If I Started a New Business Today, I Would Do This First

What would I do if I started my online business today? I would not build a website first. I would not start on social media. I would do these 4 things.

1. Get clear on the problem I want to solve

The problem needs to pass 4 tests:

• I love solving it
• I am good at it (I do not need a certificate, but I need to be good at it)
• People need it and are looking for it
• Someone is willing to pay for it

Without the last one there is no business. Then it is an expensive hobby.

I call this big problem the umbrella. Under the umbrella sit lots of smaller problems. Each one can become a freebie, a paid workshop, an online course or a program.

When I recorded this video my umbrella was: I help women start and scale their online business from zero to 7 figures. It took me years to get to that line.

2. Describe one ideal client

Now I write down, in detail, who has this problem. For whom is it urgent, annoying and frustrating? Those are the people most likely to pay.

Your ideal client is one person. Give her a name. Anna is 44, married to Tom, and they have 2 kids aged 3 and 5.

Ideally she is real. She can be you a few years ago, if you are solving a problem you once had. She can be a client you love working with. I usually combine several real people into one.

I write 2 pages in a Google Doc, font size 11. Where I do not know something, I make it up.

3. Check the idea with a survey

Before a website, social media or an email list, I check 2 things:

• Is the problem I want to solve a real problem?
• Does my ideal client exist?

I create a survey and ask friends, family and anyone I know to share it. I aim for 10 to 50 answers in a few days.

Then I open the answers in Google Sheets. First I remove people who are not my ideal client. Then I look for patterns. What do they want help with? Is it what I want to help with?

In about half the cases the survey confirms what you already knew. In the other half it shows you are on the wrong path. It is much better to learn that from a survey than after you built a website.

4. Run a free 4-week online course

I invite everyone who filled out the survey to a free 4-week online course, and I promote it to anyone who wants to join. The sign-up page says clearly who it is for, so the right people join.

The course solves one small problem under my umbrella. I pick the one the survey shows is most pressing.

In those 4 weeks I find out if I enjoy teaching it and if my students get the results I hoped for. At the end I make them an offer. That is where the first sales come from.

This is how I would kick off an online business today. I explain every step in my book, Kickstart Your Online Business.