How I launch a business in one day...
A sweet little DM slid into my inbox the other day…
“How do you launch so many things so quickly? Doesn’t it take you forever to get it all going?”
And it got me thinking. How do I? It seems like at every corner, I have a new idea, and then that idea turns into something more refined, and then that refined idea turns into a goal. And then, shortly after that, that goal is taken into a launch and exists in the world.
Case in point? This blog and what’s to follow.
Another case in point? Lots and lots of failed attempts at trying to make something happen that the world was just not ready for. Most recently Mom/Preneur Live, but also Mompreneur : the Course, Babywearing Fit (hadn’t even heard of that one, did ya?!), and the list goes on.
But one thing I do know is that if I hadn’t launched these things, and never tried to get the world’s attention that they existed, I would have never been able to see if they were a make or break. How are we to know if something is meant to be unless is actually exists?
I see entrepreneur after entrepreneur stuck in what I call “analysis paralysis.” That in-between space between the idea and the launch, and the most common thread running through their minds is this:
“Is this going to work?”
The reason so many times the idea never gets launched isn’t actually the reason of self-doubt, or fear. It’s actually the daunting task of the actual work it takes to make it reality.
Here’s a story for you. Did you know that the launch for the JoJo actually came before the JoJo ever existed? Ya. Adam and I had this idea of launching a product that we could sell on Amazon that would jumpstart a diversified part of our lives and be a passive revenue stream (more on that next week, you don’t want to miss it). Adam and I actually started the launch program for our product before we even knew what our product was. And it wasn’t until the late night, wine drinking induced idea of actually creating the product we loved most in our lives came about that the JoJo came to fruition. But by the time it did, we already had our launch plan. Seriously.
Things that came before the actual JoJo:
The LLC creation.
The Amazon seller account.
Resale license and home occupation permits.
A completed course on how to launch and sell and product on Amazon.
A shop page on my current site that was hidden but ready.
We did all these things and didn’t even know what we were launching yet!
Most importantly, it allowed it so that when we knew what our dream tangibly was, we could focus on making that happen, and not be stuck in the trenches of the nitty gritty, getting the stuff no one really likes out of the way.
Launching an idea is just like launching a business. In fact, whether you are starting a small creative business by yourself, or deciding to start a multi-million dollar corporation for a tech startup, the process is exactly the same.
Yes, exactly the same.
But we get so lost in the numbers, the analysis of what we are supposed to do, what is the right thing to do, and how to do that, that we end up not starting at all.
Or worse, we start without any of the pieces in place and get overwhelmed later when we learn what those pieces were supposed to be, and we’ve been operating under false pretense for years. Or decades.
A business is just an idea with legs to walk on. Those legs happen to be the things that drive you forward, keep you moving, and get you to the next place.
Your legs may not walk a straight line, but let me tell you, they do know how to run. And nobody likes slow walkers. I see you, Susan. Walking leisurely down the farmers’ market aisle while my toddler sprints past you and I lose him in the crowd because you won’t let me by. I SEE YOU. Don’t be like Susan.
Have you ever noticed how much more energy, aka, endorphins, your have after a brisk walk or a run, or even doing a few jumping jacks in your living room? Moving increases our heart rate, which produces more oxygen, which makes you happy and more productive. The same goes for you business. The faster it moves, the more excited it will be to KEEP moving. And that’s what we want. We want to move forward, and fast. Maybe not lightening speed, but we’d like to get started, and to get started, we have to move.
In my twenties, I launched four of my own businesses, and over 150 businesses for clients. That’s about 20 businesses a year, equalling about a business every other week or so. That’s not an easy feat, and when it’s your business to launch businesses, you don’t take the job lightly. It’s livelihoods at stake. Not hobbies and not side hustles. It’s people’s dreams, sitting right there on your desk, and they can’t be delayed.
Call it hustle. Call it ambition. Call it whatever you want to call it, but this is your dream on the line. Your idea, and it’s your job to give it legs.
So if you’re sitting there, in analysis paralysis, wondering how in the hell you’re supposed to start a business with an idea, I’m here to tell you that you could have one by the end of the day.
Yes, you, the person reading this. You, the person who has no business experience, no background in entrepreneurship, and no idea how to balance your checkbook or where to find your city’s small business administration’s office. I’m here to tell you that a business is just an idea with legs. And we all learned to walk. Talk. Eat and read and have opposable thumbs. You, my dear friend, can start a business today if you want to.
But hoooooooowwwwww, I can hear you saying to me through the screen.
Yes, Nicole, we know. Your job is to launch businesses. Of course you are good at this. But I have never done this before. I have no idea what I’m doing.
In my own experience, starting a business begins like this:
Get really excited and tell all your friends!
Google “How to start a business.”
Immediately regret that decision.
Cry. Overwhelm. Anxiety.
Five weeks later, nothing has happened and those tabs are still open on your browser and your computer needs an update.
Seriously, I told you I see you.
Here’s how it should go:
Get really excited and tell all your friends!
Have a checklist of what to do, and when.
Follow said checklist and have your business up and running before you even tell your mom.
Cheer!
Get drinks with friends because it only took you 8 hours to start your business and now you have something to drink to.
How’s that sound?
Better, right? It sounds like you could actually be that girl on those Instagram stories who is earning some money while she chases her dream, because she turned her dream into an idea and then gave it legs and WALKED ON THEM.
Nice job, babe. You have officially transitioned from infancy to toddlerhood, and pretty soon those threenager years are gonna kick in and you can have a strong opinion, voice it, and people are gonna sure as hell listen. Because you’re a business. A legit one. And ready to rock and roll, TODAY.
This is how I launch a business on one day. I sit down, and I do it. I have a checklist, and I follow it to the T every single time.
And every single time, that business is launched by the end of the day. What we do with it after that… well… set your dreams big, babe. Because the groundwork has been laid and you have nowhere to go but up.
So, in true Launch Strategist style, I have made this checklist I’ve used for over 150 businesses, and all of my own, available to you. As a download. And something you can have in your hands right now. As in, you can launch your business TODAY. Not tomorrow, not next week. Today, babe.
I call it the 8 Hour Launch Guide, and in it, you have every single, step by step tool you need to launch your business in eight hours. One day. Flat. And each section is broken down by time, so if you need to take advantage of nap time, or breaks between classes, or coffee breaks at work, this is the guide for you. Bite off a piece, head to the next. And launch your biz, today.