Internet Marketing For Free

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The first step you should take before ever starting a business is to sit down with a piece of paper and write down everything you are interested in.

For example, on my list, I would have the following topics:

Crochet (Hobbie)

Writing (business)

Spending time with my family (personal)

Travel (leisure activities)

Those are just a few of the examples. I put a category next to each one to give you an idea of where they would fit in a general category. This will help you further refine what you are interested in.

You could then sit down and write out all of your favorite leisure activities, or your hobbies. In the case of family, I could create a business around parenting, or grandparenting, or what it’s like to take care of parents while being a grandparent myself taking care of a grandchild.

The purpose of this exercise is to let your mind run free. Look at all of the things you know. Then add in your unique perspective. Although multiculturalists and the politically correct would try to pigeon hole us all, the fact is, there are six billion plus unique perspectives on this planet, all with something unique to contribute to a discussion.

Once you’ve made your list, then look over your list one more time. Which of the things you’ve written on your list do you think would make a good business? Which of those topics do you think you would like to start a business on?

Write it down, and also write down why you want to start a business on that topic. It can really give you clarity. Wanting to earn extra money just isn’t enough. You should have a hardcore reason why you want to start a business in the first place. Whatever the reason is, this is what will get you through when the work is tough.

Finally, make a list of skills that you have. Can you write? Can you build websites, do you know marketing, etc.? This is important because you need to have the skills necessary to start your business. The skills you don’t have will be the ones you need to develop.

In my next post, we’ll talk about keyword research. This is your next step because this will help you find out if there is a demand for what you want to sell, and it will also tell you how much competition there is.