Tips for Creating the Ideal Business
The more and more I evolve as an entrepreneur, the more I learn about what I do and definitely DO NOT want from a business.
Keep in mind that there are a number of ways to make money, especially online. We really are lucky…don’t take what you know for granted. No matter how new you are to this online business “stuff”, you already know more than most of the people out there in the regular world. Most people don’t even think “internet” when they think “business”. They’re still focused on big companies that require huge budgets, have high overhead and are glorified J-O-Bs, rather than the time-freeing activities we’re all working on.
That being the case, your ultimate business should also compliment your goals, lifestyle and what you want out of it. I’ve recently had the opportunity of branching off into what was ultimately a “service” business and that really got me thinking about what I’m looking for in a business.
As a sidenote, this idea was close to being a commodity and the big selling point was the low price vs. the competition (ugh!). On the upside, there was recurring backend income, but it was small and required ongoing customer support which didn’t seem worth it given the small monthly fee.
So one way to evaluate things like this is to look at someone who has already gotten to the point you’re striving for, and that’s just what I did. After looking at the criteria used by a few people I admire, and considering their accomplishments, here are the criteria I came up with for my own business as a way to help keep me focused as new opportunities come along.
Feel free to use these as a model and adapt them to your own idea of the “perfect business”.
Business characteristics:
- Should be based on a “create it once, sell it many times” model
- Should allow for time freedom and location freedom
- Should require minimal customer support that can be outsourced if desired
- Should be based on market “wants” not business owner’s “wants”
- Should offer opportunities for recurring revenue (newsletters, membership sites, etc)
- Should allow profits to be partially reinvested, partially moved to other assets (real estate, stocks, etc)
- Should not focus on selling of time or directly link income to the amount of time put in
- Should not require face-to-face meetings with customers (personal pet peeve)
- Should not require any employees (all independent contractors for outsourced work)
- Should not put anyone else between the business and its end customers, to greatest extent possible
So what did I miss?
What are your criteria for your business? (Just leave a comment below)
(Note: If you don’t have any criteria, you should definitely think this through. It will go a long way to helping you filter out what you should and shouldn’t be spending your time on…and there are no “wrong” answers.)
5 Responses to “Tips for Creating the Ideal Business”
Hi
I’m simply impressed with your all new tips for creating the Ideal Business a great success especially I like your Business characteristics which are well informed. Thanks for sharing this important tips with us.
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I know you just listed characteristics, but personally, I think no business is perfect, I would also say that you should also be flexible, and be able to adapt to change.
I like your list. Most of them are the reason that I started my own business. Now we all just have to find a way to get rid of the clients.
Decent list. I think that this is the perfect model for me. I am in the process now of starting such a business to supplement my income.
There is a large amount of upfront cost, but mostly in time not dollars. When the upfront time is up then there is minimal upkeep.
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