#2: How to choose your business model – Idea Validation Challenge (Day 2)

How do you choose a business model when you are starting out? Welcome to Day 2 of the Idea Validation Challenge! This challenge is for… ( Read More )

How do you choose a business model when you are starting out?

This challenge is for those who have a great business idea, and they want to make sure it will WORK before you invest time and money into it!

It is also for people who already started a business, and they want to revisit their target audience to increase their reach.

Join the conversation at our Facebook Group:

WHAT IS A BUSINESS MODEL?

A business model defines how your business will make money.

In this document I have laid out 6 of the most popular ways to make money with an online business.

These include:

Make it. Sell it.
Consulting
Produce a Video Series
Blogging
Podcasting
Create Online Courses
Here’s the catch: no successful entrepreneur ever chooses just one.

The reality is that as your business grows, having multiple sources of income will become even more important.

I’m telling you this now because I want you to know that I know that you are already thinking about this.

Remember how I said starting a business is hard? Always remember that when you make your decisions. The most important thing you can do for yourself right now is to FOCUS and get SOMETHING done.

So for now, you will pick your very first business model, and focus on it alone.

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHICH BUSINESS MODEL IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

The only way to find out is to go through each one and test your comfort level.

Tip: Forget about the technology.

Do not make your expertise (or lack thereof) with the technology a factor in this decision. That stuff can be figured out or you can hire someone very inexpensively to do it for you. It should not be a roadblock to your selecting your perfect business model.

What we are looking for is a model that you believe in your gut you could pull off and continue contributing to with content week after week, for all eternity.

Here’s some guidance for each one. Do any of these speak to you?

MAKE IT. SELL IT.

You are creative and love your craft. If all you had to do was make that thing you make forever, and make money at it, you would be in heaven.

CONSULTING

You absolutely love helping people. And not just in the way everyone else says they love helping people, you are actually an amazing teacher. You revel in your students’ successes, and feed off of their energy.

PRODUCE A VIDEO SERIES

Produce a Video Series: What can you say, the camera loves you. You don’t know what stage fright is, you have a great eye for what makes a greatly produced video, and you have topics you could talk about for HOURS.

BLOGGING

You are a natural writer. You write all the time. When you’re not writing, you’re wishing you were writing. You have topics you want to unveil to the world and if you could write every single day and make money at it, you’d think you’ve found your life calling.

PODCASTING

You are a lively conversationalist. When you click with someone, conversation just flows. You can find something interesting in anything you’re told at a cocktail party. Everything is just fascinating! If you could talk for a living, you’d be set for life!

CREATE ONLINE COURSES

Some have the gift of documentation and presentation. Perhaps it’s your corporate upbringing, but you just have a knack for making presentations that could explain refrigerators to eskimos. When you present, you come to life. The stage is your friend.

Did you see yourself in any of those descriptions?

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Take a few minutes to picture yourself doing each of those business models.

Answer the question: which of these (only one please) do you see yourself consistently putting content out for every single week without breaking a sweat? Tell us WHY!

Remember that you can (in fact, you SHOULD) add more streams as your business grows, so remember that you will not be “stuck” with your first choice forever.

What is important right now is that you set yourself up for success by making your first model the easiest one for you to implement right now.

Then go to the Facebook group and post your answer with the hashtag #day2.