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Use These Tips to Make Your Next Logo Design

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When I relaunched New Inceptions in 2015, one of the things that I knew I had to do was make a new logo. Not only was the one I had outdated, but I didn’t really know where the original Photoshop file went.

ni-logo-progression

Between the first iteration of the logo and the current version, I’ve learned a thing or two about logo design.

What works, what doesn’t work, and why some logos don’t seem to go out of style.

That said, I thought since I’m asked this question quite a bit (right there with “What should I call my new business?”) I thought I’d give you guys a detailed framework of how to make a logo for yourself whenever you start a new brand or a new business.

You’ll be learning:

  • Part 1: Getting Ideas for Your Logo
  • Part 2: Making Your Logo
  • Part 3: Mistakes you want to be sure you avoid

Part 1: Getting Ideas for Your Logo

When it comes to logos, you can either pay someone else to do them, rr, in true New Inceptions fashion, do it yourself quickly and inexpensively.

Either way you go, it’s best to give you or your artist some inspiration to work from. Something you can say, “I like this but I don’t like this”.

Your goal in this section is to simply give you or your artist pieces of previous work to work from – but not necessarily define what your logo is going to look like.

triple-self-portrait-19601

Among many other instances, artists are known to use this technique when they’re making portraits (just as Norman Rockwell’s Triple Self Portrait shows here). It’s called having a reference.

These logos that you’re going to be picking are those reference pics.

Here’s how you find reference pics (images):

  1. Go to Google Image Search
  2. Type in “reference image logos” (or the name of a favorite brand, or central point of your design + “logo”)
  3. Click an image you might want to use as a reference.
  4. When that image is highlighted, you’ll see an option to “View more”. Click that if you want to see more like the one you clicked.
  5. Save as many examples as you like. I try to aim for 15 or 20 logos when I’m doing this initial combing of images. If you luck out, you might find something like one of these:

multiple-logos

Here’s the link for this search.

Limiting Your Choices to Your Top 3 to 5 Choices

So, here’s the deal. You should currently have 15 or 20 images that you like. Something that you’ve just given a thumbs up to.

But we want to go deeper than that. We want to now start looking at logos that maybe you like some part of. Or how something is laid out. Or perhaps you like the font. Here are 5 criteria that you want to use in choosing which logos you want to (or your artist) to work from.

 

Simple and Flexible

You can go from being simple to complex, very quickly. Look at my 2nd rendition of my logo. It’s a logo, but it’s very complex. I was doing ok with the font, but it wasn’t clean. It was a hodge podge of ideas.

So, what I ended up being suggested to me on Fizzle was that I needed to clean it up. Start using my brand colors and just tighten all my concepts down. Oh, and don’t forget that the font needed to be simpler as well.

End result? Something someone doesn’t have to sit there and analyze – but yet included the compass, dreamcatcher, and a catchy slogan.

 

Appeal to Different Audiences

Here’s something else to consider. You don’t want to have a rigid design. Again, if you look at my 2nd version, there wasn’t going to be many ways I could use that design. While I might be able to float it on a blog, using it through social media in the profile squares might have been a bit of a pain. Again, simplifying the design allows me to use the letters “NI” for social media.

 

Design needs to be Versatile

To put this simply, you want to have the ability to use your logo in different situations. Does it look good online? Sure.

But how does it look on say a coffee mug, shirt, or a poster?

How does it look with different kinds of color? Grayscale?

At this point this is mainly opinion. So when you’re attempting to find your reference shots, keep these all in mind.

 

Be Unique!

Now, if the reference logos you’ve been thinking about using are too unique or cliche, this is where you drop them off.

How do you know if they’re too unique to use in your design?

Glad you asked!

Everyone knows the Coca-Cola logo – so don’t use it or anything that looks like it. Don’t use some design of an apple unless it’s with something else. No backward swooshes. Get the idea?

In other words,

  • Don’t Use Cliche Designs
  • Don’t Use Recognizable Fonts
  • Don’t Use Recognizable trademarks

how-to-not-have-a-unique-logo

Part 2: Making Your Logo

Now, you should have limited your selection of logos down to 3 to 5 different logos.

Just for an example, here are 5 that I limited my selection down to:

ideas-for-new-inceptions-logo

Next step: actually making your logo.

You want to get your hands on some sort of Graphic Manipulation software.

I use an antiquated version of Photoshop to do all of my work (CS5). It actually crashes from time to time. BUT you don’t need Photoshop to create an image from scratch.

In fact, there’s a free alternative called GIMP. GIMP has been around for a long time, but I’ve never actually used it! As a student back at Purdue, I was able to land a copy of Photoshop pretty inexpensively. Thank you student software rates!

Why did I opt for Photoshop instead of a free copy of GIMP? Mainly because GIMP wasn’t super user friendly. However, tt seems they’ve come a long distance since then.

If you want to check out using GIMP, here’s a tutorial I found for you.

Things to Consider When Making YOUR Design:

Make sure you logo has a story to tell. Meaning that it shows how and why you’re different.

Here’s how you do that and what I was thinking when I made my logo:

 

What is your business about?

New Inceptions is about helping people chase their dreams and make a living from that. Hence the dreamcatcher and the compass.

 

What kind of personalities are you trying to attract?

I want to attract people who feel like they’re trapped.  That they’re not using their fullest potential. So I’m appealing to all 4 personality types.

    • Use bright colors for the expressives.
    • Use boldness for the drivers.
    • Use the right slogan for the analyticals and the amiables.

 

Show that you incorporate thinking and meticulous ideology in your work.

When I redesigned my new logo, I made sure I considered proper proportion and symmetry. While some people might be super creative and use white space as part of their design, I instead opted to use what’s called a double entendre. It’s basically where you use two pictures in one. I combine the compass and the dreamcatcher whenever possible.

If your business involves activity, then you might want to consider showing that in your design.

Laila’s logo shows a woman’s silhouette doing a yoga pose and the tails of the letters seem to be growing as well. (Notice that these tails also give her a font that is highly customized.)

fitness-astronaut

And finally, remember that this is not about perfection. You don’t have to get it right the first time.

In fact, a ton of our favorite brands have done their own logo changes throughout the years:

changing-of-popular-brand-logos

So don’t expect to be perfect with your first, second, or third design!

Part 3: Common Mistakes that Designers Make

Finally, here are a few pitfalls that you or your artist want to make sure you avoid as your developing your logo.

  • Don’t Over Innovate – The coolest logo isn’t specifically the most complex. Keep it simple!
  • Don’t Underestimate Custom Fonts/Typography – If you have the talent or know someone that can do design work with letters, let them go for it. I can imagine that my next logo will feature more of this.
  • Don’t be predictable – Again, don’t use common elements in your design. If you do, perhaps do it in a way that’s unique! Here’s a cluster of circles that make the Twitter logo:twitter-logo-circles
  • Don’t use special effects in your designs – Don’t forget that we want our design to be flexible just like those that we used as reference. Special effects don’t lend themselves to coffee mugs and shirts too well!
  • Don’t constantly change your logo – You might have noticed that Facebook routinely changes their design and layout of Facebook. However, they never touch their logo. Don’t make it a habit to change your logo or colors regularly.

Wrap Up

So that’s how you make a logo – or at least how I’ve made mine and helped others do the same.

There’s a lot there. So here’s the short version:

  1. Find some non generic designs that you can get ideas from. Start with 10, 15, or 20 logos and bring it down to 3 to 5.
  2. Get some Graphic Manipulation Software – Can’t beat Photoshop, but GIMP is free.
  3. Create your logo using parts or ideas from other designs. But don’t copy directly. Use them as inspiration.
  4. Make sure your design tells the story of your business.

…

Think you’re ready to craft your new logo for your business but still have questions?

Leave your question in the comment section below. I’ll be personally reading and responding to all questions.

convertkit

Barrett Brooks: ConvertKit Transition, Empowerment of Others, and Meaningful Conversations (AoL 054)

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We’ve all felt that feeling where, at the end of the day, you wish you felt better about the work that you’re doing. Perhaps you feel like you’re stuck in a rut. Maybe you want to pursue something else with your time? Make more impact on people.

How do you do that?

There’s so much to the answer of that simple questions.

Like the team at New Inceptions, Barrett Brooks, today’s guest, is all about helping people make an impact. He did it with his first business called Living for Monday, then went on to join Fizzle, and now he works with ConvertKit as their Brand Strategist and Community Builder.

In this chat with Barrett, we find out more about that transition to ConvertKit and what he looks forward to doing with them. We also got the opportunity to find out more about his time with Seth Godin, why he likes empowering others, and why he believes meaningful conversations are the basis for great relationships.

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • How Barrett got involved with ConvertKit 8:00
  • What’s the people and culture at ConvertKit like? 11:28
  • Who is ConvertKit for? 13:48
  • What was Barrett’s time with Seth Godin like? 15:56
  • Knowing what he knows now about business, how would he have changed his business plan for his old business “Living for Mondays”. 23:13
  • How did Barrett get started with Fizzle.co? 26:17
  • What were things that made Barrett want to become an empowerer of others? 29:05
  • Where does he get his interest in politics and world events? 40:02
  • Why he believes that great relationships are built on deep conversations and connections. 45:16
  • Who does Barrett coach and how does he reach out to them? 47:26
  • His thoughts in how to get more people in deep and meaningful conversations. 52:01
  • Biggest 3 Influencers in Barrett’s Life 59:24
  • What he believed when he was 21 and now sees as bogus. 1:00:11
  • Who’s the most awe-inspiring person he’s met? 1:01:23
  • One thing under $100 that has changed his life. 1:02:37
  • Who comes to mind when he thinks of success? 1:03:10
  • … and MUCH more!

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Barrett’s Choice Books:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Barrett’s TEDx Talk

Teaser for the Fizzle Jess Lively Interview

Jess Lively Interview:

barrett brooks jess lively

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

His interview via Talking Davos:

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and/or Google Play Music. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

 

starting a SaaS Business

Tips for Starting a SaaS Business and Exploring Current Events with Matej Leban (AoL 053)

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Have you heard of The Foundation? The one educational program with Dane Maxwell teaching people how to build a SaaS based business? Perfect students are those who don’t have their own idea, money, or skills to make it work out on their own?

If you haven’t, go check it out!

If you have heard of it, you might have heard that the hardest problem that many Foundation students have is finding someone to work on the technical aspect of things. They don’t know where to look or how to vet those that they have found on a site like Upwork.

That’s where today’s guest, Matej Leban comes in.

Just like other students, Matej struggled with this part. Eventually, though, he figured out a way around it.

Today with SaaSBloom, he helps others do the same thing.

In this chat, we talk about that story and some tips he’s learned in making a profitable SaaS. We also discuss why a guy like him, who’s from Eastern Europe, would be interested in US Politics.

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • Matej’s Experience Being a Mentor in the Foundation 8:52
  • What flipped his entrepreneurial switch. 11:21
  • Some tips that Matej has learned to successfully cold contact potential clients. 20:28
  • Where the idea for SaaSBloom came from 24:20
  • What Matej would use to create in the world. 32:54
  • Why Matej, who’s from Eastern Europe, has an interest in US Politics. 34:06
  • Sources that Matej follows to stay on top of World Events 48:50
  • What are 3 influencers that have influenced Matej to where he is today 55:21
  • One gift he likes giving the most. 57:43
  • One thing Matej believed when he was 28 years old, but doesn’t any longer. 58:19
  • If he was going to place an ad cost free into world, what would it be? 2:32
  • One thing under $100 that has changed his life. 3:54
  • When he thinks of success, who comes to mind? 1:04:58
  • … and MUCH more!

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Dane Maxwell gives a quick intro to The Foundation and SaaS:

Maxie Describes working with Matej:

Men Who Built America Trailer:

Glenn Beck and Penn Jillette talk about Penn’s book “Everyday is an Atheist Holiday! More Magical Tales”

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and/or Google Play Music. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

 

brilliance and business

AoL 049: From Homeless in High School to Expert Enabler and Community Builder with Mellissa Rempfer

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There’s so many things we have to do as an entrepreneur. Either we do it ourselves or we pay someone else to do it.

If you’re just starting out on your path, you might not have the resources to pay for all the help you need.

How do you get things done if you need help on graphics or grammar checking? Maybe you need help getting through a mental block or getting a new perspective on your business? Do you have the resources to pay for all of that?

Probably not. Perhaps bartering is the answer. But where online can you do that?

That’s what today’s guest, Mellissa Rempfer has been able to foster in her group, Brilliance and Business.

In this chat, we talk about where the idea of the group came from and more about what sets it apart. We also get into how she got her start in doing big things early on, and the three instincts of the human condition and how those apply in life and business.

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • How Mellissa didn’t even realize she had hit the bottom even though she was homeless in high school. 11:05
  • How she moved from being homeless to going to college 16:19
  • Why she decided that she wanted to be a pediatric trauma surgeon. 18:41
  • Where the idea of a student center came from and how she was able to put all the pieces together to get it built on her campus. 21:17
  • What she did immediately after graduating. 29:33
  • When she felt it was time to start a business. 34:24
  • Her initial experience in coaching and how Brilliance and Business originally came about. 38:30
  • What Brilliance and Business is all about. 47:09
  • How she feels has helped her grow the group as well as it has? 53:55
  • How do the three instincts of the human condition play into what she does? 57:57
  • More about the implementation of these instincts in the group 1:05:55
  • What are some of the things that’s she’s looking forward to in the future 1:07:30
  • What three things she would like people to remember her by? 1:10:21
  • Three truths she wants to share with others? 1:10:36
  • Where she would run a non promotional ad and what would it say? 1:11:37
  • 3 Favorite Podcasts 1:14:04
  • What she would say to her 25 year old self? 1:17:40
  • When she thinks of success, who does she think of and why? 1:18:37
  • … and MUCH more!

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Tapping into and Embracing Your Brilliance:

Kim Eldredge and Mellissa talk about Mellissa’s book:

How to Communicate on Facebook:

Introduction to the Enneagram:

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and/or Google Play Music. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

building a long term business

AoL 048: Building a Long Term Business through Relationships, Metrics, and Family with Brandon Northwick

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It’s no secret that the way we run our business is based on how we approach the world. Is our business about us helping others with what we think they need help with, without hesitation, or do we see it more as a way of helping others in any way they actually need help? Meaning, we find those problems that they’re actually having and help them there.

To me, this latter method is, I think, how you build true relationships. Not necessarily trying to force what you do on people, but just making yourself available if they need help implementing a particular strategy or tool into their business.

In this rare episode, I dig down into the nuts and bolts of how Brandon Northwick runs his business. I find out how his wife Sara functions in the business, how he uses attraction marketing to get his clients, and how he builds trust with people through that process before getting the sale.

If you’re having problems with closing your service based sales, then you should definitely check out this straight-talk chat.

Enjoy!

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • Why you should careful when you using applications like Crowdfire 30:45
  • How do you standardize what people pay you for your services? 34:30
  • Why should people interested in their metrics and when? 36:51
  • How was Brandon’s wife Sara brought into the business world? 38:43
  • What does Sara do in the family business? 40:19
  • How does Brandon’s video strategy enter into his traffic strategy? 41:24
  • What you should do if you feel that your work life isn’t interesting enough to make videos for your business. 43:20
  • How does he generate leads from traffic? 47:09
  • What’s an example of a good opt-in? (The answer is not what you expect!) 49:26
  • What Brandon thinks about having to build trust with a customer before they buy. 52:32
  • How he uses attraction marketing to get his clients. 56:14
  • What kind of people have influenced Brandon’s ability to help people. 57:16
  • What he’s excited for in the future. 58:18
  • Three truths that he would share with others. 1:00:07
  • Three favorite podcasts 1:00:36
  • Something he believed when he was 20 years old, but thinks is bogus now. 1:00:57
  • When he thinks of success, who comes to mind? 1:02:42
  • … and MUCH more!

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Business for Breakfast – #1 Myth in Building a Lasting Business:


How to Get More Engagement with Social Media

How to Know Where to Sit at a Poker Table (I didn’t know this was a thing…):

Business for Breakfast – Being Guru Centric VS Client Centric:

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and/or Google Play Music. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

enthusiasticlay

AoL 046: Why Finding Your Clarity and Focus is Vital to Achieving High Performance with Clay Green

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“Why is it that some people seem to get more done in a short period of time, where I’m effectively just treading water?”

Here’s the deal — you’re a small business person. You’re the little guy. You only have so much time to do all of the things that need to get done in a given day. As I’ve mentioned in The 6 Cornerstones eBook, there are 6 things you have to do to be successful online. When you’re doing those things regularly, you still might feel as if you’re simply not moving forward as fast as you’d like.

As I also mention in the book, the first thing you need to do when starting any business is to embrace your Why. I’ve talked about this a couple of times on the blog – it’s that important.

When Brendon Burchard had his infamous accident, he asked himself at the time (because he didn’t know he was going to make it), if he had the opportunity to “Live, Love, and Matter.” That simple question helped him find his Why.

Similarly, today’s guest, Clay Green, has had a similar brush with death on a motorcycle. He actually hit a deer as he was out on his motorcycle. Since that moment, he’s been able to come to grips with his Why and it’s because he was able to encapsulate the focus that he felt in that moment.

Through his work with his clients, he helps them find that focus and clarity that so many of us struggle with – not only when we’re just getting started, but also as we’ve been working for such a long time that we’ve forgotten what we’re doing.

In this chat, we talk about the wreck, how people can live a Charged life, and what it’s like to be one of Brendon’s Certified High Performance Coaches.

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • Why Clay believes his career in military has lead to his success today. 4:31
  • How he believes that people can go from a comfortable or caged life to a charged life 14:25
  • The “Deer Incident” and what he got from it. 34:19
  • Why someone might actually want to have their own business. 46:15
  • What Clay got out of the Deer Incident 49:05
  • What’s the difference between going through Brendon’s High Performance Academy and becoming a Certified High Performance Coach? 54:15
  • How can someone realize that they’re struggling with one of the areas that Certified High Performance Coaches can help clients with? 1:00:44
  • What are three thought leaders he’s suggested the most to people? 1:13:10
  • One book that has catapulted him to where he is today. 1:14:35
  • What are three truths he’s learned over time that he’d share with others. 1:15:06
  • If he could say any ad on any social media, what would he say and what platform would he use? 1:18:13
  • What’s something he believed when he was 30 but he considers bogus now. 1:19:50
  • When he thinks of the word success, who comes to mind and why? 1:20:50
  • … and MUCH more!

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Clay and Tara Howisey discuss SnapChat to Drive Engagement and Increase Revenue:

Clay on Personal Branding:

Why you might be avoiding Success:

Bootstrap Businessmen Dale Roberts and Kevin Allen interview Clay:

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and/or Google Play Music. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

start a low budget business

How to Start a Business with a low budget, little technology access, hardly any time, and no college education

/by

Many times I’m asked, what kind of business can I start if I don’t have the money, skills, or the technology?

The quick answer: Any kind you want.

Many of the folks that I interact with in my daily life on and offline would love to have their own thing and make an income with it. However, for one reason or another, they simply haven’t gotten there yet.

They usually have one to four major obstacles that are getting in their way:

  • Limited Education (might not have gone to college)
  • Limited Access to Technology (they *might* have a laptop)
  • Limited Funding (might be on welfare)
  • Limited Time (they need to make money with the time they spend on what they’re doing)

My goal with this post is to take you through some key points and see if we can come out the end having figured out a solution to these issues while allowing you to properly utilize your skill set. Just a heads up, in this case, we’re going to be utilizing the idea of setting up a car repair shop as the primary example.

College Graduate vs No College

One thing I’ve noticed is there is a pattern when it comes to those who graduated college vs those who haven’t.

Those that have completed college, tend to see more obstacles all at once which makes them less likely to even get started. They believe they don’t have the necessary skills to do precisely what they want to do, so that’s the point? Or, if they’re like me when I first started, they realize the time investment it’s going to take to learn all of these new skills and simply believe they’ll run out of runway before they get off the ground. Just like so many other things, smart people tend to overthink themselves from actually moving forward.

On the other hand, those that haven’t gone to college actually tend to get started, but then soon realize that they don’t have the skills or the funding to follow through on their idea or take it to another level.

I mean, I know several guys who are good with cars. Most of them have been “work at home” repair guys in the past, but realized that it was too much of a hassle to keep going for a prolonged period of time. I’m guessing because the reason they got busy is because word of their good work and super low prices got out and everyone wanted to take advantage of it! Not a bad deal if you didn’t have money coming in before you got started, but after awhile, it just gets old or difficult to keep up.

So, inevitably they want to scale it up a bit. But how do you do that?

They have no extra money to hire anyone. And they don’t have time to learn to shoot and edit video to start a YouTube channel documenting what they’ve done.

So what choice do they have other than continuing to do things they’ve always done?

Both of these examples illustrate people that in the end have maxed out their time. If they had more time, they’d probably use even more of it to do the work themselves.

This isn’t a great solution.

So let’s figure out a solution that takes care of all of these issues at once.

Getting Started

In my FREE eBook, The 6 Cornerstones of a Successful Online Business, one of the things that I discuss is that it’s very important to have a Why.

Based on your background, your Why will differ quite a bit from the next person’s. I mean, it’s true that you might be interested in having the same result, but the reason you’re doing it is going to be your own because everyone has different backgrounds.

So first, you need to find out what your Why is and learn to hold onto it because it’s what will get you through the tough times. 

After you’ve found your Why, the next step is figuring out what you’ve enjoyed doing in the past the most in your past jobs and positions.

Whatever answers this question, that’s what you’re going to want to build your business off of.

Perhaps you like working with people, perhaps you actually do like working on cars. Maybe it’s both, it’s up to you to figure out what industry you want to work in.

Building the Foundation

Once you’ve determined the industry you want to work in, now it’s up to you to think about the type of business you’d like to ideally run. Would you like to have others working for you on a big online platform? Would you like to run a mechanic shop? Own several and just rake in the money? It really depends on what you see for yourself. Each goal is going to have a different approach. To build a proper foundation, you need to know what the finished product looks like.

 

Skill Inventory Check

At this point, if you’ve already read the 6 Cornerstones, you’re probably wondering where this is going because it seems pretty similar. Well, it is. That’s why I made the resource. It’s the general building blocks of a successful online business.

However, this post is more about the freelancing model. One big benefit of using this model is that it helps people earn income quickly.

So that said, this is the part that things start to change a bit.

If you’re wanting to do something online or that you have a fairly long runway, know that getting the 6 Cornerstones will help. But if you’re wanting to do something in the real world or need results yesterday, this hopefully will fill in some gaps.

So let’s stick with the mechanic example. As a mechanic you realize that you’d probably like having a shop, and you’re probably going to like having several guys working for you.

The first thing I’d do is make sure you have some procedures in place in how to do jobs. Luckily with mechanics, those procedures are fairly easy to get ahold of. If they’re not online, then I know that they’re in books in the part stores that have everything down to changing a headlight.

Now, here’s the thing. It’s not going to be up to you to be doing the jobs, What you need to find is someone that can actually do the jobs in the back while you’re out getting new customers. Or, if you REALLY want to be in the back working on things, you’re going to have to find someone that is good at getting the customers in.

You can’t do both in the end, and while I know at the beginning you might have time to do both, you should be more concerned about getting your shop started.

In other words, whatever you’re bad at or don’t want to do, find someone that will help fill in your weaknesses for a price point that you can afford.

Finding Help

Where are places that you can get folks who are looking to do work for cheap and not all the time? If you’re starting an online business, you can get people to help by project at Fiverr.com or at upwork.com if it’s something in depth.

As far as the mechanic shop owner goes, he’ll want to check schools or junior colleges that help mechanics get certified to work for the larger shops. They won’t be able to work all the time because they go to class, but they’ll probably need experience and they’ll probably want paid based on the project, and you can help them with both.

Of course you’ll want to find out what the market wants first, (specially in the car shop case, are you going to be specializing in domestics, imports, or both?) but in the end, you’re going to need help so start with it early based on how much work you got coming in.

 

Getting Paid

Now that we have you in charge of the “shop” and the actual mechanic (or in the online world a programmer or designer), you’ll want to make sure you’re not only covering your overhead (which in this case is charging enough to pay you and your help), but thinking about the future too.

Start off by pricing the work at something lower than most shops, but enough to pay you, your partner, and save a little per job. Eventually you’ll want to have some money to put towards that dream shop, but you want to also have enough money for taxes.

If you’re online and you’re starting a design group, the same holds true. Get enough that you and your partner are paid fairly, and have enough margin so that you can upgrade your technology, or buy better services to make your life easier so can put more enhancements in your sales funnel.

Momentum

As you and your help do more work, two things will happen.

  1. If have good quality, word will get out there on your quality, and you’ll get more customers through referrals. Also, if you’re doing your job, you’re letting more people know about your services just like your first customer.
  2. Your help might either want to go full time, or you might have to find another helper. As a full timer, your help will probably want to be paid more. If you opt to find another helper, you’ll have to put in more time as you get that new person up to speed. This choice is yours – just remember that a experience might just be worth the extra dollar, (or 20) per hour. Everyone has so much time, but there’s plenty of money out there.

Once you have this problem of momentum, this is where the real fun starts. Will you have to find another place to do your work before your dream shop? Do you bring on more part timers? It sounds basic, but it’s how the world works. Don’t over think it.

Checking our Results

Now, just in this mechanic shop example, we were able to come up with a business while dealing with all of the issues that were raised at the beginning.

  1. Limited Education – If you’re not good at something, don’t want to deal with it, OR doing it yourself prohibits your goal, you can always find someone that knows what they’re doing for a price point you can afford. You just have to think outside the box to find them.
  2. Limited Access to Technology – In the car shop sense, you’re not going to have all the greatest and best tools to get the job done. It doesn’t mean that you can’t rent equipment per job or just do the ones that you’re capable of doing at the time.

    If you’re working online, perhaps this means that the only time you’re doing business is through a library computer or via computers that are in a studio. Maybe you do have a laptop. At that point, you can start finding more clients at any time for your developer or designer.
  3. Limited Funding – Mechanic wise, if you’re starting off with $500 or $600, get tools you don’t have that are necessary to do one or two jobs that need to be done all the time. Meaning, do you have the basics for doing the jobs that a Jiffy Lube can do? Start there.

    If you’re doing a job online, use that money to buy software that you and your partner can use to do simple jobs. There’s tons of open source software suites out there. And you’d be surprised on what all is available today that is a good alternative to Photoshop. Same thing can be said about website development. Buy the license on one theme that can be changed to do practically anything you want. Enfold (the theme I use) is a great example.
  4. Limited Time – If you’re only able to spend 20 hours a week doing something, that’s all you need. That averages out to 3 hours a day. Not all of that time has to be equally distributed each day. If you can spend more time than that on a given day, then, by all means do so.

    Spend time doing something you’re good at. Again, I’d strongly recommend finding someone to help out as a helper early on or even a co-founder. It’s a much easier road and 50% of something is always better than 100% of nothing.

Obviously, this is post is heavy in the freelancer model. And that’s for a reason. The freelancer is the one entrepreneur type that can start earning an income the quickest and potentially the highest right away. Other types of business models might have higher returns later, but this is a great place if you need to change your hours into dollars.

If earning income quickly isn’t a necessity for you, then you might have other limitations that you might have to deal with. Maybe if you’re trying to be a thought leader or a teacher, you haven’t quite learned everything you need to know to have as much impact as you’d like. Or perhaps if you’re an artist, you simply haven’t mastered your craft yet.

If you’re thinking of becoming a thought leader, teacher, or mediapreneur, I highly recommend checking out the 6 Cornerstones eBook I spoke of earlier. I believe it will truly help you go the right direction when building something online for the long haul.

That said, best of luck to you as you start this journey. Would love to hear your thoughts below.