While Timothy Ferriss’ The Four Hour Workweek is mostly filled with ways to launch a large-looking internet business, Chris Guillebeau’s The $100 Startup is a bit more personal.
The $100 Startup is largely a compilation of stories that Chris has collected from two types of entrepreneurs: Accidental and Timid.
Accidental Entrepreneurs were people that found a personal need, filled that need, and then realized they could make money from it by helping others to fill that same need. Examples include a woman who organized a small networking event for artists, graphic designers who made their own maps for a road trip, and an I.T. employee who created a much-needed instruction manual for a (very niche) software program.
Timid Entrepreneurs were people who made excuses for not launching their near-complete business because they lacked in confidence. Examples include, a wedding photographer and a website consultant who only needed to display on their websites that they were ready for business.
The book helps to simplify the process of starting a business by offering handy checklists and worksheets such as: “The One-Page Business Plan”, “Thirty-Nine Step Product Launch Checklist”, and “Seven Steps to Instant Market Testing”. He also helps you to create a solid “Frequently Asked Questions” website page and talks about the importance of an outstanding “Guarantee”.
One of my favorite chapters focuses on the importance of giving people things that can improve their lives (free-time, money, peace-of-mind) and taking away things that don’t (stress, confusion, frustration). Because, after all, that is what people really want.
The businesses highlighted in this book don’t seem to appear bigger than they actually are. They are simply individuals offering other individuals their products or services. But even if your plans are greater than this down the road, this seems to be a much less overwhelming approach to beginning of your financial independence.
While the captain announced a short delay due to mechanical difficulties, I took the opportunity to read through the airline magazine. An article called “Embark” really caught my attention. It addressed the topic of turbulence, defined as, “the irregular, seemingly arbitrary movement of the air that a plane flies trough, caused by a variety of elements – wind blowing across hills, mountains or canyons: the boundaries between the relatively still air and the rapidly moving jet stream at high altitudes: and the updrafts and downdrafts that occur in ad near storms.
It was not lack of money what was holding me back. It was not lack of time either, or skills or support. You see, if these all were necessary I wouldn’t be talking about my new business now because I would have plenty of reasons to not even think about building a business. In fact, I could say that my circumstances now have been the least favorable for a business transition. Just to mention a couple, during the last year, my personal income was reduced by at least an 80% due first to complications with my pregnancy and then the premature delivery of my youngest son. In January, an awful accident reduced my income again for a few weeks.
