Build Your First Online Business

 

There are many things currently putting financial pressure on the average person out there, so many people are turning to side gigs to complement and supplement their income. In this episode I give you my high level view on how to structure and build your own online business. There's a lot of options for you, but I give you guidance on where and why I feel you should start. (Full audio and transcript below. Lmk your thoughts and questions!)

 

 

Want some more help with this? Check out my agency at www.kaypieye.com

 

Building Your First Online Business

 

(0:01 - 0:28)

Alright, it is time for you to build your online business and it's a great time. It's a great time because we have never had as many tools as we have now to support that potential for you. There are all kinds of different sites and apps and resources and inspiration.

(0:28 - 1:09)

There are all kinds of different products you can work with, services and all the tools are out there. They are available for you to get started and yet still many of us have not and you may be one of those people. Now you may have always wanted to or you are thinking about it or whatever, you get busy, life, all the things but there are a lot of benefits obviously to having a business at all and an online business in particular and it's flexible.

(1:09 - 1:27)

There is a lot you can do with this that can complement or support your current lifestyle no matter what you are doing. Maybe you have another full time job or you have a particular gig. Maybe you generally do contract work.

(1:28 - 1:51)

Big thing right now as I am recording this, the actors just went on strike and the writers have been on strike already. Maybe your industry is on strike, there have been other strikes this season. So far there is a lot going on out there.

(1:52 - 3:22)

At the same time things are moving, some things are moving faster, there are lots of changes in the world and I know that sounds a little cliché but particularly AI has really taken off this year and the impact and opportunity of AI presents both as I suggested here challenges and opportunities to complement or support or be a catalyst for change in the things that you are already doing. So part of the journey of creating your own business is a degree of independence but part of an online business is flexibility, versatility, access, scale, there are a lot of features of it and so no matter what it is you are doing, it would be my recommendation from my desk, my suggestion that you can and should also have an online business for yourself. There are financial benefits at its core as you run your own business if you haven't yet.

(3:22 - 4:39)

There are many things you can write off as expenses and of course more importantly it can generate a second or more stream of income for you other than potentially your primary stream of income. Now these things aren't a magic solution or kind of a cure all, it depends on what you are doing, it depends on what your focus is, it depends on your products and services and competition and a whole bunch of factors really but the potential exists for you to complement your existing lifestyle, increase your income, your revenue and deepen your contribution and your participation in the world in interesting ways. So the potential is really limitless and the flexibility is also and so is the focus of wherever you want to work and however you want to work, whatever you want to do.

(4:40 - 6:16)

So I've done a lot of this stuff, my background is in early stage entrepreneurship really my kind of core pillar, I've been involved in venture capital for nearly 20 years with a focus on the public side particularly but also private, the public side meaning like you know the stock side, capital markets, you know companies that trade on stock exchanges and that sort of thing. And it doesn't really matter what industry you're in or what world you're in, the fundamentals are really similar, they're very much the same and that is the work, right? That is the work is just building these out, getting clear on what you want to do, what you want to offer the world, doing the work to bring that to life and then being consistent with it to share that with the world and grow and evolve as you do and as your products and services are offered or provided, people will provide feedback and insight, they'll make requests for new products, new services, new ideas, all kinds of things, new experiences and so as you're on that journey you will evolve. But the key is to have great fundamentals, great starting point and to begin.

(6:18 - 7:07)

And beginning is usually the hardest part and many of us are paralyzed by the start and lots of people seek perfection in it and they're scared to do a thing but in this episode what I want to just touch on is some of the things that can help you get started and some of the ideas I'd like you to consider if you are getting started and this can also serve for you if you've gotten started and you're scratching your head and wondering what you're doing and things aren't really working right. I'll just give you some kind of general shape to this. But here's the deal, whatever it is that you're currently doing, whoever you are, you're already an expert on stuff.

(7:08 - 8:04)

You're an expert on something and that could be beekeeping, that could be do-it-yourself home crafts, that could be cooking, it could be anything, it could be working out, weight training or fitness, obviously a popular category out there. There's all kinds of things and you've probably also at least kicked things around by sharing content on some social channels of some type. You are likely on Instagram, probably on Facebook and then maybe a bunch of other stuff which get a little bit more nuanced in different types of experiences.

(8:04 - 8:31)

Not everybody's on Twitter. A lot of people have enjoyed TikTok. Many use YouTube but aren't necessarily on it with channels but you've been creating content and that content, conscious or not, whatever you're creating, you've just been creating the things of who you are and what you do and about your day.

(8:33 - 8:50)

And that's your first level of content really. Maybe you've been doing that consistently, maybe not. But then you've been going and doing the thing or you're sharing that you're doing the thing that you're an expert at.

(8:51 - 9:09)

There's an old saying that says, we are what we do every day. So you really don't have to overthink what am I going to create? What does it need to be? Do you know what I mean? This is an extreme analogy. It's just coming to me for some reason.

(9:11 - 9:31)

If you're a circus clown, you don't need to create an online business about being an astronaut. If you're a circus clown, you're like, I want to create an online business for myself. Well, then there's a bunch of different types of products you can create.

(9:31 - 9:47)

These are kind of best practices products. Generally, like a freebie, a giveaway, something to your audience related to what you do, which is about being a circus clown. So maybe your audience wants to be a circus clown.

(9:47 - 10:03)

That or it's your circus clown clowning experiences, right? Your performances could be both. So you give something away like as a freebie. You have a smaller ticket item like a book or an ebook.

(10:03 - 10:29)

You have a bigger ticket item like a course. You have a potential like one on one or kind of private coaching type experience. You have a monthly type membership in like a group or a newsletter or something about your topic.

(10:29 - 10:49)

So in this case, it would be about clowning and in the circus and this type of a theme. And you can go even bigger than that. You could also have clown retreats.

(10:49 - 11:08)

So, you know, everybody wants to be a clown to come to a retreat and learn about, you know, performing as a clown or similar, you know, for for a few days. And you could charge, you know, more for those experiences. You could do webinars and you could charge for those experiences.

(11:10 - 11:18)

So a whole bunch of stuff. But these are kind of like the primary things, right? You could have merchandise. I should add that in there.

(11:18 - 11:32)

You could have merchandise. You have a whole bunch of products related to related to your brand, right? There could be all kinds of clown branded stuff. That's like your clown brand.

(11:32 - 11:58)

But it could also be like, you know, clown noses and clown makeup and, you know, clown costumes. And all kinds of things. And you could have this whole clown brand, right? You know, and it could be a cool brand name, you know, the funniest clown dot com or who knows what, right? We can get into that kind of branding stuff later.

(11:58 - 12:15)

But just the point is, there's all these different types of products you can create and you don't need to be a huge like brand. You don't need to be this massive company. You don't need to have all of these resources to build these things.

(12:16 - 12:32)

Some for sure. But it's doable at a smaller scale level is an independent level to create these products and get them out to the world. Now you get them out to the world, of course, like through a website.

(12:32 - 12:49)

There's a couple different great options that I like to use. But as an example, like Shopify is great and there's lots of different plug on apps. I also really like Payhip is another example of a site to build on.

(12:50 - 13:16)

And, you know, this creates your e-commerce portal. And so then you look at this in the big picture and you go, OK, I'm my thing and this is the thing I do. And you're asking like yourself, who do I serve? Who's my audience? So if I'm a clown, I'm like I'm serving people who want to be clowns and I'm serving people maybe who want to take in, you know, a funny experience, a comedy experience or similar.

(13:16 - 13:35)

Right. Or enjoy the circus like there's a few different audiences there. So then what I'm creating, what I need to do for myself is create content.

(13:36 - 13:57)

And I want to create content around those themes. I want to use keywords about, you know, the different, you know, aspects of clowning and being a clown and similar and that speak to the audience. And then I want to build the audience.

(13:57 - 14:24)

I described it to be more people, but just as an example. And then I want to also create these products, obviously, that serve these these people, this audience that solve a problem that needs to be solved. I.e. Create say, you know, is it is a course that teaches people how to become a clown or maybe there's a clown certification at the end of it and then they too can join the circus.

(14:25 - 14:33)

Right. Something like this. Now, that's not to say whether there's a whole bunch of things in this niche.

(14:33 - 14:40)

I'm just using these for examples. Right. Whatever your thing is, you can create it and the audience you're going to build is unique to you.

(14:40 - 15:04)

So it's important to look at competition for inspiration. Consider competition, you know, and comparables for those reasons to maybe help guide what you're going to create. But you're going to create your own audience around your own brand and you being your unique person combined with your own style, beliefs, philosophies, you know, way of working and being.

(15:06 - 15:15)

That's going to be your own vibe and you're going to attract people who are into it in your vibe. Right. There's different types of clowns.

(15:16 - 15:25)

There could be the scary clowns. There could be the funny clowns. There could be the, you know, the macho clowns.

(15:26 - 15:55)

There could be the, um, the mindful clown, you know, uh, there's all kinds of different types of clowns. So just to play off of this analogy, you know, what type of clown are you? And people like different types of clowns, not people or not everybody likes scary clowns. Maybe more people like funny clowns, but you're a type of clown.

(15:55 - 16:05)

I'm a type of clown. We would both create clown brands if we were doing that, but we create them differently. Right.

(16:06 - 16:25)

If you are an actor and listening to this, you understand what I'm referring to. Cause we see this commonly. It's part of the, the, uh, the audition process, right? Is that everybody gets the same script, but everybody comes in with a different interpretation.

(16:25 - 16:41)

So, so there's room for you and your own interpretation of that. And that will separate you in a, in a particular way from the other options that are out there anyways. So be who you are, is my suggestion.

(16:42 - 17:03)

And, you know, uh, uh, you know, do the thing that you do great. And also obviously the thing that inspires you, you enjoy and whatever, but marry the, these elements, um, in what you choose to offer. And this can be a personal brand.

(17:03 - 17:29)

So it could be, you know, like Joe West, right? If that's your name, like.com or it could be a, a brand brand, right? Like, uh, like a name brand, like, uh, you know, like, like a spiritual gangster, right? I like that brand name. It's pretty, pretty clever. Um, so that's an example of the two ways you can go about it.

(17:29 - 18:32)

Now, um, your brand can have keywords or you can be the keyword, regardless of what you Um, the, the game is to build content, to offer great products and services and grow your audience, right? So if you haven't grown a big audience yet, it is likely because you have not done a few things. One really focused on who your audience is to gotten clear on what you offer that audience and three, um, probably not been terribly consistent in your content creation and sharing content related to your audience and, um, content that they'd be interested in the products and services you offer. So this is some of the work, right? So, you know, we've got on this, on this, or in this world, uh, to make this work, we're building a system.

(18:32 - 18:49)

Think of this businesses or systems. So we're building a system with your online business that, um, people can engage with. They can easily make a purchase and send you money in exchange for your product and service.

(18:49 - 19:32)

It sounds obvious, but it just needs to be said out loud. Sometimes like that's what we're doing, uh, in this context. And the point from where they first encounter you or your brand to the point that they have paid and received you or, um, and received, uh, their product or service that they purchased and equally a bit beyond that for followup and potential, like, you know, remarketing, retargeting, um, of the, uh, the customer later to, to invite them to potentially consider other products and services that may suit their, their needs.

(19:33 - 19:45)

All of that is called the customer journey. And so that point from when they first find you to all the way through is the work. It's the area you need to work on.

(19:45 - 20:03)

So initially you put all this stuff out there, right? You set up your system, you set up your brand, your live, you've got your website, you know, you've got your social channels that are all the same. Everything's in sync across it all. And then you, you know, you're sharing content, you're marketing.

(20:04 - 20:15)

You can also run ads. This is another viable, you know, uh, um, sales channel. And all of that is about attracting people to consider your products and services.

(20:17 - 20:36)

And as you do that, people will be interested and they will follow you or they'll click through to the link and they'll visit your website and whatever. And they may or may not initially love your products and services, but you'll continue to make those better. And as you continue to make all of that better, your content will get better.

(20:37 - 20:48)

Your ads will get better. Your, um, products and services will become more attractive. Um, you'll begin generating sales from that and now your system's running.

(20:48 - 21:26)

So thenthe work is about optimizing that so that you're getting the best ROI for your content and, and, um, for your ads and all your marketing efforts and your best ROI, right? Your return on investment, um, your return on investment into making content, into making ads, into running your website. Um, and you're optimizing so that you'll get the best return on investment, uh, through your site. And that all of this is ultimately profitable for you, right? So it's doable.

(21:26 - 22:23)

And another great place to start with all this is in, you know, what people already see you as you probably have some form of an audience already, but if you don't, it's okay. But how do people relate to you? What are they already asking you about? Um, what do they want to know more about that they feel you are an authority on or a great resource for? Like I'm sharing this, this, um, this, uh, episode here, this topic with you, because this is something that a lot of people ask me about, um, business and entrepreneurship and, you know, marketing strategy and product development and all these sorts of things. Because many people see that for a long time, I've been involved in this world, right? And, uh, and so for me, I'm using that as inspiration to say, this is what people want to hear from me about.

(22:24 - 22:43)

And, uh, you may or may not be one of them, but you've come this far in this episode, if you're still here. So, uh, I'm going to suggest that, you know, you're curious at minimum. And so this is the work, right? This is what we build and it's easy to get started and then evolve from there.

(22:43 - 22:55)

Remember, everything's evolution. I evolve, you've evolved, uh, you're evolving, our, our communities evolve, right? It's, it's okay. So nothing's static.

(22:56 - 23:20)

So before you start,it doesn't have to be perfect and static. It needs to tick a bunch of these boxes, uh, best practices boxes, right? And then you're in the game and then you can grow it from there. And so, uh, these are like kind of, you know, this is the basic 10,000 foot of what running an online business looks like.

(23:23 - 24:04)

Um, and the types of products you can offer and like how you think of the, the full kind of sales, uh, cycle, the sales journey, the marketing journey of someone who's interested to join your, your community and of customers, you know, and followers and whatnot, and to grow from there. And you know what? Your first day, you might have one person and before long, you might have two people and before long, that might become four people and eight and 16 and 32 and the way you grow. And so you just have to start.

(24:05 - 24:26)

And I know lots of people out there, and this may also be, you have been thinking about this for a while and lots of people are already doing this stuff, but you may be watching from the outside going, I want to do that too. And don't really know how, and that's okay. Cause you, you can still start today.

(24:26 - 24:32)

It's still here for you. You know, it hasn't gone anywhere. The strategies and techniques have evolved in some respects.

(24:33 - 24:52)

There's, you know, deeper dived individual strategies. You can, you know, test and experiment with, uh, with your own brand and your own site and stuff. And those evolved depending on what tools everybody's on, on to, and excited, you know, about, and, um, and most engaged with and whatever.

(24:52 - 25:19)

But, uh, but generally like this is, this is the game and it's still here and waiting and ready for you. So, you know, this came up because like, I'm seeing lots of people talking about this already. Uh, I do know like a number of actors and people in the creative industries and, you know, everyone's on strike and they can't do all of the things they were doing before until that was resolved.

(25:19 - 25:27)

There's a lot of chatter. This might take a while. I am a believer in multiple streams of income and multiple, you know, activities.

(25:27 - 26:08)

I'm involved in other activities. I've certainly, um, you know, done some work in, in, um, the film world, um, which, you know, I greatly appreciate my peers and, uh, and those opportunities and, um, and that creative work, but I'm also involved in other things and, you know, I'm thankful and grateful for that because when something like this happens, um, you also have other things that can help see you through it. Um, when, you know, the whole industry shuts down and that can happen in all kinds of industries, right? So you do want to be diversified as my suggestion recommendation.

(26:09 - 26:28)

And, um, there's no time like the present to get started to do that no matter what it is you're doing right now. So that's kind of the work, right? That's high level. Like what you want to build some ideas and how you can go about building it, which you take away and kind of brainstorm a bit.

(26:29 - 26:55)

Um, and then the different components you want to put into play. Uh, I intend to do more, um, you know, than this episode in providing resources for this, uh, uh, for these insights and dive a little bit deeper. But I also have my creative agency, which is KPI, uh, which I'll put some information in the bottom of this, uh, this episode.

(26:55 - 27:32)

So if you want to poke around at that, um, for those of you that want to do this, that don't want to do it, you're on your own. Um, then my agency is available to help, uh, you build your brand, build your website, build out your whole, uh, business system, um, your sales channels, um, assist you with your, you know, product ideation and development and help you bring this whole thing to life. Um, some people don't have that experience and don't want to do it themselves.

(27:33 - 27:52)

Um, and some of you, uh, want to do it yourself. Um, you know, uh, you want to learn your, you want to be more hands on that sort of thing. So if you want someone in a group to do it for you, my agency is, is a great place.

(27:53 - 28:19)

Um, I lead the creative direction and then I have, uh, a team. I have a number of different people and resources that I pull together depending on the client, um, to fulfill what's required. And I've done all of the different things, A to Z from branding to running websites, e-commerce, uh, optimizing customer journeys, all the different touch points.

(28:19 - 28:38)

You know, I've, I've done these and I've been doing this for a long time. So, um, so you can, uh, entrust me and us with that work. We'll work together and we'll have a blast doing it and we'll bring this whole thing to life.

(28:39 - 28:57)

Or you can take some of these inspirations and you can go and meditate on them a bit and poke around and get started for yourself. And, um, either way, let me know, let me know what you're doing. Um, and what you're, what you're coming up with or what you're thinking.

(28:58 - 29:27)

Um, it's amazing. It's super fun and, uh, it's empowering and, um, it's, it's time, you know, this is, this is an opportunity that's available to you. It's sitting, waiting for you to, to, um, to make a move, to, to jump at it, to expand, um, your horizons and, um, and, uh, enhance and really compliment your life in really cool, interesting ways.

(29:27 - 29:49)

And equally, you know,improve other people's lives by all the magic and, um, wisdom and insight and, uh, abilities that, uh, you've cultivated and that you have and, you know, um, that are ready and waiting to, to be shared with the world. So there you go. So let's get to it.

(29:50 - 30:09)

Let me know what you're thinking, uh, feeling. If you have any questions, um, I'm rooting for you and, uh, let's see where you, uh, go and where you grow in this area from here. Otherwise we'll chat with you soon.

(30:10 - 30:10)

Have a good one.