Creating a business doesn’t have to be complicated. If you are worried about all the legal stuff that lawyers like to come up with to scare you and tax issues you have to deal with, why not leave it to the people who get paid to do that? Successful business ideas don’t start with all the legal stuff in the beginning, they all start with an idea. You then take that idea and see if anyone will buy what you are selling. If you find that people are willing to buy from you then you have a viable business on your hands.
Simple Steps to Starting a Business Today
Step 1. Come up with an idea that you think people need or will solve a problem.
Josh Malone found a problem with water balloons. He saw that it took a long time to fill up water balloons and then tie them and then throw them. So he came up with a system that allowed you to fill up 37 water balloons in just a few seconds. Not only did they fill up but they also tied themselves so kids could start throwing them at each other right away. His kickstarter campaign showed that even though this is not a pressing issue, the time of the year to launch his product (summer in America) was the perfect timing for raising money. His initial goal was $10k but as of this writing, he has already reached $315,889 dollars. You can watch just what his program is all about in the video below.
Step 2. Build a Prototype or example to show people the purpose of your business
This is the hard part for most people. They have an idea but putting in the hard work to make it all happen is where you go from the dreamers to doers. Ask how many people around you have ideas for their business and you will get a lot of well-wishers who say, “someday I want to start my own business.” There are many people who have taken the first step in showing their hard work and it has paid off for them. People need to see that you are serious about your idea and if you show the first step then they will meet you part or half way.
Kleo’s Doughnuts is a good example of that
Xiki Commands created many videos to show their work in progress
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/xiki/xiki-the-command-revolution?ref=discovery
Step 3. When asking for Money have a laid out plan to show what you plan to do with it.
A lot of people have trouble with this part because they have never had to manage money before in a way that goes towards building a business. This is why investors of any kind expect entrepreneurs to write a business plan so they know more about their business and what they will do with the money once it is given to them. The more detailed a business plan the more helpful it is to understand what you plan to do once you get funded. These are a few examples that demonstrate their effort.
Moment smartwatch is a wrist watch that allows you to type on the band and send information just like the screen on a smartphone. Their kickstarter campaign details what the product is about, their fund raising goals, and where they plan to go with it. All that detailed explanation paid off because they were able to go past their goal of $100k and hit $447,900.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1977264838/moment-smartwatch-worlds-first-wrap-around-smart-w?ref=discovery
Another campaign that passed its goal was to distribute money in random places to random people. The idea is connected to a series program that teaches about Art and Action and it’s relation to a variety of studies. His story and explanation for how he planned to use the money told investors the why and what and how they needed to know. He went past his goal of $1k hitting $1150 instead.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/axleart/distribution?ref=discovery
This guy came up with an idea for doing something he loves and sharing it with everyone else. If someone can raise money for a suit for an interview or bake a cake for their girlfriend then he figured he could mail people pancakes that he made. Not a silly idea since he was able to go past his fund raising goal.
Step 4. After you have received funds then you must show action
The prototype and examples you gave with your presentation are just the beginning parts of starting a business. Now the hard part begins with organizing everything, ordering supplies, and meeting deadlines. This is where idea becomes reality. It is one thing to create something for yourself but when other people depend on you to give them what they want that is when you have more responsibilities to deal with.
Justin Herd experienced his moment when he had trouble as a college student trying to eat his meals with out creating a lot of dishes in the process. He wanted something that he could use one time to do many things in. He created a bowl that you can cook in, strain, eat, and store food in. He idea took a long time to perfect and along the way he has been racking in the cash but his bigger moment came when he went passed his goal on kickstarter.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1988391132/cook-strain-eat-and-store-your-food-all-in-onebowl?ref=discovery
Step 5. Give the People what they want when they want it.
Now that you have laid out your plan, shown people what you can do and when they can get it, the next hard part is making sure they can get it anytime they want it. If barriers are up that make it difficult for them to get your product then it just encourages them to find competitors that sell similar products or services.
You never want to add more hassle to the shopping experience then there already is. You have to learn how to streamline your whole operation so that when orders come in they are met right away with action so they are sent out right away. Zappos company prides themselves on giving their customers little surprises when they order something from them. This could be in the form of replacing shoes without any problems or free next day delivery without them knowing about it.
You can also build on an idea and just improve it so that people already understand how to take advantage of it when they need it faster.
The free book lending library has become very popular with crowdfunding programs because it builds on an existing idea and just improves it a little bit.
Little Free Library in Brooks School Park
Little Free Library in Albany, NY
Little Free Library in Woolich, London
The great thing about the Little Free Library program is that they all met their goals.
After you have established yourself as a business that has customers and you have repeat business then you can move onto the legal stuff and tax stuff. You can hire out lawyers and accountants who can then manage your finances for your growing business. This way you can focus on the day-to-day operations and hiring new employees. This whole process has been shorten because of the ability to raise money faster online making it easier to start your business faster.
The most important thing to be aware of when starting any business is to know your strengths and weaknesses. If you have a hard time meeting deadlines then hire someone that can finish projects once you start them. After you have drawn out every part of your business so you can visually see how your business operates then you can start learning how to improve every part. It takes time but don’t expect to be up and running right away.
As for the dreamers of the business world the only expression you will hear from them when looking at successful crowdfunding campaigns is “that’s such a simple idea I could have come up with that.” Yea but you didn’t.
The Life of An Entrepreneur 