I firmly believe that the Shark Tank craze has gotten the heads of entrepreneurs spinning. Too many people have been left thinking they’ve got to change the world with their new business or idea in order to be successful. And that’s simply not true.
The most risk-averse way you can start a business and make a profit within the first couple of months is a boring, old service-based company. Use your sweat equity and build your customer list up for a couple of years, then hire and delegate as you grow. You wont need to worry about raising outside capital or achieve a growth rate of 60% year-over-year in order to become successful.
Owning a business gives you the chance to have the freedom to answer to be your own boss.
They don't glorify starting a small service based businesses that grow slowly and steadily over time.
Choose any episode you want and you'll see how quickly it comes out that the business pitching the sharks has raised something like a million dollars in their first round of funding. This is unrealistic for most of us. Boring service-based businesses (i.e. junk removal, cleaning services, HVAC, dumpster rentals, portable toilets, and everything else in between) are usually overlooked as a way to enter the small business market simply because they're not "sexy" enough. They don't change the world. You don't have the ability to become a unicorn and achieve a billion dollar valuation on your IPO.
Who cares?! I don't know about you, but I think profits are pretty sexy. And boring service-based businesses are almost always just that: profitable cash-flowing entities.
They don't value simplicity above all else.
Creating a simple and streamlined service company will provide all kinds of golden opportunities. Over time, they develop predictable cash flows and oftentimes you're not forced to compete with billion dollar companies. The customer service of local competitors are typically lacking, and there's plenty of poor brand recognition to go around.
Not sure what type of business to start? Here's a tip: Look around where you live and find a business that does well, but is still using clipboards, paper ledgers, and a fax machine... go compete against them.
The beauty of a low-cost, low-barrier to entry, service business is that even in the worst-case scenario, you can pivot and change course anytime you want at a relatively low cost. Heck, even if you leased certain assets like a van or truck, you could probably just use it in your next venture or idea.
They don't demonstrate the deeper value of working for yourself.
A lot of people think having a job is safe, but don't realize that at any moment they can be escorted out of the building for no real reason at all. Entrepreneurship, when done right, offers the ability to make positive, life-altering changes. The biggest change I've personally noticed is the ability to reclaim control of my time. Time is one of those things you can never get back. The problem is that time freedom is often the first thing that’s sacrificed on the way to achieving it - getting lost in weekends spent away from family, canceled vacations, and non-stop stress. And if you feel like you’ve ended up sacrificing the very same freedom that led you to becoming an entrepreneur in the first place, then I’m happy to tell you that you’re now in the right place to reclaim it.
Trading your time for money is not a long-term winning strategy but by using your time now to build something that will give you more time freedom later on, now that is a successful path. If this sounds like something you're ready to change in your own life starting right now, then I invite you to book your free discovery call with me so I can help you get started owning your time and building a life you love.
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