The PW 5 Step Process To Identifying A Business You’re Passionate About (And That You Can Run From Anywhere)

Photo by I, Timmy

Running a company that provides business strategy & mentoring, I frequently get questions like this:

• What sort of business should I set up?
• How do I set up a business without much income?
• How can I earn an income whilst being location independent?

I’m a big believer in running a business doing something you enjoy and believe in, not just for the sake of earning money (if I wanted to do that, I’d have stayed in the corporate world as a management consultant).

But I hesitated to write this post because I wasn’t immediately sure I could break it down in a way that would be realistic and achievable for most people. However I figured it was worth a try since somebody might get some value out of it and, as usual, my ethos for blogging is that it’s better out of my head where it might help someone, than in, where it most definitely won’t help anyone!

So I’m about to describe a process which has enabled me to set up a business, attract paying clients and earn a decent income in less than 6 months doing something I enjoy…not once but three times:

First some assumptions…

Before I start, there are some key assumptions about the success of this method:

• You give yourself at least 6 months before you need to generate an income using this process; if you’re leaving the country to become location independent, that means you should do this at least 6 months before you plan to leave, if not more.
• You have some basic skills & knowledge about running a business.
• You have the skills to set up and run your own blog/website - or you know someone who can help you do this (which could be us!!)

Now, the 5 Step Process…

Once those are all in place, here’s what you do:

Step 1 - Identify & understand your passion (or at least something you enjoy)

Identify a passion or something you’re interested in and start socialising with others both online and offline who have the same interest. The key here is that to begin with you have no other real objective than to enjoy yourself, make some contacts and learn as much about your interest as you can.

Step 2 - Identify a common problem

If you’ve any business sense about you (and even if you haven’t) the more you learn about your interest, the more you’ll start to see the gaps and things that are missing; you’ll begin to understand the shared problems faced by others in your network and you’ll get a real empathetic understanding of what it’s like to be faced with those problems.

Step 3 - Create a solution

Your task now is to identify a solution to those problems and start to test it on willing participants. Obviously if one of your goals is to be location independent, then that solution will have to enable you to do this.

Step 4 - Test the solution

Once you’re happy your solution is indeed a solution and you’ve tested it on some guinea pigs (in return for some testimonials and nice words about you/your solution), you are ready to start packaging it commercially and positioning your solution within the market.

Step 5 - Sell your solution

The hardest part about starting any new venture is getting those first few paying customers; if you’ve built up relationships in your area of interest beforehand, then this shouldn’t be a problem. You know you’re providing value and you know who you can help…make sure you communicate this effectively.

Time for a reality check…

Do you have all the essential ingredients necessary for a viable business idea?

• A target market/network of people with a common problem - check.
• An effective solution (service/product) to that problem - check.
• Relationships built on trust within that network - check.
• Social proof/testimonials that your solution works - check.
• Marketing tools to promote your solution - check.

It’s not rocket science and whilst the above process may over-simplify what’s required to start up a commercial venture which generates an income, it really can be that simple and that enjoyable.

Why it works:

There are a number of reasons why this process works (or has worked for me)…

• The overall goal for the business is to add value and solve a problem which you know exists, have possibly suffered from yourself and can truly empathise with - it’s not purely about making money.
• The service/product is based on something that you actually know people want/need…and you know this first-hand, not by judging the demand or need for your idea based on the number of internet searches/wordtracker stats.
• The solution is a real solution that actually works and is designed with solving that specific problem in mind.

I know that many people are impatient to set up a business that earns an income instantly - most of you will know that this site isn’t like that; it’s not about get-rich-quick schemes and tactics and it’s not about earning a six figure income for the sake of it…it’s about building a sustainable business that enables you to live the lifestyle you want, whether that requires six figures or less.

We were just like that…desperate to find a way to earn an income that would let us leave the UK in 6 months and enable us to continue earning once we’d left. But it still took 6 months of hard work, focus and determination. The thing is this: if we can do it, then so can you.

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Sorry this post is a little late, it’s my birthday today (I’m 31, yay!!) and I’ve been too busy celebrating to get my butt into gear and write anything…but it’s here now. Plus, if you’d like another post on business - and what sort of business to start up (freelance or company), check out the latest post on my personal blog here.

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