You Need Guts

How would you like to read a list presented out of context?

1. Find your edge.
2. Find your business soulmate.
3. Make your soulmate feel seen and create value for them.
4. Guide your soulmate through multiple sales offers.
5. Keep on tweaking.

I sometimes imagine the readers of my blog asking questions like,

Ryan, can you drink less coffee the next time you write a blog post?

THE ANSWER IS NO.

That may not actually have been your question this time.

You were probably thinking about the list, thinking about asking,

Ryan, can you PLEASE  get to the point and tell me about the list?

WELL, that answer is yes.

That list is how you start a business in 2015. Those are the key ideas from an entrepreneurship book that I recently read. But those ideas won’t mean much to you right now.

Those are ways to improve your method, but you still need to decide on your direction. And while you are deciding on your direction there is a different lesson from the book.

That lesson, the most important lesson from said entrepreneurship book, is actually the title:

“You Don’t Need a Job, You Need Guts.”

You don’t need to find a job anymore. You don’t need to look around hoping to find someone who has created the job you want. What you actually need is GUTS. You need the guts to choose the direction you want to go in life. You need the guts to create your own job.

So, how do we get guts, and how do we create our jobs?

You start by ignoring a myth.  A myth about how to be successful. A myth about going to school, then university, then finding a job. About following a path in life that is acceptable and normal.

The myth is about making a good resume, applying for jobs, driving to work, dressing in office clothes, and acting professional. Especially acting professional.

We see this path that almost everyone is taking, and it’s easy to think that it’s the only way. That you need to get some credentials and then look for a job that you find bearable.

We were taught this myth that we ought to care about what others think of us. That breaking the norms is risky. That fitting in is better than standing out.

This isn’t explicitly taught.

Your parents probably didn’t tell you this, but you saw it all around you.

What you didn’t see, what you should have seen, is people who don’t give a fuck about what other people think about them. People who know that standing out is better than fitting in. 

Like this cat.

 

I said before that you need to decide what direction you want to go with life. If you want to be an entrepreneur you’ve got to commit to it. To decide that feeling fulfilled is more important than what other people think about you. To decide that you have the guts to act despite the fear you may feel. Despite the voice in your head that says, “who am I to make this?”, “why would people want to buy something from me?” “What is everyone going to think of me if this all goes horribly wrong?” The voice that’s stopping you from taking the step into entrepreneurship.

That list of 5 ideas from the start of this post is only helpful once you’ve made a decision. Once you’ve decided that you don’t need a job and that you’ve got guts.

There are lots of things you need to learn if you are going to be a successful entrepreneur, but the lack of knowledge isn’t what is holding you back. Not right now. Because you won’t really start learning until you start working. To learn deeply, you need to have direct experience. You need to try and fail, that is the only way you are going to learn.

“Take risks and you’ll get the payoffs. Learn from your mistakes until you succeed. It’s that simple.” – Bobby Flay

The most important step to being an entrepreneur is deciding that you want it. Deciding that you want to be creating, making something where nothing existed before. Reshaping the world in your image. And once you’ve decided that you want it, deciding that you will not stop until you succeed.

There are two points that I need you to remember.

1. Start
2. Don’t Stop

Commit right now to not settle. To never accept good enough. To know what you want, and to keep on fighting for it.  Commit to making something and selling it. To using trial and error and constantly improving.

You Don’t Need a Job, You Need Guts is about convincing you that you don’t need a job and that you have the guts required to start.

It will convince you that it is possible, that you can be an entrepreneur if you want to be.

Then, once you’ve decided, you can re-read these 5 lessons and learn how to do it.

1. Find your edge, the intersection of your skills and interests where you are unique.
2. Find your perfect customer, your “business soulmate”. The people who want what you can offer.
3. Make your soulmate feel seen, heard, and understood by creating content for them. Create value for your people!
4. Guide your soulmate through a sale, offering something free for their email, then sell something at a low price point, then mid-priced, and high priced.
5. Keep on tweaking. Use trial and error to keep improving your offerings, keeping what works and making more stuff like it.