I'm reading a book at the moment that has the potential to change my life. I'm also participating in a Mastermind Group for pro-bloggers and entrepreneurs. At the same time, I'm following a course on ways to make money from a blog business (or should that be "business blog"?)
They're all telling me the same thing; but being a stubborn, creative person, I've been ignoring them and doing my own thing, revelling a bit in the failure and passing it off as a "learning experience".
It turns out there's only so much "learning" I'm willing to put up with, and today the penny dropped.
Stop Procrastinating Now!
Here's an odd statement - all my failures to date have been a result of procrastination. In thinking that I've been incredibly productive and pro-active, all I've been doing is setting balls in motion with no follow-up when they fail to produce immediate results.
What I should have done is thought them through, properly, and only executed the ones with a decent chance of success. But, I've been putting that off in favour of direct action, rather than doing what David Risley (of the Blog Marketing Academy) and the Mastermind Group were saying was the best way forward - planning.
So, action is good, but make it the correct kind of action, and start with your business model.
Find Your Business Model
Some of the questions that you should ask yourself involve imagining that this will be the only thing you'll be doing fro around 20 hours per week, solidly.
You need to find a business model that matches your skills - if you can write, then produce written digital products, if you're skilled at doing deals, then make the emphasis on JVs - and that can pay you enough to make it worthwhile.
Should the business model be a membership site? One on one consultancy? An eBook? Some form of Software as a Service (SaaS) offering a clear solution to an existing problem?
It's up to you. But to get the juices flowing...
Kickstart the Creative Process
I recommend reading the book. Heartily. I'm planning to go through it once at speed, and then again, picking out the stuff I can use immediately. At the same time, the author has put together some truly outstanding resources for anyone to deploy.
Fair warning - to get the most out of them, you do need to buy the book. Fair disclosure : the link is an affiliate link, and I'll earn some pennies towards the next book on my entrepreneurial book wishlist which looks like being the highly acclaimed Re:Work.
But, the templates alone will get you thinking, and launching your $100 start-up business.
In case you hadn't guessed, the book is The $100 Start-Up by Chris Guillemeau. The resources I mentioned can be found on the 100startup.com companion site.
Go get 'em. Both.
