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Last Updated on July 26, 2021 by Tyler Clark
It’s ok if you want to be an entrepreneur but have no idea what to do.
Here’s what to do..
The first thing you want to understand is that it’s completely fine if you don’t have an idea what to do.
With most entrepreneurial ventures, things will change as you get into them.
Your first business name or idea may change within a matter of weeks of starting your new enterprise.
I know that sounds scary but it will feel very matter-of-fact when it happens.
That being said, I still want to give you a few good steps to follow if you have no idea what to do.
Step 1. Figure Out Who You Want to Help & Who Wants Help
Everyone has a variety of interests and passions.
In some cases, we want to enjoy those passions by ourselves and in other cases, we would enjoy sharing them with others.
You’ve got to figure out “the work” you want to do with others.
I love golf and am quite a good golf instructor but, I have no interest in teaching people how to golf.
My interest is purely and playing golf.
So though I do have a lot of knowledge in the sport, it’s not something I want to do for work. (Not even as a side hustle).
Take some time and figure out what you want to do with people for business.
Which one of your interests and passions would make for a satisfying and fulfilling day with people in the Working World?
Part 2 Who Wants Your Help?
The second part of this equation is figuring out who actually wants your help.
If you really want to help people raise their hamsters but nobody is willing to pay for your services, this won’t be a good business.
You have to make sure that the two-way relationship works.
Not only must you have an interest in helping someone but, they must have an interest in being helped and paying for that help.
Your business has a much better chance of success if these two needs are met.
Step 2. Choose Something You Like
Not only do you want to choose something you like, you want to choose something you’re going to enjoy for a really long time.
Don’t just pick something that makes good money.
It’ll be torture every day going to work if you don’t enjoy the work.
The reason you need to pick something you like is because that’s going to help you engage enough to pull out the insights customers will pay for.
If you’re not that into it, you won’t pick up on the subtleties and intricacies of the business.
This puts you at a disadvantage versus people who love the business.
I work with clients in all kinds of different jobs and no matter how much money they made in a given industry, my first thought was always either: I would like to do that or I would not like to do that.
It was amazing that even though many of them had become millionaires with their businesses, that didn’t matter to me.
I still decided whether or not I was interested in their business based on whether I liked it or not.
Your well-being and what makes you fulfilled are far more important than any amount of money.
Keep that in mind when you’re choosing a business and you’re likely to be far better off both emotionally and financially if things go well.
Step 3. The Perfect Idea Won’t Make it Easier
A lot of times when we’re not sure what to do, the actual reality is that we don’t like the current options.
This can put some people in the space of trying to figure the easiest, most high paying, perfect business in the world.
This is called searching for the Holy Grail and it’s not easy.
In reality, trying to figure this out is much harder than just starting a regular business.
A regular business will start making you money much sooner than the most perfect brilliant business in the world.
So don’t feel that the right idea or the perfect business structure will make things much easier.
I know, I wish this was the case too.
They just won’t help you succeed with less effort and engagement.
It’s tough realizing that the Holy Grail is very difficult to achieve.
But, if you can accept this, you’re going to fly by all the people that are waiting on the sidelines looking for it while you go out and make some money.
Step 4. Choose End Goals for Your Business
If you’re not sure what to do in business, it’s a good idea to start from the finish line and work your way backwards.
Entrepreneurs want businesses that allow them to:
- Be their own boss,
- Have more control over their working hours,
- Have the potential to make more money.
You may also like the idea of getting paid on par for the amount of work you do.
One of the toughest things with a job is that no matter how hard you work, your compensation tends to just stay about the same.
This drove me nuts!
If I worked harder and became more experienced, I wanted to be compensated for it.
Otherwise, I felt I was being taken advantage of.
One of the nicest things about business is that it typically pays you more if you do a better job.
However, If you pick the wrong kind of business, all the hard work in the world won’t pay you more.
Read my article on The Curse of the Capped Consultant for more information about this.
Possible End Goals for your business
- Potential for passive income
- Great scalability
- Ability to leverage people and technology
- Location based or not location based. Do you want to work in a certain city or do you want the freedom to go anywhere in the world?
- Flexible working hours
- No boss
- Evergreen topic
- Potential to sell the company down the road
These are all areas you want to look at when figuring out the business you’d like.
Although most businesses do offer many of the end goals listed above, there is a lot of variability.
The business type you pick will have a huge impact on how easy they are to achieve.
For example, It’s much easier to expand online because your reach is unlimited.
On the other hand, if you start a business in your local town, you may be limited to who you can reach in that town.
Step 5. Shadow a Few Businesses That You’re Interested In
When I was younger, I always wanted to be a PE teacher.
I was so passionate about that industry that I even did a degree in kinesiology.
However,
In my 3rd year of college, I did a three-week practicum shadowing a high school phys-ed teacher.
It changed my entire career path.
Though the teacher was a very popular instructor at the school, they were exhausted.
The teacher was a little burnt out with the job.
They said they routinely had to coach extra hours in the evenings and on the weekends.
This took away from their family life.
No matter how much coaching they did, they also didn’t earn any extra money for it.
That 3 weeks of shadowing taught me more about that job then 10 years of enjoying PE and doing a kinesiology degree.
If you’re curious about a few industries, go and shadow someone for even a day or a week.
You’ll see what the nuts and bolts of the business are.
There’s nothing like learning French in France and that’s what this is akin to.
Do a job or business shadow and it could be worth years of knowledge and insight to you.
Conclusion
Use these five steps to become an entrepreneur even if you don’t know what to do.
They will give you some insight and help you solve what kind of business you like.
Once you know what you find the business you like with good end goals and long term stability, you’re much more likely to flourish with it.
If you’re not sure, try the job and business shadowing.
Do all this and you may find your own business Holy Grail.
Best Of wealth,
Tyler.
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