Perhaps it’s been a shared pipe dream for years. Perhaps the idea has come up more recently. Either way, you and your spouse have decided to start a business. Both of you realize what a big step you’re taking, but you’re still excited to take the plunge. Nevertheless, the question remains: where do you even start with such an undertaking? And while it’s certainly not going to be easy, it’s more than achievable, so we’ve assembled a list of tips to help you build a living doing what you love.
1. Use What You Have
Chances are, you or your spouse has a knack for something. Whether that be art, embroidery, web design, or the like, there’s something you know how to do, and do well. In our first years working together, that was videography. We started small, with Stephen exchanging his skills as a videographer for free products and I was shooting senior portraits. Eventually, one of our clients requested that we shoot their wedding video, and were able to truly kick off our business. If you can’t figure out what you want to do, you may be overthinking it. Chances are, the perfect business idea isn’t something big and grandiose, it’s a part of your everyday life.
2. Test the Waters
If you’re still unsure about what you want to do, there’s no need to worry! In the age of the internet, there are countless ways to test the waters before making a full commitment. If you want to see what people are willing to pay for, ask people on social media. From this, you’ve essentially got your hands on a free list of ideas.
The next step is to put these ideas to the test. Fiverr and other similar sites are perfect for this. Essentially, you create a listing like other e-commerce sites, but rather than offer a product, you offer a service. From here, you can see how many buyers your service attracts, and how much those buyers are willing to spend. It’s more or less a trial period for you to gauge what you need to do to get your business up and running.
3. Buy Back Your Time
If you’d rather take a hands-off approach, this method is for you. While this method starts the same, finding people willing to pay for a service and taking them on as clients, it differs once you get to the work itself. Rather than going out to do the task yourself, hire someone else in exchange for a cut of the profits. While this method results in lower-income at the start, it yields something far more valuable: time.
Say the task you were hired to do takes five hours. By hiring someone else to do it for you, you lose a portion of the profit, but also have five free hours to reinvest in growing your business. This time can be spent finding more clients and workers, increasing your online presence– whatever you want! With such vast amounts of time to focus on your business, you can build a larger and larger clientele, eventually being able to live off of what is essentially passive income. Now, you have not only the time, but the funding to grow even further, as well as amounts of freedom that would otherwise be impossible.
4. Turn Junk Into Money
Did you know that the average American has roughly $3,000 worth of items they don’t use? It’s natural that you wouldn’t use everything you own, but $3,000 is an astounding amount. Don’t let buyer’s regret sink in just yet, though! There’s still money to be made! Do you have some old, worn-out furniture sitting around? Refurbish it, then sell it for cheap. The buyer gets a steal of a deal on new furniture, and you get a solid chunk of money.
In some cases, you may not even have to part with the item! Items like a luxury suite or a kayak that haven’t been frequently used can be rented out. Many consumers don’t want to spend so much money on something they’ll only use once or twice, and as such are more than willing to rent. So rather than take a loss on selling a barely used item, turn it into a continuous stream of cash. It’s as simple as looking around your house for stuff you don’t use. Your would-be junk can become funding for your business, or even a business itself!
A hot tip that many of our Rainmakers use to fund their business is find quality freebies on craigslist (like furniture or leather couches), pick up the items, clean them up if needed and then sell them on Facebook marketplace for a profit.
In Conclusion
Though the idea of starting and living off a business is certainly daunting, you’re better equipped to do so than you think. The key to success isn’t some distant, out-of-reach concept, it’s right in front of you. Entrepreneurship takes cleverness, business sense, persistence, and hard work, but your commitment will not go unrewarded. Though it may be a long road, you and your spouse will become more successful, freer, and more passionate than ever before.
Discover more tips, tricks, and advice when you visit The Rainmaker Family online. Listen to an episode of our podcast, read our blog, or take on the 7-day Rainmaker Challenge!
