The project assignments that go along with this course are a little different than the other courses.  The goal of this course is to help you choose a business idea you are excited about and actually launch this business.  So, instead of a specific project assignment for each of the 8 lessons, you will do most of the project work after you finish all the lessons.

As You Watch Each Lesson:

1.     Get a blank notebook that you will be able to use for this course.  This will be your Business Ideas Notebook.

2.     On the first page, add this heading: Potential Business Ideas

3.     Then, as you watch each lesson choose at least one of the five ideas that are presented and add it to your notebook on the first page.  You can add more than one idea if you find several ideas interesting.  The goal here is to narrow down the list of 40 ideas to 8-10 ideas when you finish watching the lessons.

4.     Choose ideas that seem interesting to you and that you would be excited to potentially try and start as a business of your own.  Don’t worry if you think the idea might be too hard, or might cost too much money…add it anyway in this first step if it is interesting or exciting to you.

5.     For any ideas you add to your notebook, be sure to check out all the recommended resources/additional links for that idea.  These are under each video lesson.  You can also do some simple research on your own to further understand this business idea.

After You Finish Watching The Entire Course:

1.     You should have a list of 8 or more business ideas that you’ve added to the first page in your notebook.  You should have also looked at the recommended resources/links under the video for each of the ideas you added.

2.     Now you are going to try and narrow your list down to 1 idea that you actually want to launch.  To help in this process, you are going to give each idea 4 scores.  Then, you’ll add up the points for each idea and rank them from best (most points) to worst (least points).

a.     Passion: Give each idea a score of 0-10 that corresponds to how passionate and excited you are about the idea.  A score of 10 would represent a business you are very excited about, and 0 one that you are not very excited about at all.

b.     Resources: Give each idea a score of 0-10 that corresponds to whether or not you have the resources to accomplish this idea.  Primarily you should consider the resources of money and time.  You may be excited about an idea, but if it costs $2000 to start and you don’t have any money, then it wouldn’t be a good candidate.  Also, is this a business that you have enough time to start?  A score of 10 represents a business that you have enough time and money to start very easily.  A score of 0 represents a business that you don’t have enough time or money to start.

c.     Knowledge: Give each idea a score of 0-5 that corresponds to how much knowledge or expertise you have about this idea.  Having knowledge or expertise about a business or industry will be helpful to you, but even if you don’t have it, this can be overcome with learning (thus the 0-5 instead of a 0-10 scale).  A score of 5 represents a business you are an expert in and a score of 0 represents a business idea that is brand new to you.

d.     Feedback:  Ask one person you trust (a parent, grandparent, mentor, etc…) to look at the list of ideas and give each one a score of 0 to 5 for how strong of a fit they feel the idea is for you.  The people who know you well will be able to give you helpful feedback about ideas that might be good for you and ones that might be hard for you.  For example, if people who know you well say you are very shy and might struggle with doing direct sales, then they might give some business ideas a lower score that involve selling.  A score of 5 would represent an idea that they feel is a very good fit for you and a score of 0 would be a business they think would be a poor fit.

3.     Tally up the total scores for each business idea.  Take the three ideas with the highest scores and write these ideas on the next three blank pages (one idea per page).  If you have a tie (giving you more than 3 top ideas) you can just pick the ones that you are more passionate about as the tie-breaker.

4.     Now that you’ve narrowed the list down to just three ideas, you need to choose one that you are actually going to try and start.  Before you make a decision, you are going to do a little more research on each idea.  For each idea, do additional research such as watching YouTube videos, read articles, etc… to learn more about starting this type of business.  On the page in your Notebook for each idea, you are going to make a list of Pros and Cons.  As you do your research, make notes for things that are Pros and Cons for each idea.  This research will take some time, but is important.  You don’t want to choose an idea and then later realize that there are some surprises that you weren’t aware of that will make it difficult for you to be successful.

5.     Once you have researched each idea, carefully look at your list of Pros and Cons for each idea and make a decision to select the best idea. You also want to consider how passionate you are about the idea.  Being excited about the business you are starting is going to be very influential in ultimately helping you find success.

6.     Congratulations!!  You’ve taken the first step to launching a great business…coming up with a GREAT idea!  But, before you launch your business you are going to want to make sure you have a good plan.  Understanding each of these key areas will help you be in the best position for success.  So, for each of these areas, create a page in your Notebook and write out your plan and the answers you find from the research you do.

a.     Business Name:  This is a fun one.  What are you going to name your business?  And, if you are going to have a website you also should consider what domain you can get.  Use a site like domains.google.com to check the availability of any names you think of.  You can also use a site like leandomainsearch.com to enter a word and see what available .com names are available.

b.     Competition: What competitors do you have?  What are they like?  What prices do they charge?  What products or services do they offer?  Understanding as much as you can about your competitors will help you figure out where to position your business in the market.

c.     Competitive Advantage:  What will set you apart from your competitors?  What are you going to do that is unique and will make customers want to come to your business?

d.     Price: What price are you going to charge?  Make sure your price is realistic, based on research, and also matches your positioning in the market.  For example, if you are trying to position yourself as a luxury, high-end solution in the marketplace, then make sure your price reflects this.

e.     Marketing: How are people going to find out about your business?  What is your plan for spreading the word so you’ll get customers?

f.      Financial: You need to have a basic understanding of the finances of your business.  You have already determined the price you will charge.  But, what costs will you incur?  When will you collect your payments?  Will there be more costs to consider if your business grows?

g.     Legal: Check your local regulations depending on where you live, but you’ll need to register your business and get a license.  In the US, you’ll need to register at the state level.  Often, the state registration will also let you add on any city licenses you’ll need as well if you are operating within city limits.  You won’t need to register with the IRS (to get an Employer Identification Number or EIN) unless you are forming an entity other than a Sole Proprietorship or if you are hiring employees.  For many starting entrepreneurs though, just starting your business as a Sole Proprietorship is easiest.  You can convert it to an LLC or S-Corp later pretty easily if you need to.  You may also need to get business insurance depending on the type of business you are running.

7.     Once you’ve answered all of those questions you should be prepared to go out there and start your business.  Being an entrepreneur often means “learning on the job”.  When you start your first business, you’ll learn A LOT!  It’s part of the fun of the adventure. 

8.     Go to the forum and post about what business you are planning to pursue.  If you found helpful resources along the wat during your research (articles, videos, etc…) please share those in the forum as well so other students who consider this idea can check also benefit from these.

9.     Report back often on how you are doing!  We want to hear how things are going after you launch.  What struggles are you having?  What successes?  What lessons are you learning?