SMALL BUSINESS WEEK: 5 TIPS TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS

You might have an idea for a business, but starting is often the hardest part. In 2021, a study found that about 61% of Americans had an idea for starting a business, and about 34% had more than one idea. However, 92% of those people never followed through with turning their idea into a reality.

We spoke with online business and marketing expert Amy Porterfield, who has helped over 400,000 entrepreneurs start their own businesses through her digital courses and has inspired millions through her popular podcast Online Marketing Made Easy (over 37M downloads).

During Small Business Week, revealed her Top 5 Things To Do When Starting Your Business. See it for yourself!

Step #1– Establish Your Idea & Who You Serve First, take 30 minutes to brainstorm without judging yourself. Go grab a pen and paper and write whatever comes to mind when I ask you: ‘what would you do if you were brave?”. Then narrow it down to your top three choices. Then define your Niche and Ideal Customer by asking “what is the one thing that people always ask me for advice on?”. Once you’ve chosen your niche, it’s time to get clear and what it’s going to mean for your potential customers.
Step #2 – Create Weekly Content To Attract Your Customers, Attach a Lead Magnet To Your Free Content & Build Your Email List: If you’re serious about starting a business, you’re going to have to get serious about content creation and list building as well. The energy and the revenue in my business is 100% tied to the strength and size of my email list. And I build my email list by producing weekly content that I put out online for free on topics I know my idea customer is interested in, then attaching a lead magnet to that content so I can capture their email addresses.
Step 3: Test & Track Your Data: Once you start putting out weekly content, you need to pay attention to what your audience wants more of. If you’re not a data or numbers person, invest in hiring help. Even having a virtual assistant who has a specialization in data and tracking can help can be a game-changer. You cannot operate your business from a place of guessing what your community and customers want.
Step 4: Find A Mentor. I am a firm believer in studying and learning from mentors who have gone before you and have succeeded and created a life and business similar to the one you dream of creating. Write a list of all the people who you believe are your mentors and all the people you admire. Decide who on the list has succeeded at creating a life and a business that you would like to create. Start eliminating names, so you are left with only a few people who truly align with your business desires and goals.
Step 5: Set The Right Mindset & Habits & Boundaries: To build a successful business you need to Avoid Shiny Object Syndrom and focus on the RIGHT things in your business. Here are some questions I ask to ensure that I am always in focus with the projects that will move my business forward. Whenever a new business idea or opportunity pops up, I ask myself :

Mindset: Am I in the right frame of mind to focus and really get things done? Am I ready to “buckle down” at any cost?
Decisions: Do I know what’s important and urgent? Am I making thoughtful decisions for my business, or am I being reactive?
Priorities: Am I focused on the 4-5 areas that are truly meaningful for my online business?
Bandwidth: Do you have the bandwidth to manage this project