Comments on: Starting Your Own Business: The Step-By-Step Guide

By: Tweet Mass

Tweet Mass — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:42:05 +0000

very nice and informative post,
I know Erica is a good online entrepreneur and she knows where to start and how to grow your online business , it is a worth post.

By: Arturo F Munoz

Arturo F Munoz — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:22:20 +0000

Josh, I don’t disagree that too many people are impractical when they place passion above finding customers when starting their own business. But far more people simply don’t start a business at all, to say little of starting them for just the sake of money.

A business is a long-term project. To start one just for the love of money with no greater purpose than that or personal passion outside of a focus on customer demands is to flirt with a short-term disaster.

By: Rodrigo

Rodrigo — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:49:31 +0000

I have one question, I plan on monetizing my webpage and blog. Should I create a company to do this or can I do this as an individual and then pass it on to my future company down the road?

All points of view, pros and cons are welcome

By: Julia

Julia — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 04:32:49 +0000

The question here seems to be whether one should build a business from one’s passion or by looking at satisfying a customer’s need. But let me ask you this. Is not the reason that we all want to build a business to give our life pleasure? If one follows one’s passion, obviously one does what one enjoys. But isn’t it the same if one looks at existing needs? Our main focus is still to find pleasure for ourselves, simply this time instead of passion it might be money or personal freedom that one seeks. Hence, whether one builds a successful business by following ones passion or by building on an existing need really does not matter. In the end, it is about finding a way to improve our own lifes.

By: Elias

Elias — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 17:53:51 +0000

Thank you Erica. I really like your point of view. In order to succeed, we need to love what we do, not necessarily the other way around. So let´s be passionate about whatever we do putting our clients first.

Regards,

By: Nigel Chua

Nigel Chua — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:44:56 +0000

Actually, you can also take a look at Google Trends as well as hot buys on Amazon and eBay too. =)

By: Karilee

Karilee — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 09:39:47 +0000

I’d tweak #1 just a hair, to “Figure out who you want to serve”. Deciding what kind of client you want to work with, who you find joy in helping, is a great place to start. Mark Silver wrote an excellent blog post on this a while back: http://www.heartofbusiness.com/ode-to-diapers

I found that asking myself that question helped me stay close to what I was passionate about without getting stuck on “what is my purpose”.

Thanks for stressing “Always have a menu”. It’s important.

By: J.D. Meier

J.D. Meier — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 17:03:43 +0000

Great distillation.

For #2, what’s the most effective way where your customers feel like it’s a win-win vs. just having them provide their information?

By: Cathy

Cathy — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 12:28:53 +0000

I find it very amusing that this came out the same day as Richard Branson decided to wax lyrical about being “In it for fun, not just money.” I think you’re both right. The trick is to find the intersection of the two – other people’s needs *and* your own aptitudes/”passion”.

http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/blog/in-it-for-fun-not-just-money

By: Mars Dorian

Mars Dorian — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 16:38:24 +0000

That’s straight to the core business advice, Erica !

But I have to disagree with ditching your passion and concentrating on what OTHER people need.

Rather than finding what people need, think about what you need. If you have a thought like this : Gosh, I wish they had this option / boy, why can’t there be a cooler website about this topic…” it usually means you on to something hot.

When you create a product or service that you’d like to have, then you can be sure that there are a couple of peeps out there who have just the same need.