I’ve been asked many times how to start as an entrepreneur. Below are the resources that helped me the most.
That’s not to say they are the BEST or ONLY resources. They are the ones that were pivotal for the success of Charisma on Command.
These resources are for people that want a lifestyle business.
That means you don’t want bosses in the form of investors, dog-eat-dog competition, or growth at the expense of your happiness. If you want to start the next Tesla, these resources aren’t the best for you.
If you DO want to work when you want, live where you want, and do something you’re passionate about, these resources will help you get there as quickly as possible.
Note: Each link here is an affiliate link. That means we get a percentage of the sale if you purchase. I’d recommend these resources either way and have many times on the podcast, but wanted to be transparent about the nature of the links 🙂
1.) The Four Hour Workweek
This is ground zero. It covers the foundational mindsets necessary to switch from employee to entrepreneur. It shook up my life priorities. It crystalized the driving motive behind Charisma on Command: to spend my days doing what I love, funded by work I care about. Everyone who aspires to something like what we’ve done should start here.
2.) Marketing Step By Step
I have a graduate degree in marketing. Marketing Step By Step taught me more in 20 days than I’d learned in that entire year.
I can’t recommend it enough to beginning marketers. I recommend it even more to people, like me, who think they know about marketing because of experience at a large corporation or their college degree. Direct marketing (which is key for first-time entrepreneurs) is a totally different ballgame than branding (which is what you’re exposed to in large corporations).
One note, the program has a money back guarantee, but it’s “action based”. This means you have to prove you’ve tried the product before getting your money back. So only join this program if you’re serious about wanting to start a business. (The cost is $97)
3.) Running Lean
This book is the least “fun” so far. But it will force you to STOP focusing on your product idea and START focusing on customer problems. This seems obvious, but no one does it naturally. The key takeaways are to conduct 2 separate interviews when searching for product/market fit: first, the problem interview; and second, the solution interview.
That’s It.
I’ve consumed dozens of other resources on entrepreneurship, but you really don’t need more than these 3 to get started.
In fact, just the three above is probably enough to have you making six figures a year if you actually execute on the information they give you.
I’m including a few more resources for specific problems, but I don’t distract yourself with anything below until you’ve actually started and are running into issues.
If You Want To Learn To Sell Better
- Prosperous Coach (most applicable for coaching businesses)
- SPIN Selling