|
This article contains the first 3 of 10 total steps I follow to start businesses. In the following weeks, articles will be provided consisting of the remainder 7 steps. STAY TUNED! Starting a business can be a daunting task. There are a million variations to accomplish a variety of goals. And when you list it all out, it can cause you to second guess the idea. However, as a persistent business owner, you must acknowledge that the road won’t be easy. Identifying a plan and chopping it into bite size pieces is important. While there may be no one single way to create a business every time, the ten steps discussed on this blog series over the next few weeks have been proven to work in my businesses (no matter how big or small) TIME and TIME again. For this case study, we will also use mu business, The Cashflow Hustle, to go through how I utilized each of these steps.  1. Identify passions, pick a niche & know your target audiences NEEDS For me, part of starting any business begins with reflection on passion and enjoyment. If you have neither in your pursuit of financial independence, it is going to be a long and painful road. You can make money doing anything - especially what you don’t enjoy doing. So, why not generate some revenue while doing what you enjoy? I am a big list (spreadsheets, etc.) kind of guy. So I start a list of each passion and then list types of businesses that could serve each of those niches. Once you have identified some ideas that bring you thoughts of joy and fulfilment, you need to weigh the options using pure economics. If you want a hobby, this article won’t be of great use to you. However, if you want to provide value to consumers and monetize your product or service, then please continue. Once you’ve identified the niche, its worth running a bit of a test sample. The thrifty way to do this is to ask people from your target audience. If starting a dating website, people you know who may be around the age where that is of interest would be necessary (as opposed to your parents or neighbor). If you want to start a toy distribution business, perhaps you could ask some nieces or nephews for feedback on the type of toys they like. Don’t know a kid? How about a teacher or associate with a kid? As you may know or will soon find out, this whole game of entrepreneurship comes down to your ability to be RESOURCEFUL. Obstacles are at every turn. But, if you can flip them around and identify them as challenges leading to a stronger business, then you’re on target. The key here is to get some feedback from your target demographic. The Cashflow Hustle: As I considered ideas to build a brand to provide “multiple income stream generation” content, I considered what I found useful on my journey. I loved hearing stories and listening to examples from people who had been there and done that. In particular, I loved learning about the variety of opportunities to create cashflowing businesses with both goods and services. There are other great content creators in the space. But I have my own spin on things and find great joy in sharing what I have learned with others. Through the blog and podcast, I am able to spread my message as well as incorporate some awesome guests who have inspiring stories. Find your passion with an economic component, pick a path and continue reading below on how to EXECUTE. 2. Search for legal entity name and domain availability Once you’ve identified the niche you want to pursue, its time to start thinking about a brand identity. I’ve heard some people say differently, but in my opinion, it is important that you identify your brand well right out of the gate. I make a list of business names and start spit balling with my wife or business partner. This is one of my favorite parts of the business creation process – its when I can start to think of the business as “alive.” Eventually, we come up with a few key words that we can use interchangeably. Next, I do an entity name search (see point three below) along with a domain search. I primarily use Google Domains for all of my websites and businesses – they are very affordable with quick hosting speed and great customer support which comes in handy in step 5 when you are creating a website and linking your domain. Using Google Domains, I run through variations of all of our listed key words that we liked. I list those that are available and cross out those that are not. Given the nature of the keywords (competitive or not), I purchase the domain. Sometimes, if we are undecided between a few, I buy the top three or four available for one year to make sure we don’t miss the opportunity. However, like a good community member, once we decide on a name, we put the items we own back on the market for others to buy. Once I have purchased the domain, I get it hosted at SiteGround. There are other hosting services out there but for all of my websites and businesses, I host with them – they are very affordable with quick hosting speed and great customer support which comes in handy in step 5 when you are creating a website and linking your domain. Another simple and professional addition available is to signup for an email and Office365 account. When I am interacting with a business representative, my impression of the overall quality of the business (as a consumer) is much more favorable if I am talking with an established domain email as opposed to a gmail or yahoo account. If I am taking to frankstires@gmail.com I feel much les of a personal connection to the person as opposed to fsmith@frankstires.com. For me, a few bucks for a domain specific email address is a small price to pay for the perception of higher quality in the eyes of a consumer. 3. Establish your entity & trademark As noted, this is likely best done at the same time as step 2 above. To have a domain without a matching entity may be a bit confusing. Depending on where and how you are going to market, there are ways to operate under an assumed name at the state level. However, lets keep things simple and unified at this point. There are many options when it comes to entity formation. Companies, lawyers and friends are all options to plug into the creation of your entity. Each one serves a purpose, as I will explain. Option A: If you have a large budget, a highly scrutinized service/niche (such as tax planning) or complicated operation (such as an international brokerage firm trading widgets and cryptocurrency), a lawyer is the way to go. The nuances of covering specific risks in those types of businesses requires a little more than a cookie cutter members agreement. Please also note that if you have a business partner that you are sharing responsibilities with to run the operation, it is worth getting a document drawn up by a lawyer outlining specific details. Examples of issues that arise is what happens if one party dies or you partner does something negligent that harms the entity. Having those clauses in the members agreement can be "life savers" when the unthinkable happens. Option B: However, if you have a tighter budget or a less risky business type, LegalZoom is the way to go. There are other options out there but these guys have always delivered for me. It is worth noting that while you fill out their seamless questionnaire during the registration process, you will have to un-select a variety of buttons that auto-enroll you into additional services. It is worth noting that when I forgot to uncheck an opt-in button once, they refunded me the entire amount when I noticed I was being billed for a service that I had never used and didn’t mean to sign up for. Again, fair and honest customer service. One of the options you will have to choose is whether or not to be your own “registered agent” or to pay for them to. To learn what this entails, please read here. For me, it comes down to personal preference and how much/many calls I want from solicitors selling me products off of the new business owner lists publicly available on government websites. If you have one business, it may not be important. If you have 10 entities, your phone or email may well turn into a catchall for sellers of all services. Please note, using a friend is not recommended above to set up your entity. Even for my friends who ask, I recommend they follow Options A or B above. I have used each of those two methods without issue and I am not an expert at entity formation. Next week, we will cover tools to utilize automation and technology to build your team out to achieve better results, faster. We will also cover establishing a web and social presence. Have any questions or comments on this material? Please contact me at jgrimes@thecashflowhustle.com - I always enjoy talking business and cashflow.
0 Comments
 “I am a successful and energetic real estate and business investor creating multi-generational wealth through strategic cashflowing income streams EVERY DAY."
"I am the world's greatest father and husband.” I write this down ten times and say it aloud every morning before I get going on whatever my first task is. From checking web analytics results to conferencing with investors and partners or driving to my 9 to 5 W2 job (or 7 to 4 in my case). It is a mouthful. I say it EVERYDAY and I MEAN IT. The mind is a powerful thing. It can be both a useful tool and harmful adversary . Failure to understand the importance of how to best control and program your mind to reach your potential can lead to years of spinning your wheels or never getting started. I started my rehab and flip journey before getting my mind in order. It cost me a bunch of money and it wasted a lot of my time (and hair). About 6 months into working on the 8-month flip project (written before in this previous blog), I began working with a Business Mastery Coach. I will write another post on the power of coaching (when done right). When we began our work together, I was expecting to jump right in on growing my deal flow and business. Instead, we spent about 5 weeks on psychology and various tools and techniques to use to set myself up to succeed. I knew there was a method to the madness. And man, am I glad I bought in and picked up what was being put down. We took a deep dive into the voices in my head and ways to control my narrative in a different light. My mind was full of self defeating thoughts and impossibilities. Reactions to events became more manageable and my outlook, over a period of about two months, really began to transition. One of the keys to adjusting my mindset was the use of daily affirmations. As the great Napoleon Hill shared, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” There are a variety of great tools and content available about the subject of affirmations. When going through the process to build my affirmation muscle, the following seemed to work for me: 1. Start small and simple Initially, I started out with 10 different short affirmations. Very simple and concise - each eliciting a specific feeling. I read those ten affirmations multiple times a day for 60 days. As the 60 days winded down, I began to look ahead to how to best use the tool. So, I combined a few of them that I felt moved me more than others. And thus, a single (somewhat longer) affirmation was born. 2. Commit to executing & timestamp it As my wife can attest, I have a horrible memory. I can’t explain it but sometimes I really don’t remember something as recent as yesterday that we talked about. Because of this, I have become fairly good at time management and blocking off portions of my day to execute specific tasks. I maintain one electronic calendar (synced with all of my businesses and personal). I also maintain one single sheet of paper that has a 30-minute blocks of time on the left side and 7 columns (one for each day including weekends). I check daily that they match. It helps keep important topics top of mind for me as I check in – so I don’t forget anything inadvertently. My system has evolved to this method and it has worked well for me for about 6 months. About five to eight items make it on my calendar for any day. 90% of the time, the number is six or less. For me, this allows me to really provide committed time to the task at hand. Only important items make it on the list – things that I REALLY want to get done that day. An investor call or lunch, kid’s doctor appointments, a podcast interview, working on my book or blog, networking with people that have deals in my market that fit my business model, etc. If it doesn’t make it on the calendar, it is simply a to-do list that are required to get done but are not important. The difference between important and urgent is critical to understand: Important tasks are tasks that contribute to long-term missions and goals. Urgent things may include phone calls, tasks with impending deadlines, and situations where you must respond quickly. Responding to an email, when you must do it, is usually an urgent task. Urgent things do make it on my list. But important things have priority when building out my week. 3. Reflect before, during and after Before I get going, I think about what I am trying to accomplish from the task. I remember that through continually repeating and believing what I am saying, I am setting myself up for success in achievement of the life I want. While I am now writing my affirmation (and before when I was simply repeating), I made sure it was at a time and in a place that I wouldn’t be disturbed. Usually first thing in the morning and last thing at night. As may be the case for you, all time in between is pretty jam packed with family, business and life. After you complete the task, reflect once more on why you just did that. I believe it helps to acknowledge that you just started or ended your da doing something powerful aimed at improving your future. A small victory gives me a little pep in the morning and some good vibes at night as I go to bed. 4. Review results after 30 days and note changes Every month, it is worth checking in to make sure you are achieving the results that you want by repeating the things that you want to embed in your head. As goals and life evolves, so too might your affirmations. The key is to work the muscle and be mindful of the results you are looking towards achieving through using this tool. By following these simple steps, you can really set yourself up for success. Be consistent and have purpose in what you are doing - it will make a world of difference. |
AuthorJustin Grimes has been an active real estate investor since 2007 participating at various levels in asset classes from single-family rehab and mortgage note creation to multi-family, self storage and mobile home parks. 
Archives
October 2018
Categories
All
NOTE: This content may contain affiliate links through which we are compensated when you click on or are approved for offers from our partners. It helps cover some of our expenses to continually run the podcast and platform. See our disclosures for more info.
WEB HOSTING
 ACCOUNTING TOOL
 SOCIAL MANAGEMENT
 SALES LEAD GEN.
 |
RSS Feed