The Fierce Business Babe Podcast 316: How to Start Your Business Today (For Free)
Today, I am diving into everything you need in order to start your very own business. When starting a business it can be really difficult to determine what you really need and what should come later. I am going to share with you what you truly need to start a business and make it successful.
HOW TO START YOUR BUSINESS TODAY
(FOR FREE)
BY: MELISSA LIN
Welcome back to another episode of The Fierce Business Babe Podcast. We're going to be focusing on what you actually need to start your business. If you're in those early stages or you’ve been thinking about starting your business, then this is definitely an episode you will want to listen to. Even if you have started your business, I recommend listening to this episode. I’m going to have some tips and tricks and some tools that you may want to consider implementing into your business as you continue to grow beyond the beginner level business. We're going to be getting into the foundations needed to start your business, some mindset shifts to taking that next step, tools I recommend in the early stages, as well as in the intermediate and advanced stages, so that’s why I recommend you stick around, and so much more.
WHY I STARTED MY BUSINESS
We’re going to start with the foundations needed to start your business. It’s probably not what you’re thinking. If you are anything like I was when I first started my business back in 2014, I was on Google every single day. We definitely have way more tools free information out there now, so you're probably overwhelmed even more than I was back in 2014 when things were just starting to kick off. I know that you may hear that you need a website, branding, paid advertisement, and XYZ, but I'm going to get to the two things that you actually need.
Before I do, I just want to share a few things that I absolutely love about starting your own business and running your own online business. My business allows me to do so much and really provides me with so much freedom and I absolutely love it. I'm able to travel whenever I want to without burning through vacation. I definitely had a season this past year where I wasn't traveling much because Ryen and I were building our brand new home. It was a very busy season finishing building things, finishing up some of our permit stuff with the city, and moving out of our old house and into the new house. We were very busy, so I wasn't traveling much, but I had so much flexibility to meet with the city and to meet with contractors weekly on site. If I was in a nine-to-five, I wouldn't have been able to do that. I probably would not have been able to build this house that I am now living in. When I was in my nine-to-five, and if you're in your nine-to-five maybe you're feeling some of these things, I felt so trapped. I had no control over my schedule. I had no control over my income, I was actually capped. I had very little vacation, and even if I did go on vacation I was still checking emails and answering calls.
I knew that I wanted so much more and was meant for so much more. I wanted a life of freedom where I could work from anywhere, whether it's here at home in my pajamas with Pearl or traveling like I was a few weeks in Las Vegas. I was just interviewed a few days ago on a podcast and I wanted to share this with you. I was sharing my story from chemical engineer to 7-figure business owner. I love sharing that story with people because it is evidence for anybody out there wanting to start a business that it is possible. If I can do it, you can do it. If my clients can do it, you can do it. If you’ve been wanting to start your business, it is possible. You are worthy of it. You are ready for it. You can do it. I knew that I was meant for more and I knew I was here to create a bigger impact in a way that felt more aligned to me. I was great at my job when I was a chemical engineer, but I knew I wanted so much more in life. I wanted to feel more fulfilled at what I was doing every single day.
WHAT YOU NEED TO START A BUSINESS
So what did I do? I created my own business doing exactly that. If you’re feeling how I was just a few years ago, I started my business in 2014 and was still in my nine-to-five when I started my business, there are two things that you actually need in your business as you get started. Number one– you have to be able to solve a problem. What problem can you solve and what is the solution that you have for this problem? When I started my first business years and years ago I was an online health and fitness coach. I knew that I was able to solve a problem. I was able to help others with a problem I had overcome. I had a solution to a problem others had. As I continued to grow that business people started coming to me and asking, “Melissa how are you able to grow your business? How are you able to take it to the next level? What are the things you're doing?” I had another solution to another problem people were having. As long as you can solve a problem, and number two, as long as there are people who want the solution for that problem, then you can start a business. Those are the only two things that you need. It doesn't matter which is going to be more profitable.
I have so many who come to me as they're getting their business started who are so hung up on their niche. The coolest thing about starting and running your own business is you get to pivot whenever you want to ice. I have pivoted multiple times in my business and you can too. Again, as long as you can solve a problem, it can be profitable for you. You’re also creating this incredible impact as you’re making money, so it’s a win win. Those are the two things that you need. Once you have those, you can get the gears going pretty quickly in your business. Once you've got those two things you’ll want to map out your first offer and start adding valuable content to social media for your audience. Show up and really serve your audience and start marketing and selling your offer right. There are no fancy systems necessary. Paid advertisement is not necessary when you first get started. I didn't even touch any paid advertisement till I was at about $20,000-$30,000 a month in my business, it is not necessary at all.
A full website is not needed. I didn't have one of those until I was at about $10,000-$15,000 a month in my business. I only had a full website as early as I did because it was on my business card and I was about to go to a networking event. That was the only reason I put my full website together so early on. Is it helpful to have one eventually? Definitely, it's great to. There are so many cool softwares out there that can support your business without a full website. If you go to anybody's Instagram these days most have a link tree or some other type of resource website, not a full website. There are other resources and tools that still get your potential clients to where they need to go to either opt-in or apply to one of your programs. We'll get into all of that another day, but again, I didn't touch any of that. You don't need any of it when you're starting, keep it simple. When you're in those beginning stages you’re wearing so many different hats in your business. I don't want you to overwhelm yourself with things that you don't need to be overwhelming yourself with. You don't need to touch any of that until you have a little more support in your business.
I'd rather you wear five or six hats in your business, maybe seven or eight, not 20 different hats. You will burn out and you will get to a point where it's too much to be doing it on your own and it’s going to take so much longer to move forward. Keep it simple. Focus on those few things that I had mentioned. Once you start to bring more income into your business start to invest that into other things, as in team members and other software. Again, what problem can you solve and what’s the solution for it? Are there people out there who have this problem and are looking for the solution? Those are the only two things you need to start your business. You don't need much in terms of overhead outside of that.
One of my clients who just graduated from my program The Fierce Business Academy just upgraded into my higher level program. She just hit her second $5,000 month in her business and she just started a few months ago. This is a brand new business and it's already on track this month to reach her first $8,000 month or so, and that's if she doesn't pre-sell any spots for 2025, which she most likely will. She doesn't have a website, she doesn't run ads, she doesn't have any funnels. We are going to start to work on those in the program she just upgraded into. We teach you how to start and also grow your business without any of those things inside of my Academy. Definitely reach out to me if you'd like to learn more about that.
CREATING A BUSINESS MINDSET
Let's get into some different mindset shifts for taking that next step. I know how scary it can be taking a big step and stepping out of your comfort zone. In order to start living a life you've never lived, we get to do things we've never done. All it takes to start an online business is deciding to start. Step one is deciding to start, and it's usually the hardest step. If you decide not to start, maybe it's just not what you want to do. Maybe you don't want to start a business, that’s okay. At least you're making a decision instead of putting it off. If you've been wanting to start your business, the only thing holding you back is you. I just told you a few minutes ago, the two things that you need to start your business, that's it. You really don’t have an excuse not to start. The only thing holding you back is you.
Let’s dive into some fears that I had when I first started my business. I had a fear of what my family and friends would think of me. I had a fear of failure. I had a fear of success. I had a fear of judgment from social media. Tons of fears come up. We are starting our businesses to create an impact by helping others solve a problem. Starting a business is so much bigger than just us, it’s about the impact we are here to make. Anytime I remind myself of that, it helps lessen that fear a little bit more each time. That the only thing holding you back in this moment is you. Feeling and being ready is fantasy. There will never be a “perfect time” to start your business. Maybe you've already started and you're afraid to hire your next team member or launch your next program. You will never feel 100% ready. It doesn't exist. You want to be jumping out of your comfort zone. The things that scare us the most are usually what we need to do the most. If you say that you need to wait and that you'll be ready once you have more time or maybe once you get your next job promotion or sign your next client or try it on your own, you are pushing your start date further and further back. Life is so short. We get to make big, scary, uncomfortable moves now because that's where the growth happens. If you stay in your nine-to-five and continue to try and push out your start date a few more months, you’re going to be uncomfortable.
Either way you go, you're going to be uncomfortable. You’re either going to be uncomfortable in your nine-to-five doing something you're not passionate about dreaming about quitting your nine-to-five or starting your own business and being a little uncomfortable. At least that second option is getting you closer to where you want to go. Getting out of your comfort zone and doing those scary things is where the magic happens. You are putting conditions right now on when you'll be ready. You will be waiting a lifetime for that moment to come because it does not exist. Waiting until you are ready is one of the most dangerous spots you could be in. I can tell you from experience that 95% of entrepreneurs that say “next time” never take the leap. They never take that next step because they're still to this day saying “next time” and it’s been years. Imagine where you could have been if you had taken the leap two years ago. My client that I shared about earlier started her business just a few months ago and she's about to have an $8K month.
Start today. There is no better day than today to get started. So many out there need you and your guidance. Messy action beats no action every single time. My clients are probably tired of me saying that, but it’s so true. Go make a move today, no more sitting on the sidelines. You were made for so much more. It’s to play big, babe. Watching everyone else grow ends today, we get to watch you grow. This is your moment. Taking that step is going to help you get closer to what you truly desire. Life is too short to keep pushing that start date. I promise you, six months from now you're going to thank me. Get out there and go do it. That was my little motivational rant about getting started. Don't let anything hold you back.
TOOLS FOR STARTING A BUSINESS
Now let's get into some tools that I recommend if you are in the very beginning stages and starting your business. First, huge congrats, I'm so excited for you to get started. You probably don't need the same systems that I have at the moment. Your starting softwares and systems do not need to look like those in a 7-figure business. If you're looking and watching somebody on social media who is much further along than you are, you don't need the same things that they have in their business. Their business is a lot different than yours. We want to start simple. Something that I love supporting my clients with, and this is what we do in our business too, is planning ahead. We always plan ahead for the next level. The systems that I'm going to recommend for you to get started with are going to be great for you at this level and even as you hit $5K months in your business. Then I would say once you're wanting to really pump it up and hit $10K months, that's when we want to start to really amplify systems and your address. I know this episode is titled things you need to start, but I also added some sprinkles on top in case you're curious about the $10K, $30K, and $50K month levels because I’ve hit all of those.
In my Six-Figure Mastermind we help you scale your business to $10K/month and teach you both the front end and the back end. We teach you what you need and how to get there and support you every single step of the way. We also for multiple six figures in the back end so that once it does come, you're not overwhelmed. So what do you need now? What do you need later? If you're in the beginning stages I definitely recommend an email service. This can be free, there are a ton of free ones out there. Some type of email service where you can start blasting emails to your list so that you’re not sending them out one by one. Start automating some of these things as early as possible. I also recommend some type of scheduling tool, and again, that can also be free. There are free versions out there for everything I'm going to recommend for the starting phase. Once you're ready you can then upgrade. Another tool that I recommend is some type of payment system so that you can accept payments from clients, this is another thing we support our clients with. I would also recommend a client contract and a lead generation tracker of some sort. Another thing I would recommend is some type of content bank. If you've been around my platform for a while you know that we lost our Instagram account back in January of 2022. We have been banking our content for years now because things happen. We don't know when social media could shut down and we don’t want to lose all of our content. Luckily, we were able to get our new account going pretty quick because we had all of our content saved.
So, I would recommend those things just to get started, email service, some type of scheduling tool, and by that I mean something to book calls if you're doing sales calls. Even if you're not doing sales calls, you use a scheduling tool to schedule calls with clients so that it's more automated. This way you're not needing to send over a Zoom link every time your client schedules a call. The other things I recommend are some type of payment system so that you can get paid, a client contract, a lead generation tracker, and a content bank of some sort. We use Airable for lead generation, tracking, banking things in our business, and so much more. Airtable is one of our favorite tools, I loved it and our clients love it. Those are the things I would recommend as you’re getting started.
Once you’re heading into six figures, I would start to create documents, or even videos, of your current systems so that they can be handed off to future team members. Then you can start to really ask yourself, how can this be easier for me? As you continue to scale to multiple six-figures and seven-figures, this is where you start making some real upgrades on the back end. We have webinars that run on autopilot for us, lead generation is on autopilot. We have an automated sales process so that things run effectively. I am able to step away from my business and have sales continue to come in. Leads continue to come in every single day. As you’re scaling to multiple six-figures and seven-figures, that's the goal for you too. If you're curious about more of that message over on Instagram with the word “scale” and I can definitely chat through some stuff with you and send over some resources if you're looking to scale to that next level.
We have touched on so much today. We have gotten all into the foundations you need to start your business, the mindset shifts to take you to that next step, tools I recommend in the early stages, and so much more. I'm so excited for you. If you need a cheerleader as you’re getting ready to start your business, send me a DM on Instagram. I will cheer you on and really help you take that first step because I know how scary it can be. Somebody needs you, this is your moment. Let's start a business so that you can create an impact and start working towards that freedom that you want to create in your own life and for your family as well. I would absolutely love to support you and cheer you on as you do that. We're already getting ready for next week's episode and I cannot wait to share it with you. We're going to be getting into how to get people to pay for your programs. If you're already signing clients, I will definitely have some tips on how to increase it so that more people are hopping into your program. We will see you next week in another brand new episode of The Fierce Business Babe Podcast bright and early next Monday morning.