01:12] [SPEAKER_00]: 1. Look for Opportunities

[00:01:15] [SPEAKER_00]: This is from my friend Haydn Shah, who will be featured in the Habits of Entrepreneurs series.

[00:01:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Keep your eyes open for opportunities. What pain points do people have?

[00:01:25] [SPEAKER_00]: What problems need to be solved? How can you make people's lives better?

[00:01:30] [SPEAKER_00]: 2. If you can't wait to get started, you're on to something.

[00:01:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Every time I've gotten my best ideas, I get excited.

[00:01:38] [SPEAKER_00]: I tell people about it. I might even stay up at night thinking about it.

[00:01:41] [SPEAKER_00]: I can't sit down for long from the excitement.

[00:01:44] [SPEAKER_00]: 3. Start Small

[00:01:46] [SPEAKER_00]: People try to build their new business into a massive launch, but this is a mistake.

[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Start as small as possible, giving a minimum viable product to a few friends and let them test it out.

[00:01:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Then a few more people. When you try to do something massive at launch,

[00:02:01] [SPEAKER_00]: you make it less likely that you'll actually start and you'll take forever to launch.

[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_00]: And you'll build yourself up for failure and you're building something massive without any idea of whether it works or if people like it.

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Launch is just one moment in the lifespan of a business and it's not even one of the most important moments.

[00:02:19] [SPEAKER_00]: 4. Not Starting Is The Biggest Mistake

[00:02:22] [SPEAKER_00]: I told Maya that the worst case scenario, if the business fails, is not even bad.

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_00]: If she starts the vegan cupcake business and fails,

[00:02:30] [SPEAKER_00]: at least she got to make and eat some delicious cupcakes and share them with friends

[00:02:33] [SPEAKER_00]: and learn some valuable lessons along the way. She can always start something new after that.

[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, this scenario of learning something and having fun along the way, even in failure,

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_00]: is demonstrably better than if she'd not started at all.

[00:02:47] [SPEAKER_00]: 5. Start A Blog

[00:02:49] [SPEAKER_00]: The best way to market a business is by giving away free information.

[00:02:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Show that you're valuable, help people for free, and they'll want more from you.

[00:02:58] [SPEAKER_00]: 6. Don't Do SEO Or Social Media Market Or Viral Marketing

[00:03:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Those don't add any value for your customers.

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_00]: 7. Instead Be Super Valuable

[00:03:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Build something great and word of mouth is all the marketing you need,

[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_00]: including people passing along your best blog posts.

[00:03:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Overdeliver. They'll love you and you won't need to do slimy SEO techniques.

[00:03:21] [SPEAKER_00]: 8. Start Lean

[00:03:22] [SPEAKER_00]: I started my businesses with zero money and just found free or cheap services to start with.

[00:03:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Only after I started making some revenue did I pay for anything or hire anyone.

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Make money as soon as possible by selling something valuable.

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_00]: 9. Advertising Is A Bad Business Model

[00:03:41] [SPEAKER_00]: When you make money from ads, what are you selling? Your audience's attention.

[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_00]: This is horrible and your audience and customers will not love you for it.

[00:03:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Instead, do everything possible to delight your audience and customers

[00:03:55] [SPEAKER_00]: and give them incredible value and they'll gladly pay for it.

[00:03:59] [SPEAKER_00]: 10. Forget About Numbers

[00:04:00] [SPEAKER_00]: More specifically, forget about hitting certain targets.

[00:04:04] [SPEAKER_00]: A million page views, 10,000 subscribers, half a million in revenues.

[00:04:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Those are meaningless and arbitrary.

[00:04:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Instead, worry about how much you're helping your customers.

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_00]: How much value are you giving them? How can you make them smile?

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Try putting some numbers on those things.

[00:04:20] [SPEAKER_00]: 11. The Joy Doesn't Come Later

[00:04:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Lots of times people kill themselves trying to reach a goal or hit an amazing launch.

[00:04:27] [SPEAKER_00]: They hope that achieving this goal will change their lives.

[00:04:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Then, they get there and their lives aren't different.

[00:04:33] [SPEAKER_00]: They move on to the next goal.

[00:04:35] [SPEAKER_00]: The joy doesn't come when you hit the goal or have an amazing launch.

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_00]: The joy comes right now.

[00:04:41] [SPEAKER_00]: This is the moment of greatness, of satisfaction with yourself and what you're doing.

[00:04:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Not later.

[00:04:47] [SPEAKER_00]: 12. Forget Perfection

[00:04:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Too many people get caught up in trying to make a product,

[00:04:52] [SPEAKER_00]: website, blog post, launch, etc.

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Perfect. It'll never be perfect.

[00:04:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Perfection is stopping you from shipping.

[00:05:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Instead, do what you can, get it out there, get feedback, improve it, and repeat.

[00:05:05] [SPEAKER_00]: 13. What's the Business Plan?

[00:05:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Planning, like perfection, is useless and stands in your way.

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Sure, you want to think things through, but planning is based on faulty information

[00:05:16] [SPEAKER_00]: because we can't know the future.

[00:05:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Instead, experiment. Get started. Do.

[00:05:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Then see what happens and adjust.

[00:05:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Flexibility is much more important than a good plan.

[00:05:28] [SPEAKER_00]: 14. Start from home and start with friends

[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_00]: You don't need to have an office for most businesses.

[00:05:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Even a cupcake business doesn't need a shop, at least not at first.

[00:05:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Start with no extra money in your spare time if you have to.

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Let your first customers be your friends and ask them to be brutally honest.

[00:05:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Then let them spread the word to their friends. That's a $0 launch.

[00:05:50] [SPEAKER_00]: 15. Focus on important things

[00:05:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Too often people get caught up in statistics, social media, lots of little tasks that don't matter.

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Instead, get moving on what matters most, producing something that will add value to your customers.

[00:06:05] [SPEAKER_00]: 16. Surround yourself with interesting people

[00:06:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Having friends who are doing fascinating things is inspiring

[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_00]: and they will give you great advice and feedback.

[00:06:14] [SPEAKER_00]: The people around you and their positive and inspiring attitudes matter.

[00:06:19] [SPEAKER_00]: 17. Learn to be okay with not knowing

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_00]: You won't know what will happen with the business.

[00:06:24] [SPEAKER_00]: The world is changing, your business will change.

[00:06:27] [SPEAKER_00]: You will change. You don't know anything really, and that's okay.

[00:06:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Get started my friends. You'll love it.

[00:06:38] [SPEAKER_00]: You just listened to the post titled

[00:06:40] [SPEAKER_00]: My Advice for Starting a Small Business by Leo Babada of Zenhabits.net

[00:06:45] [SPEAKER_00]: This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.

[00:06:48] [SPEAKER_00]: We're all marveled at how quickly kids learn and that sense of wonder meant they have while doing it.

[00:06:53] [SPEAKER_00]: But as adults, sometimes we lose that curiosity.

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[00:06:59] [SPEAKER_00]: know that therapy can help you reconnect with your sense of wonder.

[00:07:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Because your back to school era can come at any age.

[00:07:06] [SPEAKER_00]: And make no mistake, therapy is for everyone.

[00:07:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Whether or not you've been through significant trauma,

[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_00]: therapy can be a great tool for setting boundaries, learning new skills

[00:07:15] [SPEAKER_00]: and ultimately becoming the best version of yourself.

[00:07:18] [SPEAKER_00]: If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try.

[00:07:21] [SPEAKER_00]: It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible and suited to your schedule.

[00:07:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist

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[00:07:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Rediscover your curiosity with BetterHelp.

[00:07:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Visit betterhelp.com slash workdaily today to get 10% off your first month.

[00:07:41] [SPEAKER_00]: That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash workdaily.

[00:07:47] [SPEAKER_00]: And a little bit about our author today, Leo.

[00:07:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Leo Babada of Zen Habits is another author that we hear from on our other podcast

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_00]: because he blogs a lot about personal development and health as well as even finance.

[00:07:59] [SPEAKER_00]: So he's been read on pretty much all of our shows,

[00:08:01] [SPEAKER_00]: but he's an entrepreneur too so we're going to be hearing some more of his stuff on this show.

[00:08:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Leo's a pretty regular guy but has become an expert in changing habits

[00:08:09] [SPEAKER_00]: by making small incremental changes since 2005.

[00:08:13] [SPEAKER_00]: He's originally from Guam, an overweight smoker

[00:08:16] [SPEAKER_00]: who is barely making enough money to support his big family.

[00:08:19] [SPEAKER_00]: He's got six kids and he turned all of that around,

[00:08:22] [SPEAKER_00]: blogging about it throughout the process.

[00:08:25] [SPEAKER_00]: He now lives in San Francisco, is quite comfortable

[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_00]: and in charge of how and when he works.

[00:08:30] [SPEAKER_00]: It's a great story and you can check it out at zenhabits.net.

[00:08:34] [SPEAKER_00]: That's zenhabits.net.

[00:08:36] [SPEAKER_00]: But I think that is going to do it for me today.

[00:08:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much for being a subscriber to the show.

[00:08:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Hope you're enjoying our content.

[00:08:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Have a great rest of your day and I'll see you back here tomorrow

[00:08:45] [SPEAKER_00]: where your optimal life awaits.