Entrepreneurship
HOW TO BE FREE IN A WORLD THAT DOESN’T WANT YOU TO BE
We are all chasing something. Some of us are chasing fame, many others power, and the great majority…money.
Most of us crave these things because we’ve lacked one or all at some point in our lives. For many of us, years and years pass as we yearn for what we lack.
Until! Until that one day arrives. The day we make up our minds to change things.
And so, we attempt to take matters into our own hands.
THE CHASE
We pursue with zeal, that thing we have convinced ourselves we were lacking.
We chase relentlessly our much-needed fame, power, and fortune.
And for the most part, many of us eventually reach our zenith. We reach a semblance of that intended aim.
Yet, once attained, something usually doesn’t seem right.
The exuberance gained from obtaining our goal quickly fades.
And unfortunately, that feeling of accomplishment is almost always short-lived.
Why?
Because in most cases, all too many of us chase goals without understanding the deep and true intentions of our pursuit.
We think all we really want is the money, the fame, and the power. We think once we get these things, everything in our lives will be fine. And all our problems will magically be solved.
But this is not true.
WHAT YOU REALLY WANT
This is not true, because money, fame, and power is not what you really want.
What most of us really want. What most of us really need, is to feel as if we own ourselves.
We all want the peace of mind that comes from knowing we can manage, survive, and even thrive on our own in this world.
From the day we are born, we seek out and continually struggle for more and more independence.
We want to know we can do it on our own.
Every waking moment, from our first breath to our last, we strive to own ourselves. We strive to find a way to move through this life unfettered, freely, and without restraint.
We seek the dignity that is bestowed upon the person who has learned how to become the master of their own life.
My friend, what we really want is freedom.
And freedom can only be found in one way.
And the way is through self-reliance.
NOT LOTS OF MONEY
On the surface, the money, fame, and power appear to be what we crave most. But it is not. It is the freedom those things can provide when the money, fame, and power are acquired.
However, without self-reliance, the fame, the money, and the power will always be limited. Without self-reliance you can never be free.
The self-reliant person can always find ways to acquire money. But, the reliant person will always be limited by their dependencies;
Dependent on an employer for a paycheck? Not Free.
Dependent on the government? Not Free.
Dependent on someone to take care of you? Not Free.
Dependent on a trust fund? Not Free Either.
You see, even the person who finds their way to some big money by good luck but lacks self-reliance, risks losing it all.
Look at all the tales of lottery winners and ex-professional athletes gone bust. They acquire loads of money, but never learn the value of self-reliance. They never learn the value of taking ownership of their own lives. They never truly learn how to be free.
As a result, they become victims of their outcome, prisoners of their bad habits, and almost always quickly go from having it all to losing it all.
NOT FAME
The self-reliant knows how and where to look to find fame and recognition. The reliant is bound by their ignorance and those with whom they owe their fame to.
A person who finds fame, but lacks independence, ends up much like the lottery winner who never learned the value of self-reliance. Such people eventually find themselves without their cherished celebrity-like status, and struggle mightily to get it back.
They hope their managers, agents, or talent scouts can help them, and they can, but it always comes with a price. And that price is freedom.
And the minute a person realizes they don’t have true freedom, their fame loses its luster.
NOT POWER
The self-reliant person easily learns the inner workings of power. And when you combine their independence with their deep understanding of power, gaining the upper hand (when it comes to power) is made so much easier.
A person who wields power, but is dependent on others, always comes up short. Power is best managed and kept by the self-sufficient, self-supporting, and the self-reliant. A person who depends on another, always forfeits their power over to the person they depend on.
Power seeks dependents, not dependency.
And that is why, only he who is self-supporting is self-reliant, independent, free.
HOW TO BECOME FREE
So how can you become more self-reliant? How can you become free?
Simple.
You decide to be. Then you work for it, labor for it, earn it.
Independence, freedom, and happiness will always come through labor, not idleness. You can’t get to a Super bowl, let alone win it, by accident. The same goes for the World Cup, the Olympics, or name your highly cherished endpoint.
There’s no pill you can take that will automatically show you how to be free, nor is there an easy shortcut for learning how to become self-reliant. But there is a formula, and it’s quite simple.
Simple formula, yes, easy formula, no.
And the simple formula is this… awareness + action.
Related: Inspiring Self-Reliance Quotes
AWARENESS
If you truly want to learn how to be free, you must make up your mind to become the master of your circumstances. You must decide to become the captain of your own ship.
And that starts to happen when you become aware that you are fully responsible for your decisions, your actions, for your life.
And in so doing, you’ll realize that all your efforts, or lack thereof, have lead you to the exact point where you find yourself today.
This realization is your starting point. It will be your foundation for future action towards your true aims. Freedom.
ACTION
The self-reliant person is too strong, too decent, too dignified to depend upon others, like some needy infant, for his support.
He strives to learn, shuns self-conceit, embraces self-trust, and becomes a person of quick decision.
The self-reliant man, the free man, is a man of action.
Are you a man…or woman of action? You get to decide.
You have the keys on how to be free. They were just given to you, so what will you do with them?
If you wish to maintain sovereignty over yourself in the highly connected world we find ourselves in, you must get comfortable with maximum effort, and continuous striving.
You absolutely must become a person of action.
If you truly want to be self-reliant and free, you must begin trusting yourself as a task-master. Take responsibility for everything that has happened and is happening in your life.
Most importantly, if you don’t like where you are going, or if you feel you are over dependent on anyone or anything, have the courage to take massive action.
Grab the helm of your ship, and steer it into the harbor you seek. Your freedom awaits!
Till you reach your aims,
STRIVE
PS – Achieving freedom doesn’t just magically happen. Achieving freedom requires a plan. So, if you truly want to captain your own ship and be free, you’ll need something like this to steer your ship from point A to point B.
Entrepreneurship
9 TIPS IF YOU WANT TO START A BUSINESS WITH NO IDEAS
So, you want to start a business but have no ideas?
No problem!
There are an unlimited number of ideas out there. And there are many ways to find those ideas. You only need to learn how to tap into your creative genius to spot them.
But where do you start?
The best ideas are those closest to your heart. Ideas that are good and that you will enjoy pursuing. Because when you love the process, you will stay consistent despite setbacks.
And that’s key to building a successful business.
Let’s dive into 9 tips to start a business if you have no ideas.
HOW TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR WITHOUT AN IDEA
Tip 1: What Are You Passionate About?
Follow your passion – it sounds cliche.
But in simpler terms, it means doing what you enjoy. And though it sounds so simple, this part is crucial in staying consistent for most people.
Sure, you can trade crypto because it’s popular. You can build a real estate business because many wealthy people do it. Or start an online business to have the freedom to travel the world.
But none of them is easy.
All of them come with hardships, setbacks, and challenging times.
And if you lack joy in the process, you most likely give up when those times happen.
So, when you come up with business ideas, make sure to pursue the ones you fall in love with. Don’t just go with the idea because it could make a quick buck.
Here are some ways to think about new ideas:
- What do you already enjoy doing?
- How do you spend your free time?
- What do you talk about all the time?
- Who or what inspires you in the world – and why?
- At what moments do you completely forget about time?
- If you could master one skill instantly, what would it be?
It’s a great idea to begin with yourself if you want to start a business with no ideas.
Tip 2: What Are Your Strengths?
Starting a business around your strengths is a great idea.
Knowing your strengths is key to achieving success. It enables you to get into positions in which you thrive. Simultaneously, it allows you to team up with those who complement you best.
Besides, it’s no secret that most people tend to enjoy what they excel at. In other words, finding your strengths may uncover some new passions.
And before you tell yourself that you lack any strengths, everyone does.
It just manifests in different ways.
For some, it’s hidden in a specific skill, like coding or painting. For others, it’s hidden in their character traits. And while some people are exceptional with other people, others do their best work alone.
Here’s how you can find yours. Come up with answers to the following questions:
- What were you naturally better at in school?
- What do you do with ease that others struggle with?
- What have others complimented you for?
- What type of work or tasks do you like doing for fun?
- What business can you best see or visualize yourself doing?
- Do an online strengths test, like the free High 5 Test.
Think about your strengths from different angles. For example, are you good with numbers? Very creative? Are you great with people? Are you accountable? Responsible? Ambitious? Good at money management? Or brilliant with computers? Etc.
If you struggle to find your natural powers, do various strength tests. That way, you will get input from different perspectives.
Tip 3: Start With Purpose
In the famous TED talk, Simon Sinek talks about having a purpose. Or as he calls it, having a “Why”.
And he explains how Apple used it to become the standalone brand they are today. But it’s not just for brands. It’s for individuals too.
A good example is Viktor Frankl. In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, he writes about how it was purpose the helped him survive and thrive in the concentration camps of the Nazis during World War II.
That’s how powerful a purpose is.
It can be the single reason that causes you to keep going, despite feeling unmotivated, lacking willpower, and wanting to give up.
Besides, finding your purpose may lead straight to the perfect business idea. Here you can learn how to find your purpose.
Tip 4: Audit Your Existing Skills and Knowledge
When you want to start a business with no ideas, a good place to start is with your current skills and knowledge.
What do you know well? What jobs or positions have you held in the past? And how might you be able to leverage those skills for services in a business?
It’s often challenging to start a business in something you have no experience. But you will find it easier to come up with ideas when you already have some knowledge and skills.
It provides a launchpad towards success.
You can use that to develop your business experience and confidence. And you can use that to spiral up new ideas and start new businesses if that’s what you desire.
But what do you do if you lack skills or knowledge?
Know that your skill sets translate to your business success.
So, the more skills you learn, whether those are skills like coding and marketing, or soft skills like communication and selling, determine your success.
Do you not have any skill set yet? Then you might want to start there first. Here is a list of 10 well-paying and in-demand skills.
Tip 5: Research Different Niches
There are many, and I mean many, different business ideas and opportunities out there. And finding one that suits you is a matter of doing research and then trying stuff out.
Think about it: almost anything you can think off has a business around it somewhere in the world.
Online businesses alone already come with unlimited amounts of opportunity. You just need to explore your options.
Do your research, and you will have plenty of business ideas to choose from in no time.
Here’s just a few simple ideas that you can start with:
- Consultant (online) in any area of expertise
- A bookkeeping business
- Developer: freelance or building your own thing
- Commerce store: physical or online
- Restaurant or food truck owner
- A personal trainer or gym owner
- Coaching or teaching of any kind
- Shaved ice or ice cream truck owner
- Designers of all sorts
- A planning business
- A travel business
- Massage therapist
- A cleaning business
- A landscaping business
- An exterior home services business
- Running your own Airbnb
- An (online) marketing agency
- A sales business
There are just too many options to list. But if you struggle with your research, you can also check out these 5 easy business ideas.
Do your research, explore the options, and soon have a great idea to start a successful business.
Tip 6: Consume More
Consuming more may sound counterproductive. But I do not imply that you should watch more tv. Instead, you should deliberately choose what to take in.
And in being deliberate, I mean learning about ideas on a range of different things.
Read non-fiction books on any topics. Dive into biographies of the people you admire. Watch documentaries about a range of things. Read blogs, watch YouTube videos, and explore everything.
Expand your knowledge.
Seek to understand a bit of everything. And then, dive deeper into what interests you to find a business idea.
Exploring a variety of topics is good advice in general. Not just for starting a business if you have no ideas but also for your personal life.
Tip 7: Practice Creativity
You may not see yourself as creative, but all humans are. And there’s an easy way to prove that to yourself:
Come up with one business idea every day.
That’s not too difficult, right? You don’t have to be original. You don’t have to go wild and think outside the box.
You just need to come up with a different idea every day.
Why?
It develops the habit of creativity. Starting with simple and common business ideas gets you into that way of thinking. Then, over time, business ideas appear everywhere you go.
And that’s when you come up with out-of-the-box ideas.
That’s when creativity works its magic.
But until then, you will have to develop the habit. You have to stimulate the mind a little bit. After all, you only become good at something if you practice it.
Tip 8: Solve Problems
Every successful business solves a problem. In fact, if yours doesn’t solve a specific problem, you will soon be out of business.
And there are many different problems to solve.
- World problems, like climate change.
- Local problems, like not having a gym in the area.
- Psychological issues, like self-created suffering.
- Social problems, like how we deal with each other.
- Financial problems, like not being able to pay the bills.
- Health problems, like struggles to lose weight.
There are just so many problems in the world. Find an issue that’s meaningful to you. And start your business around solving it.
Need more guidance in finding problems?
Start with yourself.
What problems have you encountered in your life? Which problems did you overcome?
For example, people who struggle with weight loss may become the best personal trainers. Why? Because they can relate to their clients and understand their pain.
If you want to start a business and have no ideas, think about the closest problems to your heart. What would you like to solve?
Tip 9: Build an Audience First
You may already feel passionate about something but fail to see how to start a business around it. Or even if you see a path, it might involve many risks, like significant investments.
But you can start risk-free.
Here’s a business idea that requires no capital. Something you can start from the comfort of your home. With nothing more than a keen interest in a specific topic.
And that’s to build an audience first.
Before you have any idea about what to sell, why not build an audience around your topic of interest first? Then, listen to your audience and get them involved.
And then use their input to develop products or services.
It’s a great model.
All you need is a passion and a platform through which you want to talk about it. Think about YouTube or TikTok if you like creating videos, a podcast if you enjoy audio, or a blog if you enjoy writing.
For example, on my blog, I talk about personal development. And while it doesn’t make a lot of money today, I focus on building an audience first to learn more about them.
Besides, it’s a great learning experience, and I enjoy it. And with the knowledge gained, I might just start a completely different business.
You will just have to start somewhere.
So, if none of the tips in this article gave you a business idea, at least give this tip a try. It has proven to be my best decision in life.
Bonus Tip
If you’ve applied all 9 tips, and you’re STILL thinking to yourself, ‘I want to start a business, but have no ideas, nor a clue as to what I should do’, then this last and final bonus tip will do the trick.
Ultimately, this last bonus tip (or rather insights) will have you watching a handful of videos from the following YouTube channels. These channels are the best of the best when it comes to business ideas, what it takes to run those businesses, how much you can expect to make in each. Our suggestion is to pick the show you like best, and then take a deeper dive into all of their videos for countless business ideas. Here they are:
UPFLIP
Video Credit: UpFlip (Subscribe Here)
CODIE SANCHEZ
Video Credit: Codie Sanchez (Subscribe Here)
REYES THE ENTREPRENEUR
Video Credit: Reyes The Entrepreneur (Subscribe Here)
Closing Thoughts
Starting a business is hard. And starting a business with no ideas may seem near impossible. But ideas and opportunities are everywhere.
The question is: where do you look for the best ones?
I hope that I’ve inspired you to start with yourself in this article. Understand who you are. What makes you tick. And then teach yourself to come up with new business ideas every time.
It’s all about taking action.
Perhaps you won’t find your perfect idea straight away. Many entrepreneurs start many businesses throughout their lives. Many of which fail.
But through these experiences, they eventually find the perfect one.
In other words, give the tips in this article some thought. Then, find something that you would enjoy, don’t be afraid to experiment, and just start taking action.
Till then,
STRIVE
PS – If you’ve ever said to yourself, “I want to start a business, but have no ideas”, then you’ll enjoy these helpful resources:
Entrepreneurship
75+ PATRICK BET-DAVID QUOTES FOR SUCCESS
Patrick Bet-David, a.k.a. PBD is an American entrepreneur, speaker, and author of at least three different books, including a Wall Street Journal #1 best seller ‘Your Next Five Moves’. Bet-David is also the founder of Valuetainment, a rapidly growing media brand that teaches people all over the world the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, the value personal development, while simultaneously encouraging people to take a chance on their goals. That said, the man knows a thing or two about success, which is why we decided to round up some of the best Patrick Bet-David quotes on success and business.
Our aim is to create a short list of some of Patrick Bet-David’s best advice in the form of quotes and sayings that you can come back to when you need guidance, encouragement, or just a good reminder. So, without further ado, if you’re ready to digest some of the best success advice out there on the web today, let’s dive head first into these Patrick Bet-David quotes for success.
BEST PATRICK BET-DAVID QUOTES FOR SUCCESS
1. “Stop constantly taking the easy way out. No blockbuster movie was ever based on an easy life.” – Patrick Bet-David
2. “It takes hard work to make it to the top. It takes twice the effort to stay at the top.” – Patrick Bet-David
3. “If you can walk, talk, hear or see, you have everything it takes to do something big with your life.” – Patrick Bet-David
4. “The most important person to believe in is you. Everyone else who believes in you means nothing unless if you finally believe in yourself.” – Patrick Bet-David
5. “Stop thinking about your past mistakes. Stop worrying about what the future holds. Start focusing on what you can do now.” – Patrick Bet-David
6. “A talented entrepreneur with bad habits eventually becomes an employee. An average employee with great habits can eventually become a great entrepreneur.” – Patrick Bet-David
7. “If you want to be big, you must be willing to disappear for a while.” – Patrick Bet-David
8. “Very few people in business keep their word. When you find them, go into business with them.” – Patrick Bet-David
9. “The first 2 years of being an entrepreneur is a roller coaster ride. The goal is to eventually own the roller coaster and the theme park.” – Patrick Bet-David
10. “In the end, your success will speak for itself.” – Patrick Bet-David
11. “Everyone has a great idea but only a few have great work ethic.” – Patrick Bet-David
12. “The best recruiters in the world are small thinkers. They convince millions of dreamers to give up on their dreams.” – Patrick Bet-David
13. “You either pay the price now or pay the price later, but regardless of your decision, the price must be paid in full.” – Patrick Bet-David
14. “Savings give you a lot of strength, flexibility and control. They are what give you the most powerful Answer in The World.” – Patrick Bet-David
15. “I’ve not found one single mutual fund, on single real estate investment, any gold, silver or anything else that has given me higher returns than me investing in myself.” – Patrick Bet-David
16. ‘Your vision must align with who you want to be. Your choices must align with your vision. Your effort must align with the size of your vision. Your behavior must align with your values and principles.” – Patrick Bet-David
17. “The only way you’re going to make it in business is when everything is your fault, when everything is your responsibility.” – Patrick Bet-David
18. “We never feel completely ready for life’s big decisions; but in taking the leap, we push ourselves to the next level.” – Patrick Bet-David
19. “If you think your critics are wrong, prove it. If you think your haters are wrong, prove it. If you think you’re right, prove it. Results have historically been the best way to prove you’re right.” – Patrick Bet-David
20. “No one remembers average and ordinary. NO ONE! Give your VERY best. You only get one shot at this thing called ‘life’.” – Patrick Bet-David
21. “If you’re going to overdose on anything, overdose on getting better. It’s one of the greatest natural highs of life.” – Patrick Bet-David
22. “The only way to be bulletproof is to focus on you improving your game.” – Patrick Bet-David
23. “Sometimes God will put a Goliath in your life, to bring out the David within you. Chin up. Look up. Rise up.” – Patrick Bet-David
24. “Underachievers think they’re working harder than they actually are. Overachievers think they’re not working hard enough. Underachievers think they know it all. Overachievers think the don’t know it all. History favors the overachiever.” – Patrick Bet-David
25. “The less your business depends on you the more it’s worth.” – Patrick Bet-David
26. “Change will come only when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.” – Patrick Bet-David
27. “One cannot charm or seduce their way out of lost time. Time has no mercy for those who take it for granted.” – Patrick Bet-David
28. “The bigger the vision you have, the more important it is for you to think on what type of a team you’re going to put around you.” – Patrick Bet-David
29. “The more you pay the price the more you improve. The more you go above and beyond the more you lead. The more you overdeliver on your promises the more you do things others aren’t willing to do, you eventually expect success. It’s not longer a question. It’s inevitable.” – Patrick Bet-David
30. “Focus on doing MORE.” – Patrick Bet-David
31. “Take responsibility for what you have control over and focus on that.” – Patrick Bet-David
33. “Short-term thinkers are a dime a dozen. Long-term thinkers are extremely rare. History books favor the long-term thinkers. Don’t let short-term attention distract you from your long-term vision becoming a reality. Chase the big.” – Patrick Bet-David
34. “Every time you change, you create new enemies and new allies. Don’t be surprised when this happens. It’s sciences. It’s human nature. It’s inevitable.” – Patrick Bet-David
34. It’s tough to start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading and re-living the last one. Grab the pen of life and start writing the next one.” – Patrick Bet-David
35. “Instant gratification is the kiss of death. That mindset hurts anything it touches. Business, health, politics, friendship, relationship, finances. It attracts short-term thinkers and turned off by long-term thinkers. Don’t fall for this trap.” – Patrick Bet-David
36. “Respect the game. It’s easy to do when you’re smaller, tough to do when you get bigger. And even tougher when you become number one.” – Patrick Bet-David
37. “Sometimes the more you think, the less you do. Sometimes the less you think, the more you do. Simplify. It’s not that complicated.” – Patrick Bet-David
38. “Reading the right books can change your life. Reading the wrong books can confuse the hell out of you.” – Patrick Bet-David
39. “If someone is winning at a higher level than you are, either lower your expectations to match your work ethic or increase your work ethic to exceed your expectations. If you do neither, you’ll be miserable. What it all boils down to is that alignment is the key to fulfillment.” – Patrick Bet-David
40. “To get better you must reflect on your mistakes.” – Patrick Bet-David
41. “Don’t compare yourself to others you see around you. Get really clear on who YOU want to be.” – Patrick Bet-David
42. “Money is made in good times. Wealth is made in great times. Generational wealth is made in bad times. Don’t fear a market crash. Just be ready for it. The upside can be very big.” – Patrick Bet-David
43. “Humility has a different meaning to different people. It doesn’t mean to be a priest, a monk, or a pastor. It simply means you don’t know it all.” – Patrick Bet-David
44. “All it takes is ONE. One big victory silences all your critics. One big victory validates your hard work. One big victory over shadows the 1,000’s of mistakes and bad ideas. One big victory can lead to more victories. Go get your ONE big victory.” – Patrick Bet-David
45. “Travelling isn’t about the destination, it’s about the people you travel with.” – Patrick Bet-David
46. “Never underestimate the upside of a person with a positive attitude. A college dropout with a positive attitude will go further in life than an MBA grad with a negative attitude. Attitude matters.” – Patrick Bet-David
47. “The moment you start fighting for something bigger than YOU, you’ll be introduced to a version of YOU that you’ve never seen before.” – Patrick Bet-David
48. “There’s a path for everyone — as long as you have self-awareness and the willingness to think fie moves ahead.” – Patrick Bet-David
49. “All the motivational quotes in the world can’t move someone who doesn’t know what they want.” – Patrick Bet-David
50. “We aren’t put on this earth to pay the bills. We are put on this earth to do something special with our lives.” – Patrick Bet-David
51. “Reading an hour a day is only 4% of your day. But that 4% will put you at the top of your field within 10 years. Find the time.” – Patrick Bet-David
52. “Winning is about how you perform on your worst days, not just your best days.” – Patrick Bet-David
53. “The whole thing that makes Capitalism works is competition.” – Patrick Bet-David
54. “You’ll notice that some of the people who don’t achieve success, they always want people smaller than them around them because it makes them feel bigger.” – Patrick Bet-David
55. “The people you meet that are super successful, they always put themselves in situations where people are bigger than them, because it’s the next platform, the next level they’re getting to.” – Patrick Bet-David
56. “I believe anybody can reach their capacity. Anybody has that shot, but it takes so much fricking work, pain that not a lot of people want to go through it.” – Patrick Bet-David
57. “Capitalism works. It’s those who don’t work that hate Capitalism, unfortunately.” – Patrick Bet-David
58. “The market rewards people who outwork and out-improve.” – Patrick Bet-David
59. “Arrogance steals your potential. Preparation and effort accelerated your chances at reaching your potential.” – Patrick Bet-David
60. “Your life is a byproduct of the way you think. Your way of thinking produced the life you’re living today. If you don’t like your life today, maybe it’s time to change the way you think.” – Patrick Bet-David
61. “Generational wealth doesn’t mean anything if good habits don’t generationally transfer. If habits don’t transfer with the money, the money will eventually run out.” – Patrick Bet-David
62. “Wealth won’t last if good habits are not being passed down.”
63. “They call us dreamers, yet we’re the ones who get the least amount of sleep. We’d rather die trying to make our dreams a reality, rather than just a part of our imagination.” – Patrick Bet-David
65. “Staying in a funk for too long will make you doubt yourself. The key is to snap out of it ASAP.” – Patrick Bet-David
66. “Anybody that learns the skillsets of a millionaire can become a millionaire.” – Patrick Bet-David
67. “Rule number one of creating wealth; never ever work for a sexy established company. If you work for a sexy established company no one knows you. If you quit, you get fired, you were just another employee. Go to a company, help it become sexy, established. Be a leader, own a piece, you’ll become wealthy.” – Patrick Bet-David
68. “Big thinkers smell and read other big thinkers. If you’re urgent and want to get things done fairly urgent, you’re in the big thinkers camp. If you got all the time in the world, you ain’t part of the big thinker’s camp, you get to pick and choose.” – Patrick Bet-David
69. “Everybody has been given this gift by the man upstairs, and it’s this thing called imagination. Some of us use if for negative and some of us use it for positive.” – Patrick Bet-David
70. “Many talk, a few do. And even fewer keep doing.” – Patrick Bet-David
71. “If you know every show on Netflix and you’re broke, you have a problem. You’re lazy.” – Patrick Bet-David
72. “Everything about money is a double’s game.” – Patrick Bet-David
73. “Never get complacent. Nothing lasts forever. Constantly be in recreation mode!” – Patrick Bet-David
74. “Massive success comes down to rare moments of opportunity. Be ready for it. They don’t come by often.” – Patrick Bet-David
75. “If anybody tells you it’s tough to make money, they are just not taking advantage of all the tools available to them.” – Patrick Bet-David
Bonus PBD Quote
Bonus: Alright, here is one of our favorite quotes by Patrick Bet-David. We added it as bonus, because we stand behind it 100%. There truly is power behind setting a goal for yourself.
FINAL THOUGHTS
There you have it, some of the best Patrick Bet-David quotes on success and entrepreneurship. We hope they’ve given you a bit more insight on what it takes to succeed in the world today, as well as inspired you to dig deeper into his success philosophy.
He has a handful of books that give great advice, and he has an extremely popular YouTube channel where he often publishes loads of invaluable success insights.
That said, we hope you’re at least a little bit more inspired leaving our page than when you arrived.
Till you reach your ambitious aims,
STRIVE
PS – If you enjoyed these inspiring Patrick Bet-David success quotes, then you’ll probably enjoy these power quotes from fellow success icons like:
Entrepreneurship
10 BEST ENTREPRENEUR AFFIRMATIONS FOR NAVIGATING THE GAUNTLET OF BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship can be like a wild roller coaster ride full of dramatic ups and downs. Indeed, every single entrepreneur will experience their fair share of challenges, obstacles, and roadblocks before they ever achieve success. And the one thing every entrepreneur must gain control of if they wish to successfully navigate this challenging gauntlet of entrepreneurship is their own mind.
That’s right, the number one way to make it as an entrepreneur (beyond having an amazing product or service) is to find a way to control what goes on between your own two ears. The entrepreneur who lets their emotions to get the best of them, who allows their fears to dictate action, and permits their focus to be scattered by all the “happenings” of the world, will sooner or later be out of business.
Fortunately, every entrepreneur has within their power that ability to control their thoughts and mindset, and one of the best ways to do so, is to use affirmations. If you’re not sure about affirmations, read this first: what are affirmations?
With that said, we’ve pulled together the most powerful entrepreneur affirmations that every entrepreneur should absolutely use to keep their mind in check, so as to keep their business alive and moving forward.
So, if you’re ready for some powerful affirmations to help you reign in those thoughts, so you can ultimately experience more success in your business, then let’s dive in.
BEST 10 AFFIRMATIONS FOR ENTREPRENEURS
Affirmation 1: I Am a Fearless Action Taker
Taking a Leap of Faith: The biggest struggle for most aspiring entrepreneurs is taking that first leap. It doesn’t matter if it’s you resigning from your day job, launching that website, making your first phone call, or going to that first networking event to practice your pitch, taking that first leap is that hardest.
As such, this affirmation provides one of the best ways to convince your mind that you can do it, and that you have nothing to fear. Indeed, it will prompt you to take action.
Affirmation 2: I Trust That Success Will Happen In It’s Own Time
Patience: The ‘overnight success’ is a myth. There is no such thing, especially in business. In fact, success as an entrepreneur is more about making small steady gains over time, and remaining patient for the results you seek. So be urgent about putting in the effort, but patient about seeing the results.
And remember, empires aren’t built in a day, and fruit slow to grow always bears the best fruit.
Affirmation 3: I Always Manage My Time Effectively
Time Management: Time flies for the entrepreneur, but probably a little faster than we’d like it to. As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with everything that has to get done with so little time to do it all. It’s also easy to spend too much time on those things that don’t keep the lights on.
So, use this affirmation to get your time management tightened up so you business and life can run a bit more smoothly.
Affirmation 4: When I am Diligent My Results Are Positive
Due Diligence: As an entrepreneur you are likely a risk-taker at heart, but that fearlessness can also lead to issues when due diligences isn’t followed in your undertakings. Many businesses have crashed and burned all because of some small oversights that lead to big legal issues.
So, be sure to use this entrepreneur affirmation to help you keep your head about you in the midst of your entrepreneurial adventures.
Affirmation 5: I Am Smart With Money And Put Every Dollar To Good Use.
Cash Flow: Money worries in the form of cash flow management is cause for some of the biggest headaches as an entrepreneur. So, it is critical that you, as the CEO of your owner of your company that you give enough attention to ensuring your cashflow is sufficient to keep you in business.
This affirmation won’t make money appear out of nowhere, but it will help you zero-in on your cash flow and money management issues.
Related: Affirmations For Money
Affirmation 6: I Am In Control Of My Ego
Keeping Ego Under Control: Success as an entrepreneur can lead to issues caused by your ego. Believe it or not, your ego can cause you to make mistakes, bad decisions, and ruin important relationships.
So, to keep your ego in check throughout your entrepreneurial journey, use this affirmation.
Affirmation 7: All Areas Of My Life and Business Are Harmonious And Balanced
Work/Life Balance: It’s so easy to get caught up in our business dealings as an entrepreneur. In fact, most entrepreneurs struggle to maintain a healthy work/life balance, and overtime it eventually impacts business.
So, use this affirmation to help you keep your life and business well-balanced. Because when your balanced your business will be too.
Affirmation 8: Delegation Isn’t Failure, Delegation Is Growth
Delegation: Every entrepreneur will eventually struggle with delegation at some point or another. But, if you want to take your business to the next level, you’ll have to learn to let go of the reigns and delegate.
This affirmation will help you focus release some of that control so you can get more of what you really want, growth!
Affirmation 9: Every No Is A Lesson That Gets Me Closer To a Yes
Fundraising: One of the scariest aspects of entrepreneurship can be putting yourself out there to gain new clients or request funding. Either way, you have to give a pitch to virtual strangers, and more often than not, you’ll be rejected. But, it is something that has to be done to scale your business.
So, use this affirmation to give you the poise and confidence to sell the value of your business with ease.
Affirmation 10: I Accept Adversity With Enthusiasm and Courage
Dealing With Failure: Our business ventures will see setbacks, it’s the name of the game. But how you manage those failures and setbacks will determine how well you bounce back. So, don’t lose heart if your business begins to underperform, or if bankruptcy seems like it is just around the corner. You can get through it, especially with this affirmation.
So, use this entrepreneur affirmation to help you keep your chin up, stay positive, and look for the seed of equal or greater benefit in each adversity.
Runner-Up Affirmations For Entrepreneurs
This list below consists of a handful of additional entrepreneur affirmations that you can use to help you on your entrepreneurial journey. Each one will cover some aspect that every entrepreneur as some point in their ventures deals with. Enjoy.
1. I take the first step and make things happen now.
2. I am worthy and capable of creating a thriving business.
3. I attract new business opportunities every day.
4. I am driven and will achieve my goals.
5. I am a powerful and energetic creator.
6. I appreciate the freedom and flexibility by business affords me.
7. My business is growing.
8. I am energized by the obstacles I face.
9. I exude confidence and success.
10. There’s a solution to every problem.
11. Entrepreneurship is freedom.
12. I resist all temptations and remain focused on success.
13. My success grows with limitless expectations.
14. I am an effective executive who gets things done.
15. I am responsible for the success of my business.
16. Nothing can hold me back, not even my own doubts.
17. What I do today will determine my results tomorrow.
18. I am persistent and consistent.
19. I am worthy of what I desire.
20. I create my own destiny with small acts of courage.
21. I appreciate my employees.
22. My goods and services provide massive value to the community.
23. I will find a way, not an excuse.
24. I don’t wait for opportunity, I create it.
25. Even if I fail, I will try again.
Related: Affirmations For Success
Final Thoughts
There you have it, some of the most effective affirmations for entrepreneurs. We hope you enjoy them, and put them to good use. Of course, one important thing to keep in mind is that in order for these entrepreneur affirmations to work, you’ll have to put them to use consistently.
Remember, the purpose of these affirmations is to rewire your mindset so we can effectively modify our behaviors. And we’re modifying behaviors to ultimately get different/better results in our business. And just like exercise, the more of it you do, the quicker you’ll see results.[1]
So, book mark this page, and use these affirmations often until you’re business venture is humming along.
Till then,
STRIVE
PS – If you enjoyed these entrepreneur affirmations, then you’ll likely love these powerful business affirmations, or these empowering entrepreneur quotes to prime your mind for entrepreneurial success.
Entrepreneurship
25 EMPOWERING BUSINESS MANTRAS FOR YOUR ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS
Succeeding in business is no easy task. In fact, the road to entrepreneurial success is often littered with many setbacks, seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and frustrations. Lots of frustrations. But, the end result, which is the achievement of a thriving and self-sustaining business venture is worth all the toil and sacrifice.
Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs and business owners lose steam or get discouraged on their journey towards success. The obstacles, challenges, and negative experiences they face eventually lead to negative thinking. Then those negative thoughts tend to lead to negative habits, and those negative habits almost always crush momentum and lead to the loss of enthusiasm and hope. And once they lose hope, they stop striving. But were not going to allow that to happen. Not for you!
We want to help ensure you keep your mindset strong and your thoughts positive, so you can keep taking the positive steps necessary to reach your business aims. So, to help you combat the challenge of achieving the success you seek, we’ve rounded up some of the most empowering business mantras for your entrepreneurial success.
If you’re not sure what a mantra is, or what the benefits of mantras are, read this first.
With that said, we know that with consistent use, mantras can and will help you drown out those negative thoughts that lead to defeat. But more importantly, they’ll help you focus on the the thoughts that lead to success. After all, what you focus on expands, and results always follow focus. So, the next time you’re feeling low or discouraged while on your entrepreneurial journey, employ these empowering business mantras to get yourself back on track for success:
25 Best Business Mantras for Entrepreneurial Success
Mantra 1: Nothing Changes If Nothing Changes
More often than not, failure comes from doing the same things over and over, yet expecting different results. In business, especially in the early stages of one’s entrepreneurial journey, if something isn’t working, something has to change.
So, use this mantra if you need to snap yourself out of the habits or line of thinking that may be keeping you on the path towards mediocrity and eventually failure.
Mantra 2: You Get What You Focus On
It’s critical for everyone who seeks success to pay attention to what they think and what they focus on. But this is especially important for entrepreneurs and business owners, especially since time and resources is of this essence.
Leverage this mantra to keep yourself aligned with the necessity for positive thinking and intentional focus.
Mantra 3: Find a Way, Not an Excuse
There’s no place for excuses, not in the business world. You either produce results, or your ideas and business will end up in the dust bin of history.
Therefore, it’s imperative to force your mind to become a realist, because the business world and the market only cares about what works. Make excuses a thing of the past with this powerful business mantra.
Mantra 4: Start Where You Are, Use What You Have, Do What You Can
This is one of the best business mantras to use as an entrepreneur because it can help you deal with feeling overwhelmed. Overwhelm keeps too many would-be entrepreneurs from getting started on their dreams.
They don’t know where to start, how to start, or if they have what it takes. But, as most big dreamers who achieved their dreams will attest, you’ve just gotta start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can.
Leverage the line of thinking that has worked for countless success stories with this business powerful mantra.
Mantra 5: Don’t Wait For Opportunity, Create It
Every successful entrepreneur knows that opportunity isn’t given, it is created. Entrepreneurs understand that their dreams will only become a reality when they act to make turn those wishes real.
Use this mantra as a catalyst for action, because if success in business requires anything, it requires bold action.
Mantra 6: Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You
The market, people, and the public in general flock to the businesses that provide something special, different, and highly valuable in terms of a product or service. And most businesses really begin to flourish once they’ve created a name for themselves by offering something remarkable.
So, use this mantra to keep yourself inspired to always be working towards standing out from the crowd, and creating something special for your customers.
Mantra 7: The Future Is Promised to No One, Take Your Shot
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, and business, like most things, is a numbers game. So, make sure you are keeping yourself inspired to take risk, innovate, and put yourself out there, because that were your success lies; in the endeavoring.
Take your shot, and take it often; success is a numbers game.
Mantra 8: If You Want More, Do More
Too many people want things to change without changing themselves or making any adjustments to their operations. But, business success responds to action, just like physics. So, if you want to 10x your business success, start 10xing your business activity.
More Results and better results is always preceded by more and better action.
Mantra 9: It’s Not How You Start The Race, It’s How You Finish
Every entrepreneur is good at one thing; and that’s starting a business. But, the successful entrepreneurs and the high achieving business owners know that starting is only half the battle, but real and enduring success always goes to the strong finisher.
So, use this business mantra often to strengthen your persistence and improve your ability to finish strong in everything you do.
Mantra 10: Your Attitude Will Determine Your Altitude
It’s so easy to let our attitudes get negative and pessimistic these days. When everything in the news seems to be constantly negative, and when people around us seem to only talk about their problems, our attitude can suffer. And negative results almost always following negative thinking.
But, if you use this mantra often, it will help you keep your focus on only those things that will benefit your and your business.
Mantra 11: You Only Have One Life, Make The Most of It
Many of us hold back with how hard we push, or how big we dream. But why not go for it all? Why not aim for the highest and best outcomes for our business. There’s no standard for how your business or venture should look.
So craft your best outcome in your mind, and commit going for it, because that’s the only way you’ll ever achieve it.
Mantra 12: You Can Only Fail When You Begin Failing to Try
Many businesses fail, that’s just the way it is. But failing because of a bad start, poor execution, or just simply failing because your idea was rejected by the market reject is not failure. Failure is choosing to no longer pursue your dreams.
So, if things aren’t going your way, pivot, take a step back, or change lanes, but never stop striving.
Mantra 13: You Are Enough
You have to believe that you are deserving of what you seek and that you have what it takes. If you don’t, you’ll never make it. The great news is, you do have what it takes, and you are enough. Sure, you may have to become resourceful or learn some new things to reach the success you are after, but never let your self-doubt sabotage your dreams.
You are enough and you can do this!
Mantra 14: Weak Desires Bring Weak Results, Strong Desires, Strong Results
Sometimes you’ll think you’re doing everything correct with your business but your results will still be lackluster. When this happens, the culprit is usually your desire. So, if your results are not where you want them to be, double check that what you are after is really what you want.
If it is, then dial up how bad you want what you are after by reciting this business mantra often. The renewed desire will lead to renewed and heightened action. And strong results love red hot action.
Business Mantra 15: Persist Until You Win
Sometimes a business will succeed purely because the entrepreneur relented until his competitors quit. It’s not a fun way to win, but it is still one of the surest ways any entrepreneur can win.
If you don’t quit, if you continue to persist, you can’t lose. Use this business mantra to persist until you win.
Mantra 16: The Average Rely on Wishes and Hopes, The Successful Rely on Goals
You are not average and your dreams are not average. The dreams you are after are special, they’re special to you.
So, if you’re serious about achieving what you want, you’ll have a roadmap put in place and a timeframe for when you intend to reach that aim. In short, you’ll have goals.
Mantra 17: Stay Positive, Work Hard, Make It Happen
Everyday brings with it news challenges and unforeseen obstacles. And some days may seem monotonous, but you’ll have to follow the process in this mantra if you wish to keep moving forward.
If you stay positive, keep working hard, you’ll eventually make it happen.
Mantra 18: To Get Ahead, You Have to Get Started
Often times we sit and ruminate on an idea for way longer than we should as entrepreneurs. We know how much work a new idea may take to implement, or we languish at the thought of how much effort a new approach to our business may require, but to get ahead, we have to take action, we have to start.
So, if you’ve been hesitating on an bold new idea lately, use this mantra to remind yourself that sometimes getting ahead is all about pulling the trigger and just getting started.
Mantra 19: Tomorrow Is Determined By What You Do Today
Easy so easy to get off track as an entrepreneur. If we’ve come across funding, we rest on our laurels, or if things or going well, we lay off the reigns, but this is a recipe for disaster. Why? Because tomorrow is dependent on what we do today.
So, don’t take your foot off of the gas pedal, especially when things are going well. Keep pressing forward with action today, so tomorrow you be one step closer to your dreams.
Mantra 20: Don’t Wish Things Were Easier, Wish You Were Better
The grind of entrepreneurship is hard, and no amount of wishing things to be easier will make it so. Similarly, no amount of hoping and waiting for things to improve will work either. Things will improve when you improve.
So, get your mind right with what you need to do to improve your business situation with this powerful business mantra.
Mantra 21: Work Hard, Dream Big, Aim to Achieve The Impossible
Some of the biggest achievements were made by enterprising people who followed this simple process; they dreamt big, worked their tails off, and eventually achieved what others thought was impossible before their achieving it.
Use this mantra often to keep your mindset aligned with the winning ways of high achievers. Work hard, dream big, and eventually, you will achieve the impossible.
Mantra 22: The Comeback Is Always Stronger Than The Setback
Setbacks are part and parcel of the entrepreneurial process. But, if you can see each set back as but another opportunity to spring you further ahead than you were before your set back, you’ll become unstoppable.
Turn your setbacks into seeds of achievement with this entrepreneur mantra.
Mantra 23: Build Your Dreams, Or Someone Will Hire You to Build Theirs
Most entrepreneurs are motivated to be their own boss because they don’t like being told what to do. Entrepreneurs like doing things their own way. So, if you’re business seems to be going off the rails lately, and you don’t know what to do, leverage this mantra to remind you why you got started in the first place; freedom.
Mantra 24: Make Each Day Your Masterpiece
Out of all of the other business mantras, this one holds the secret to success. Why? Because your business in the end, will be the result of all of your accumulated choices.
So, pay special attention to each action and decision you make for you business. Treat each as business decision you make, and each activity or non-activity you partake in as if it mattered to how your business turns out, because it does.
Mantra 25: Comfort is The Enemy of Progress and Growth
Too many people go into business for themselves because they think entrepreneurship automatically means you’ll have access to “the good life”. And while entrepreneurship can lead to better days, the good life of entrepreneurship is not a given, and it usually only comes only after much toil and effort.
So, don’t get faked out by the entertainment industry’s notion of entrepreneurship. Real entrepreneurship is uncomfortable, and real progress in the real world comes at the expense of comfort. Leverage this mantra till you know in your bones that comfort is the enemy of your success.
Business Mantras Print Out
Coming back to this page every day could become cumbersome, so we decided to provide you with a helpful printout of these business success mantras. Just click on the button below to download them on your computer, and then you can print them out and place them where ever you like.
Final Thoughts
There you have it, 25 powerful business mantras to help you keep your mind strong and your thoughts focused. We hope you find a handful of them that speak to you, and that you’ll choose to use often.
With that said, we wish you all the success in the world. And whatever you do, don’t stop endeavoring to create the business and life of your dreams.
Till then,
STRIVE
PS – If you enjoyed these powerful business mantras, then you’ll certainly enjoy these motivational mantras that actually work.
Entrepreneurship
TOP 25 INSPIRATIONAL STARTUP QUOTES FOR VISIONARIES AND FOUNDERS
A startup is a company or venture undertaken by a courageous visionary or entrepreneur. It’s the seed planted with intention to grow and scale a business to extraordinary heights. That said, we’ve pulled together this powerful collection of startup quotes to inspire the next generation of startup founders, entrepreneurs, and bold visionaries.
Our hope is that these startup quotes will encourage you to chase your dream and turn into a reality by starting, hustling, and cultivating your new business until it reaches it maximum potential. If you’re ready to get fired up, let’s dive right in:
BEST STARTUP QUOTES
1. “Dream big. Start small. But most of all, start.” – Simon Sinek
2. “Chase the vision, not the money, the money will end up following you.” – Tony Hsieh
3. “The smallest company in the world can look as large as the largest company on the web.” – Steve Jobs
4. “Don’t start a company unless it’s an obsession and something you love. If you have an exit strategy, it’s not an obsession.” – Mark Cuban
5. “When you accept that failure is a good thing, it can actually be a huge propeller toward success.” – Whitney Wolfe Herd
6. “The last 10% it takes to launch something takes as much energy as the first 90%.” – Rob Kalin
7. “The only thing worse that starting something and failing… is not starting something.” – Seth Godin
8. “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
9. “As a startup CEO, I slept like a baby. I woke up every 2 hours and cried.” – Ben Horowitz
10. “You’re guaranteed to miss every shot you don’t take.” – Richard Branson
11. Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn’t know it so it goes on flying anyway.” – Mary Kay Ash
12. “To be successful, you must be daring, be first and be different.” – Ray Kroc
13. “One has to remember that every failure can be a stepping stone to something better.” – Colonel Sanders
14. “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t — you’re right.” – Henry Ford
15. “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” – Thomas Edison
16. “No matter how smart you are, if you don’t know how to work with people, your dreams will just be dreams.” – Jack Ma
17. “I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying.” – Jeff Bezos
18. “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” –Wayne Gretzky
19. “If you’re not doing some things that are crazy, then you’re doing the wrong things.” – Larry Page
20. “The most effective way to do it is to do it.” – Amelia Earheart
21. “Competition makes you better, always, always makes you better, even if the competitor wins.” – Carlos Slim
22. “Money is just a consequence. I always say to my team, “Don’t worry too much about profitability. If you do your job well, the profitability will come.” – Bernard Arnault
23. “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis
24. “You attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” – Zig Ziglar
25. “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison
Bonus Startup Quote
Bonus: Alright, here is one of our favorite startup quotes. We added it as bonus, because we stand behind it and believe it’s worthy of being called out. If you’ve yet to launch you startup, take this quote to heart;
Final Thoughts
Great job making it through these inspirational quotes for startups and entrepreneurs. Hopefully they’ve inspired you to double down on your ventures, or take the leap if you’ve yet to launch your own startup.
That said, if you enjoyed these motivating startup quotes, then you’ll enjoy these related resources:
Remember, the startup is a dream acted upon and cultivated until it reaches its maximum potential. So, if you’re idea has to deliver, keep to it.
Until you reach your aims,
STRIVE
Entrepreneurship
SEO FOR STARTUPS: USING SEO TO ENERGIZE YOUR ORGANIC TRAFFIC IN THE FIRST YEAR
Launching a startup requires a lot of grit and determination. It takes time to build a brand and product awareness amid tons of competition, especially in saturated markets with a lot of heritage brands to compete with. Which is why SEO for startups is vital in this day and age.
Startups and new entrepreneurs need aggressive and robust marketing strategies to solidify their place in the business world and generate business. Without solid marketing, your startup may not make it to year two.
To make matters worse, startups are often struggling with virtually nonexistent budgets and few, if any, marketing professionals to help. A lot of the capital goes towards building a brand and developing products, rather than marketing.
Search engine optimization (SEO) solves this problem. This practically free marketing strategy can boost your ranking on search engine pages and drive traffic to your website, and all it takes is some time and effort.
The catch is that your pages need to rank on the first page. Most searchers don’t look past the first page when they search for information, so if you’re not showing up until the third or fourth page, you may as well not exist.
Getting a high ranking is vital to organic traffic, and the best way to do it is with a solid SEO strategy specifically for first-year startups.
The Value of SEO
SEO is a marketing strategy that seeks to optimize search engine ranking and drive organic traffic to the website or pages. Unlike paid ads, which drive traffic for marketing spend, SEO is completely free traffic that comes from searchers looking for information and finding relevant posts (your content).
The more you can deliver relevant, valuable content and establish your brand authority in the industry, the higher your ranking will be. Content can be a variety of types to suit your audience, including blog posts, videos, web pages, articles, webinars, and podcasts.
Think of it this way. Say you were a teen excited to get your license and you’re looking for resources to prepare for your permit test. You submit a search query in Google and check out the results on the first page.
If you click on those links and they give you the information you need, you may be inclined to look for other resources from the same brand and spend more time on the site, boosting its authority and showing the search engine that these results were relevant to your search intent.
So, you need to be the brand that delivers that content for the right searches.
Benefits of SEO for Startups
Startups are working with limited budgets and marketing talent, so they typically lack the resources to pour a ton of money into brand exposure and paid advertising methods. SEO is an excellent option that’s practically free and generates remarkable returns.
Here are some benefits of SEO for startups:
Cost-Effective Traffic
Startups benefit from SEO because it’s one of the cheapest marketing strategies and generates excellent returns. For just time and effort, you can drive organic traffic to your site and generate more awareness for your brand, even if you have a lot of competition.
Brand Authority
Brand authority refers to the trust, credibility, and expertise of your brand, as perceived by prospects and customers. This can be achieved through consistent and positive customer experiences and a position as an industry authority, both of which can be done through content.
Brand Awareness
One of the most important benefits of seo for startups is the brand awareness it brings.
Brand awareness is a big factor in the success of a first-year startup. Heck, it’s important for any company.
And as more searchers come across your content, they learn more about your brand and what you have to offer. In fact, over time visitors may eventually become paying customers and recommend your brand to their friends and family.
For example, at Zutobi.com, a teen driver may search for resources to prepare for their permit and driving tests and may use a search query like “how to prep for the DMV permit test.” They find your permit practice test and your other teen driver resources, and perhaps they become a paying customer in the future.
Getting attention leads to mindshare, and mind share eventually leads to market share.
How to Develop an SEO Strategy For Your Startup
Refine Your Audience
It’s not enough to have traffic for your website – it needs to be targeted to your ideal customers. If you sell commercial fleet vehicles and get a ton of traffic from teens shopping for cosmetics, you’re not getting a paying customer for your efforts.
Your traffic needs to be targeted to your ideal audience, the people who are likely to be looking for what you have to offer and are inclined to make a purchase, whether now or in the future.
You may have a general idea of who you’re marketing to, but you need to drill down to understand them better. Consider questions like:
- What are my customers’ problems?
- How does my product or service solve them?
- What is my customers’ age, location, occupation, etc.?
- Where do they spend their time online?
- What type of content do they consume?
- How can I give them a positive, valuable experience?
Conduct Keyword Research
Keyword research is the foundation of your content. You need to research the keywords your audience will use and plan your content around them. Targeted keywords are beneficial, but it’s best to choose “low-hanging” keywords.
These keywords are easy keywords that already have high search engine rankings and lower competition. These will get your content ranked higher from the start, and you already know they perform well.
Longtail keywords are also valuable. These keywords are often phrases, like a question, that give you insights into your audience. You can use longtail keywords to guide your content strategy and offer highly relevant information.
The process of keyword research takes time and considerable thought. But, if you do it right, it can make all the difference between getting a visitor to your site, or acquiring a new customer.
To do this research you can use keyword tools like following:
Stay Consistent
Startups can be busy environments. There’s a lot to juggle and everyone is wearing multiple hats, so throwing in SEO and content can seem overwhelming. It’s necessary for your success, however.
Your audience relies on consistency, so it’s best to have a schedule for your content. It’s better to post fewer times, but on a schedule, than churning out a bunch of content and disappearing for a while.
In addition, you need to focus on quality over quantity. Having a lot of poor-quality content doesn’t serve your goals, and your audience won’t develop trust in your brand.
In fact, if you have lots of low quality content on your site, search engines will be more inclined to ignore or penalize your site. So if you’re creating your own content, aim high in terms of quality.
Set Yourself Up as an Authority
Distinguishing your brand from the competition is never easy, but it’s essential to your success. You have to build your brand from the ground up and position yourself as a trusted source of information and value for your customers, driving more people to your website.
The search engine will also put more value on your brand if you provide targeted, relevant, and high-quality content. Stick with the topics you know well and deliver what your customers are looking for.
Tighten Up Technical SEO
Technical SEO is a big factor in how search engines categorize and index your website and content. Search engine bots crawl websites to understand their hierarchy and structure to determine the ranking, and that’s where technical SEO comes in.
Here’s how you can improve your technical SEO:
- Use a schema markup, or semantic vocabulary, to help search engines index your site and provide more relevant information for searchers.
- Fix any performance problems, such as broken links, lagging pages, or images that won’t load.
- Optimize your content for mobile devices, paying close attention to zoom capabilities, page orientation, load times, and page layout when it switches to the mobile site.
Technical SEO requires some technical knowledge. If you don’t think you’re up to it, outsource the task to a professional and get your website in optimal condition.
Here are a few solid SEO choices to choose from:
Focus on Backlinks
Linkbuilding is a long and tedious process. There’s no fast-track to getting quality links, so best to start as soon as you can.
Linkbuilding, otherwise known as backlinks, is when credible websites link to your website in their own content. You earn traffic if readers follow links to your website from the original post, and typically from the right audience.
These links have a lot of value for your SEO, including domain authority and traffic. Search engines also recognize the authority of the linking domain (which is why you want links from authoritative sources) and consider your site credible as well.
That said, be very careful how you go about getting your backlinks, because if you don’t do it naturally your site will be penalized.
The best way to get backlinks, is to create remarkable content people want to link to. The second best way, is to roll up your sleeves and start reaching out to people.
Keep at It
SEO is one of the most valuable marketing strategies for your startup, but there’s no way to make it happen quickly. You can’t pay for your traffic or ranking, even with paid posts, since they just send irrelevant traffic your way and burn through your marketing budget without generating more sales.
Focus on creating a solid, scalable SEO strategy and putting in the time upfront. As you create more content and earn more links, you’ll generate more traffic and better rankings that get your brand in the spotlight.
Get Started with SEO
Startups have a lot to overcome, including online presence in a crowded digital world with lots of brands competing for attention. That said, SEO is an effective strategy that earns you traffic and authority, all without substantial marketing spend.
SEO for startups can be done in house, or it can be hired out. Whatever option you pursue, the most important factor is that you create a solid strategy that your startup can stick to long-term, because SEO is not a sprint.
Lastly, SEO isn’t going anywhere, so the SEO strategy you develop from the start will serve you well into the future.
Till you reach your aims,
STRIVE
PS – If you enjoyed this article on SEO for startups, then you may also enjoy reading about getting the most out of social media.
Entrepreneurship
TOP 10 REASONS TO START AN ONLINE BUSINESS
Have you ever asked yourself, ‘Is an online business a good investment?’ Or even better, ‘Should I start an online business?’ If you answered yes to either, and if you’re actually looking for some solid reasons as to why you should consider starting an online business for yourself, then this article on the top 10 reasons to start an online business is for you.
In this post we’re going to make the case, as to why starting an online business is actually one of the best investments you can make for yourself, especially in this day and age. So, if you’re ready to dive into some really good reasons as to why you should start an online business as an investment, then let’s dive right in.
10 REASONS TO START AN ONLINE BUSINESS
1. Unlimited Freedom
An online business is attractive because of the freedom it offers. With technology becoming more and more mobile friendly, online business owners can free themselves up to work from wherever they want.
Walk into any coffee shop these days and you’ll see plenty of people grinding on their start-ups while consuming their cups of joe. It’s a great feeling too, knowing you can virtually work from anywhere in the world, at your leisure, and still make money regardless of your location.
The best part though, is that when it’s your business, you can’t get fired. And when you can’t get fired, that’s when you truly have freedom.
Freedom, it’s all about freedom.
2. You Can Start Part-Time
Building an online business takes time and effort, but the great thing is, you can get started part-time. You don’t have to risk your livelihood to test out those great ideas that have been keeping you up at night.
You can launch your online business on a weekend, and work on it in your free-time. You can build your online empire and start cash flowing while still earning money from your day job.
Then, when your business starts to gain traction, and the big money starts rolling in, you can decide if working your 9-5 is what you really want to do with your life.
But you get to choose. When you build your online business part-time, you can get started on creating your own freedom, giving yourself options.
Options, options, options, it’s all about options!
3. Low Overhead and High Margins
If you have a good chunk of money set aside, you can get started with your own money. The start up costs for online businesses are extremely low, so if you needed to borrow money, it shouldn’t be to difficult to secure.
Just so you are aware, there is always a risk of losing money when you start up a business. So, buyer or creator beware.
Fortunately, these days, it doesn’t cost much at all to get started. Were’ talking a few dollars a month of overhead costs. And a really big perk, is that an online business can be operated without office space, retail space, or even storage space for inventory (drop-shipping).
The main thing you risk with starting an online business is your time and effort. And time and effort are things we all have.
So, with a small investment to get you started, and enough time and effort invested on building your online business, you can eventually reap massive financial gains.
4. Provides Unbelievable Scalability
Online businesses are attractive because they are scalable. Brick and mortar businesses are scalable too, but they are dependent on location, making them much more difficult to scale.
When we say scalable, we mean a businesses ability to quickly change its size or income.
Every brick and mortar business depends on a limited number of customers that live within a certain proximity to that businesses physical location. This means a brick and mortar business is limited by the number of customers living within a given range from it’s physical location.
An online business on the other hand, can sell to anybody anywhere. An online business’s reach is limited only by the extent of their marketing campaign.
This means an online business can scale to incorporate as many people as it wants, all over the world.
5. Income Security
Out of the 10 reasons to start an online business, this one is probably our favorite. When you build your own successful online business, you are in control of your income. You get to decide how much money you want to make, and you can’t get fired.
Obviously, you can’t snap your fingers and demand a 500% pay raise. But, you can change up your business operations to reach your unique goals. On top of that, you keep making money as long as you are in business.
If your only income source is from your day job, then you put yourself at risk financially. But when you have additional income coming in from your online business, you can hedge against the insecurities of the job market.
Build an online business and you build your very own financial fortress.
6. You Can Automate It and Semi-Retire
Everyone dreams of retiring or semi-retiring early. But in reality, most never come close to having enough money to retire and live off of their retirement savings by the time they reach retirement age.
When you build your own online business, if you are smart about it, you can eventually automate it. Once your business is automated, it can become your very own low-maintenance virtual ATM.
Of course, this is a lot more plausible for the majority of people, than putting aside $1,000,000 dollars by the time they retire.
By the way, if you are lucky enough to save up a million bucks, and you follow the 4% rule, (which is a retirement rule to follow so you don’t run out of money before you die), that million will only get you a lifestyle that $40,000 per year can afford.
Of course $40,000 per year is not too shabby, but, traveling the world and trying to “live up” your retirement years on this amount of money is going to be, well…challenging.
Check this out. The median retirement savings of families between 56 and 61 is only $17,000. So, there is a good chance you need to start socking away tons of money a.s.a.p., or start grinding on your new online business.
The choice seems obvious to us. Do both!
7. You Can Do Something Fulfilling
Starting your own online business is something everyone should do because really, everyone has their own secret calling that they wish to be living.
We believe everyone has a purpose, and special gift that can help other people. When you start your own online business, you get to stop putting off those projects that actually use your gifts , and really bring you to life.
On top of this, when your business starts gaining traction, you give yourself the opportunity to dive into a career that truly fulfills you. You can get paid to play.
Imagine that, every single as a play day. Sounds fun!
8. You Take Back Control of Your Destiny
When you build your own online business, you get to participate in the creation of your own future. You gain complete control of your destiny.
Sure, your business may face it’s challenges, but obstacles are as permanent as you want them to be. If you fall, you can always get back up. If at first is doesn’t succeed, you change tactics and try again.
But, your business can also succeed, especially if you never give up. Truth is, if you are seeking to create a lifestyle business, your chances of succeeding are much higher.
Online lifestyle businesses are created to cater to the owner’s specific lifestyle. Some owners are happy making just enough money to pay the bills, buy a few tacos, and travel across the world, while others want to build huge online gold mines.
Your success is all up to you. The effort you put in will be rewarded. No, it won’t be instant. Business and instant gratification don’t belong together, unless of course, you are creating a business that offers instant gratification. (Usually a good approach for most businesses).
So long as you put in the time and effort to learn the rules of the game, and then execute around those lessons consistently, mark our words, you will win.
When you invest in your own business, you give yourself a shot at becoming the captain of your own ship. And when your the captain, you get to decide on the destination.
9. You’ll Become More Valuable
When you start your own internet business, you’ll learn all kinds of new skills. You’ll learn about marketing, internet technology, sales, writing, sales copy, graphic design, conversion rates, analytics, etc… You’ll learn loads about the business world.
In fact, the more you want your online venture to succeed, the more you’ll end up learning.
You’ll look at things through a different lens. You’ll gain insights into consumer psychology and business that you didn’t have before. Overtime, you’ll become more and more valuable, both to you and your internet business and to whom ever employs you.
No doubt, your business may take a while to take off, but in the meantime, so long as you don’t quit, you’ll become more and more valuable to the market place.
Like the saying goes, “The more you learn, the more you earn.”
10. Your Online Business Never Sleeps
Most brick and mortar businesses can only stay open for a limited time. They need to close-up-shop at the end of the day because their regional customers eventually have to go home and catch some zzz’s. With no customers around to buy their products or services, most business need to shut it down at the end of each day to avoid wasteful operating costs.
With an online business though, that’s not the case.
Your online business can stay open to sell your products or services 24/7/365.
Why? Because an online business can easily take orders from any customer, anywhere, at any time of the day. While you sleep, people on the other side of the world are awake and hunting online for your solutions to their problems.
This means you can make money while you sleep. Imagine waking up to see 5, 15, or 20 sales your internet business made, all while you were cozied up in your bed counting sheep.
So, Is An Online Business a Good Investment?
So, is an online business a good investment? Yes, it is a great investment. In fact, we believe it is the best investment.
It truly is the best investment because it has the potential to yield back to us way more than we invest in terms of money. But more importantly, it can yield back to us that which is much more important than money; our time.
Learn More: The Virtual Millionaire
To recap, the top 10 reasons to start an online business are:
- Unlimited Freedom
- You Can Start Part Time
- Low Start Up Costs
- Scalability
- Income Security
- Automation Potential
- Do Fulfilling Work
- You’re In Control
- Personal Growth
- Works For You 24/7
So, if you want to increase your chances of making more money, if you want to build something that may eventually lead you to being able to spend your days doing what you love, all while creating something that which will allow you to make your own money on your own terms, then starting your own internet-based business is a good way to go.
Of course you’ll face some challenge as you build your online business up, and it may even take longer then you think it will take. And of course, nothing is guaranteed, just anything in life.
But we believe, without a doubt, that building your own online business has the potential to pay the best dividends.
But, it all starts with laying that first brick!
Till you reach your aims,
STRIVE
PS – If you have the time and the will, building an online business is a great investment. We hope we made a strong enough case with our top 10 reasons to start an online business, however, if you’re looking for more resources related to doing so, try these: