How To Fail at

Your First Business

 

Step 1: Go with the first idea that comes to mind.

 

The one that makes sense to you. Better yet pursue your passion of knitting
cat socks and build a business behind that. (or is that a good idea?)

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Step 2: Spend all your money on critical startup items:

 

• Graphic Designer to Create Logo

 

• Branded Shirts

 

• Branded Stickers

 

• Standing Desk (motorized)

 

• Galaxy Tab (Costco Special + 2% Cash Back on your Costco Citi)

 

• Domain Name: CatSockMafia.com

 

• Setup all your social profiles and Blog

 

• Hire V.A. (employee #2) to Set Up all your social profiles and Blog

 

• Have VA Schedule Time To Hangout With Your Friends “Because” (one
  of which lives in the same house)

Step 3: Kick back your feet and relax…

 

…you’ve done the hard stuff, now you need to build the brand on social.

 

Step 4: “Do Market Research”

 

• Call Grandma get feedback on your business idea (also quiz her as
  she may be in your “cat sock” niche demographic)

 

• Call Mom get her insight on the business side of things. how good
  of an idea it is and how she can help by knitting the socks.
  Employee #3 at CatSockMafia.com.

 

• later that night: “Yeah we’re growing ,scaling ,problem is we’ve
  had to double our workforce.”

 

• Other Person “Wow, that’s incredible, how many employees?”

 

• You: “Let’s put it this way, we’ve had to grow hiring by more than
  90%, yeah it’s not cheap, NDA’s and such, can’t get into
  specifics”.

 

• Other Person “Wow”.

 

• You “Oh yeah” (inner you: ‘Why Do I Do This?)

 

• While at the bar, engage in one upmanship with your bros. Explain
  how profitable the cat sock niche is, and how you’re going to
  dominate the market. Be sure to remind them that they’ll be lucky
  if you invite them to join your startup.

 

• Read some tech stuff on twitter. Get the idea and sign up for an
  adwords account. You’ll login when you need to do some keyword
  research, you’re good for now. You use social all the time. Seo is
  the same thing right? Social Engagement Online.

Step 5: Time To Deliver the Goods…

 

• Have no idea how to login to WordPress and your VA isn’t answering
  in a timely fashion (time for some coaching ?) so you’ll create a
  Facebook page for now, better yet Blogger would be better.

 

• You take some pictures of the cat socks and post on facebook. You
  add products to your page. You do the same with twitter and
  instagram. (linking to your facebook store page)

 

• DM: Mom, Grandma, Your Cousin (none of your friends) to share your
  posts (virality). Take a moment to cry (because your true intuition
  is telling you you’re screwed)

 

• Sit back and wait for the cash to roll in.

 

Steps 6: Lessons in Business Management…

 

• Meet with your VA (have her schedule the Google Hangout Meeting)

 

• Quote Jack Welch’s book Winning and tell her how CatSockMafia.com
  is aspiring to Six Sigma esque status. This might be a bad fit for
  them. They need to aspire to greatness and show you something, that
  they want to be here, be a part of CatSockMafia.com.

 

• To your surprise she quits.

 

• Time to get Lean and Motivate Staff

 

• Call Mom and chastise her for lack of likes on her facebook share
  of your most recent post. Tell her she is now responsible for
  social and you’ll walk her and Grandma through it at a team meeting

 

• To your surprise Mom quits.

 

• You realize that you need to go back and start over. Iterate the
  business model. Save money or get startup capital. Get proof of
  concept. Actually do a bunch of work to even see if the idea is
  valid. All which you would do if you could solve your staffing
  issues.

Business failure risk can be due to many things.  One thing we all have control over is our egos.  Keep your ego in check, or, as Ray Kroc would say, “stay green”

Click Here – How To Fail Cheap, S.M.A.R.T, and Fast (and Learn To Run a Sustainable Online Business)