I was at the edge of the abyss… thinking to take the jump into the unknown and leave the safety of what I knew (which was not much) to start a business for myself. Live the dream… the problem? I simply didn’t know how. It all looks so uncertain. And if you’re anything like I was, then you’ve got a ton of questions.
First and foremost, you’re not even sure if this is the right choice. You’ve got so many options available. You could start an eCommerce business… or maybe you could start a service business. Or try your luck as a freelancer.
Just what you should do is very hard to figure out.
Well, while I can’t take your decisions for you, I can tell you how I did it.
Back many years ago, I was just like you.
I also didn’t know what to do or what direction to take, all I knew was that I didn’t want to work a job.
I wanted freedom.
And so began my quest.
Taking Inventory
I started with an inventory of the skills that I had. It was simple, just grabbed a piece of paper, and started writing the things people praised me for.
One such thing was writing. I was able to clearly articulate my thoughts, and this had become very clear to me in school. Compared to others, I was doing much better as a writer.
I was also quite good with numbers, but I found that more stressful. Not my cup of tea.
I had also never worked a job in my life, I was just 16 at the time…
So that was all my experience. It may seem like little, but it was enough for me.
The next step was to research how to start making money as a writer.
Researching What Others Did
I opened up Google and literarily typed in “how to make money writing”. And I found a couple of different solutions:
• Write blog articles
• Do on-page SEO optimization
• Become a copywriter
• Create YouTube video scripts
• Write reports & other technical documents
The fact is that there are a lot of ways to make money, regardless of what your skills are. When I realised this, I decided to pick one of them, and move forward. I picked becoming a copywriter because the value proposition was very clear to me: your writing brings in money, so there’s no doubt about the value. With some of the other categories, their value is debatable, since they’re further down the stream from the business’s bottom line. Copywriting was also exciting – my writing would be making money for others!
And then I made a huge mistake, that held me back for years… I didn’t get a mentor… and I tried to do it all alone. It took me about 3-4 years to start making a proper income that way. If I could do it again, I’d just go straight to getting a mentor. And here’s how.
Get a Mentor
Getting a mentor isn’t easy. And many times it’s not free.
The best candidates to be your mentor are people who are already in the niche you’re interested to get started in and also have an interest in teaching others.
This typically means people who are writing books about the subject, or selling courses, or otherwise involved in education.
They are very likely to take an interest in a young pup, especially if that pup is committed and wants to learn. And how do you show your commitment? It’s easy, buy the education that they’re selling, show that you’re committed to learning, and start asking quesitons.
A relationship will grow out of it, and you’ll be able to learn much faster than I did. You won’t waste 4 years to be in business for yourself, you’ll be ale to do it in just a few months.
So Just Do It!
And ultimately, you just have to get started. Do anything. Of course you’ll fail at first. I sure did when I first got started as a copywriter. But you’ll learn, and you’ll get better. And your progress will be 100x faster if you choose to get a mentor and get the proper education.
Getting started doesn’t have to be hard. Find what you’re good at and what you enjoy, research how people are making money doing it, pick a way, and then get a mentor and education.
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