You are the business. Source: The Startup Of You
Wanting to startup a business is not something that everyone aspires to, most people do however aspire to getting a job, and one thing that’s for certain is that everyone wants to to be able to earn a living! In this pursuit to generate an income we all invest in our personal development. This maybe be through education, experience or some or other way and this is done through investing time and money. But are you always able to get a good return on investment? The answer to this, more often than not, is a resounding NO! Well we are here to change that. Whether it’s to get business, get a job or to get paid in someway or another, investing in ourselves is the best way to ensure generating an income. This is due to the fact that - you are the business! And this is because the best way in which to start a lifestyle business, a.k.a.a vocational business, is to monetise the skills which you have accumulated over the years.
Skills, traits and beliefs all compound. Source: Youtube.
"I’m not a businessman, I’m a business man” is arguably the best way to describe oneself, as articulated by JayZ who’s gone on to personify being a lifestyle business. Alex Hormozi says that "skills, traits and beliefs all compound and that is what yields crazy outsized returns!” The way in which you do this is all based on taking all the knowledge, talent and skills that you have accumulated throughout your life and packaging them in a way that will attract income. Whether that will be through employers with salary offers, investors with their cheque books wide open or customers with their bank cards ready to transact. Let’s look at how to do this.
"I’m not a businessman - I’m a business, man”. Source: Youtube.
1. Start With Your Resume or CV
In order to be able to sell yourself - you need to know what you are selling. What most people don’t realise is that a resume or CV is used for more than just job hunting! Even when you are a business person, when you are submitting a proposal or bidding for a contract you will be asked to submit a CV at some point or the other. This is why it is important to always update your resume and at any given time the latest version should reflect that it was last updated on the 1st day of the current month.
Now I know it seems daunting to compile a resume, but shouldn’t! Think of it as just writing all the things you’ve done in your life on a single page. If you don’t know how many pages your CV should have, you should check out www.resume.io, where you get a brilliant guide on how to succinctly sell yourself. Once you have compiled your resume or CV you should be comfortable about talking about yourself - and with confidence at that. On to the next step…
To start a lifestyle business - start with your resume or CV. Source: Forbes
2. Publish Your Resume or CV
The second step is to put yourself out there - literally! By publishing your resume or CV you are emphatically stating that "I am ready for work, business or plain hard cash!” The two main ways to put yourself out there is be creating a profile on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or any other platform. Octopus.io has a great guide one how to setup, grow and manage your LinkedIn profile since it is the number one social media platform for professionals.
IndiWorks Digital has over 200 business websites ready-built to get up and running in less than an hour.
The other way to put yourself out there is to create a website. A plain and simple namesurname.com is as easy as it gets to making yours skills and experience known to the world. Even though I say that it’s plain and simple, I know it’s not that easy. Fortunately IndiWorks Digital has made it easy and cheap to do so by offering website building packages for professionals. Whether you are an accountant, engineer, artist or chef - IndiWorks Digital has over 200 websites ready to build and get up and running in less than an hour.
Publish your CV in the form of a personal brand website. Source: Personal Brand
3. Establish Yourself As A Subject Matter Expert
In personal development there’s a concept called the authority flywheel. It comes from the concept of a flywheel which is, if my mechanical engineering training is anything to go,a heavy revolving wheel in a machine which is used to increase the machine's momentum and thereby provide greater stability or a reserve of available power. As the name suggests the flywheel effect allows you to keep on going due to the initial momentum established. In order to establish yourself as an authority you simply need to consistently publish material that will contribute to the body of work of the subject. You might not value them now, but the experiences which you gain daily and the new knowledge you get is exactly what you need to share in order to be seen as a trusted contributor to the subject matter. There are many examples of this in various fields; in Art and Entertainment they are referred to as Celebrities, in Academia they are referred to as Professors, in Medicine they are referred to as Key Opinion Leaders and in Online Sales And Digital Marketing they are referred to as Influencers. I am sure you are familiar with at least one of these terms! So how do you establish yourself as one of these authorities?
With your website and online profile up all you need to do is to consistently post, publish or share new and fresh information and perspective on your industry or field. Whether it’s a new product, new data, recent news - anything that will create a new outlook on the industry. Immediately you may ask yourself where exactly you’ll find all this new information if all the information is already out there? Well the reality is that no, all the information is not out there. Your thoughts, views and opinions on the information is what’s new and fresh about the information. Knowledge is taking information and adding your views, opinions and thoughts on that information. So, what you know is the most valuable aspect of the knowledge economy we live in! To get sources you only need to get books, magazines, journals, websites, online posts etc. as your points of reference. If for example you want to be an authority in mechanical engineering, don’t try and reinvent the wheel(as tempted as you might be!), simple take your textbooks and starting sharing those concepts in a different context or language. Starting from these type of sources will guarantee you have enough material to create and share content for at least 1 full year!
Establish yourself as a subject matter expert through an authority flywheel. Source: Victorious
To really get a good grasp on how to become an authority check out these books:
1. Authority Content by David Jenyns
3. The Authority Playbook: How to Become the #1 Authority in Your Niche by Dillon Kivo
4. Become More Accessible
Written text is undoubtedly the easiest way to be found online! This is due to the nature of the internet being a World Wide Web of text documents! Testament to this is the world’s most visited site, Google, being nothing more than a stock exchange for words! This is why whenever you search for something on their website an auction happens in the background in which bidders compete for your attention. However, if television and radio has taught us anything, it’s that we as people don’t like having to read everything! This is why in order to make your published works more accessible you need to add voice and visuals in order to make your content more accessible. So how do you do this?
Make your content more accessible by converting your blogs to podcasts or videos. Source: E-learning Industry
Making your content more accessible is as simple as turning your written work into audio by doing voice-overs. These can then be used for podcasts, soundbites or narrations that can then be distributed is various ways and wildly so! With the voice-overs created you can then create videos as well. Whether this is done by adding lips to the voice-overs, creating animations or even just appearing in front of the camera reading the material as a script you will definitely have content that’s easier to consume.
5. Ask Your Audience To Support Your Work
Whether it’s a prospective employer, a potential client, soon to be grant funder or future customer the consumers of your content and material are most likely to be the supporters of your craft. Once you have consistently shared your thoughts, views and opinions on a topic you will naturally have people wanting more. In order to create more you need to appeal to this want and ask them to support. Whether this is through transacting with you, buying a product and commissioning you to create more material.
Ask your audience to support the work you do. Source: Act-on
In order to get positive responses you need to make an appeal that is compelling enough. Your ask of your audience has to come from a place of genuineness and by so doing you will be able to get the support you need.
Well there you have it a quick an easy guide to building a lifestyle business. It might be easier said, well in this schedule case read, than done but you need not fret as you have the support you need right here at 4uture Skillx. We are creating a database of authorities of various subject matter and if you would like to become part of that do register to become a Skill Exchanger at www.4uture.co.za/apply-to-teach. Once registered reach out to me, Wanga Mbasa, to schedule a Skill Exchange and I shall get you started on How to Build A Lifestyle Business.
