The barriers to entry for becoming an entrepreneur and starting your own business, have never been lower.

But, the problem for a lot of people, like yourself, still lies in this comment:

“I just don’t know where to start.”

I’ve been there. We all have.

If this is you, I can help, and you’re in the right place.

Today, I’m taking you through the 5 key factors that you can use to start your own business in 2024.

Starting a business is all about visualisation.

Use these 5 pillars to gain a better image of what your business might look like in your head.

Time

Time is the biggest asset anyone can have when it comes to building a business or side hustle.

If you’re young, you’ll only realise once you’re older how beneficial this can be.

It’s important to enjoy it, but not to waste it. There’s always a balance.

Whilst you should enjoy your youth, don’t neglect it, or take it for granted.

So ask yourself… How much time do you have to invest into this venture?

Write things down if it helps…

“I have a lot of time which puts me at an advantage”.

A lot of individuals never seem to grasp how helpful it is if you have a lot of time to invest into yourself.

The harsh reality is that a lot of people don’t have the time to invest, but if you do, you’re at a huge advantage.

Working full time is exhausting. Not just physically, but mentally too.

It’s why people never start.

This is the rat race. A never ending cycle of investing all your time & energy into things you don’t have a lot of interest in.

Then becoming a victim of the system designed to steal your energy.

But… There’s a trick which can help you find time within your busy schedule to help you start this venture.

Whilst we advocate for everyone to budget their money, there’s one thing that a lot of people don’t know…

Whilst you can budget your money, you can also budget… for your time.

Time budgeting will allow you to find time to put towards an income producing venture.

Time budgeting changed my life, & it made me realise how much time we all waste on pointless stuff.

It also made me realise how much we were all capable of achieving if we reduced the amount of time we wasted.

I recommend creating a time budget. Or, tracking your time for a certain period so you can identify when you might be able to work on your business venture.

We waste a lot more time than we think. Trust me, I am guilty. We all are.

I started to budget my time when I started this business.

Tracking what I do with my time gave me another 20 hours a week.

By cutting out wasting time on social media, video games etc.

That’s over 1,000 hours within a year. Imagine what you can achieve in this amount of time.

Time budgeting is a cheat code.

Give it a try, to see how much time you might be wasting, and how much time you’re able to allocate to this venture.

Money

Time is one asset you may have in abundance. Another asset is money.

But, it’s okay if you don’t have a lot of money.

That’s why we’re here… to make more.

Money, although not a deal breaker, can be important depending on the type of business you wish to build. If you haven’t decided on the business you want to start, you can use how much money you have to narrow down your options.

If you lack capital, it’s not a great idea to start a business which… needs capital.

For a lot of things that need large sums of cash in business, there are cheaper alternatives.

Most of these are digital replacements:

• High street store -> website.

• Stock/products -> build a service or digital product.

• Staff & employees -> AI & software.

• Paid ads & marketing -> social media & affiliate marketing.

Use tech & digital marketing to your advantage. Sure, you may have to invest more time, but with a bit of research, you can save a lot of money with little compromise.

In 2023 & beyond, a few hundred pounds/dollars per month is more than enough to start an online business.

Of course, it’s dependent on what you wish to go into. But, when looking at the bare minimums for businesses, this will be ample.

You could even start with $0 if you were struggling for disposable income.

• If you have either time, or money, you’ll be at an advantage.

• If you have 10–15 hours per week & $300 per month to invest, you’ll be at a serious advantage.

As always though, the more you have at your disposal, the better.

Assets

These are assets that you wouldn’t have thought of, but can be beneficial within this venture.

One asset to consider is people.

There isn’t a lot to explain here, but here are just some things to consider when thinking about what you can use to your advantage…

• Is my family supportive of my decisions?

• Do my friends actually want me to succeed?

• Do those around me have similar aspirations?

• Is my network strong enough?

• Do the people around me have skills that can help me?

• Is anyone around me going to stop me from succeeding?

Next, is mindset.

This is just as important, if not more, than all of the other aspects that we’ve discussed until now. It is important that your mindset & mental state is in a good place before you take on a venture like this.

One thing that can be a serious obstacle, is a lack of self-belief.

If you feel like you might not be in the best place, consider delaying the start of your venture.

Reach out to a close friend or family member to talk about what you are struggling with.

Confidence, & self belief, is essential…

• Am I confident that I will succeed?

• Do I believe in myself?

• Am I in the position I need to be mentally, to perform at my best?

• Do I have the energy & discipline required to succeed?

• Do I have the correct mindset?

Take a minute to think about anything else you possess that can give you an advantage. It could be anything.

• A fast computer.

• A social media theme page with 10,000 followers.

• A discord server.

• An email list.

• A pressure washer.

• A commercial vehicle.

Think of things that might be beneficial in leading you to increasing your earnings. Anything that you think of could be used to mould your own business/idea.

Use these things to help you begin to visualise your income. The clearer your picture, the greater your chances of starting… & succeeding.

There are assets that are important to have regardless of the type of business you choose to build.

But, the relevance of identifying your assets is to narrow down where to start.

Certain business models may require more money than others, to start.

If you have money, these are available to you.

If you don’t have a lot of money, certain business models will be harder to start.

You get the idea.

There isn’t a limit to what type of business to start. But, here are a few examples of business models that you could include in your potential options.

Money required:

• High Street store.

• E-Commerce. (Selling products)

• Clothing brand.

Money not required:

• Affiliate marketing.

• Content creation.

• Service based agency.

Potential business models are endless. But, if you’re not willing to invest money, you would struggle to start a business that requires upfront capital for products/equipment etc.

Interests

Sticking with your interests gives you many advantages that could give you a competitive edge.

Your knowledge of an industry will be strong, as it’s something that you invest your time into for fun. Just think about it.

There’s a strong chance that you have more potential to build a successful business than businesses already set up, because of your interest & knowledge of the topic.

Taking an interest in a niche can also give you an advantage in identifying clients or customers to sell a product/service to.

I want you to know that there are people operating within an industry that don’t have your knowledge.

They say stress is what happens when you’re forced to work hard for something you don’t care about.

Build something that you care about, and you’ll never feel the stress of working for something/someone that you aren’t interested in.

Of course, you have to be mindful when selecting an industry. Ensure that there is a demand for whatever it is you might wish to sell.

It’s great picking an industry that you’re familiar with. But, if there is no demand, or any opportunity for money to be made, this isn’t the best place to start.

Find the balance between your interests & your knowledge, whilst also considering demand. Or overall potential business opportunities that lie within a specific industry.

You don’t have to use these, but some of the most popular niches for businesses today are:

• Health/Fitness.

• Beauty.

• Sport.

• Finance.

• Self improvement.

• Technology.

We all have interests of some kind. Even if they’re things that we keep to ourselves.

You don’t have to stick with something that you’re interested in, but if you’re struggling on where to start, this is a great place to begin.

You don’t want to be narrowing your options too much. But, even by keeping your options open, you can eliminate a lot of industries that you have zero interest in.

Am I aware of the financial potential within the beauty & cosmetics industry? Yes.

But, I also have zero knowledge & zero interest in this industry. So, I have no intention of starting a business here. It might be of interest to you though.

Sticking to what you know, can give you a big advantage when starting up.

Skills

There’s a bit of overlap between skills & interests.

But, even if there isn’t, the ideas remain the same. Everyone has skills that they can take advantage of in business.

You don’t think you have one? Wrong. You just haven’t identified it yet.

Your skills might overlap with your interests, which is great. It’ll give you an even greater chance of succeeding if you have set skills that are relevant.

You want to consider your skills when identifying the product or service you’re actually going to go about generating money.

What skills of yours can be leveraged to generate revenue?

What problems can you solve to provide value and make money?

Money is made by providing value to others. Whether it be to businesses, individuals, or both.

If they find value in whatever it is you’re providing, they’ll pay you for it.

So, what value are you able to provide?

This is the reason we wanted you to consider niches that have a lot of demand for goods/services.

There’s no use building a business that is designed to operate in an industry that has no demand for what you’re trying to provide.

This demand comes from providing value to customers within said niche, who are willing to pay for your services.

Niche & service, along with assets, are two more ways that you’re able to narrow down your options.

Picking a specific industry, whilst delivering a specific service will definitely remove options. It’ll give you a better idea of where you can start making money.

But, don’t feel the need to narrow your options too severely…

It’s important here to not close too many doors, if you feel like you’re unable to do something.

Another great asset I didn’t mention, is your ability to learn new things, & adapt to changing situations or environments.

The opportunities are endless. It’s all about identifying one or two skills & moulding this into something that will generate you money.

So, consider these two things:

• Interests — to identify a niche/industry.

• Skills — to identify a service that you can sell to customers.

If you already have some niches & services in mind, this is great…

But this is the most important thing… Is there demand for your service, within your niche?

Say you have a service that you wish to provide. Take social media content creation, for example.

There’s not a lot of use offering these services to customers that are looking for financial advice.

Instead, you want to offer your services to the advisors themselves, so they can grow their brand. The importance of this is identifying your target audience.

A lot of services are in demand across a huge variety of industries. But, it’s necessary to identify those within the industry that will pay for your services.

It isn’t always your generic “customer”.

If you have a specific skill, and want to build some kind of service-based agency, your customers might be businesses.

It depends on the service you’ve picked.

You may need to change your niche or service if you’re unable to identify a target audience,

But, it’s best to make the necessary changes during the phase or preparation, instead of after you’ve already started.

To round up, consider the following:

• Niche — what industry might you have an advantage in, given your knowledge & interests.

• Service — what skills do you possess that can be used to build a business around. Don’t have any? Or cannot identify any? Learn a skill that’s in demand within your niche.

• Target audience — who, within your niche, will demand your services? It might be customers. It might be businesses or suppliers.

How is the visualisation coming along?

Is the picture you’re painting becoming clearer now we have discussed these factors?

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