Ignite your POD start-up

You want to launch your own print on demand business or side-hustle but you don’t know where to start! Please remember ‘Action over perfection’. As you walk through this journey it will be overwhelming and confusing at times but you will get there. Thinking won’t change your life but Action will. Take small steps each day for big rewards over time. Those small actions compound over time.

Here is some guidance…

1. What lifestyle do you want from your business?

   How do you imagine your life? What are your priorities? Be honest with yourself. If you want to work 4 hours a day and surf for the other 4 thats awesome but thats only conducive to running a business wirelessly and perhaps not having any employees. For example, think drop-shipping. You only need a computer and a wireless connection.

   Maybe you want to think more along the lines of what is your current situation and where do you want to be in 1 year. It could be monetary. For example. I have $500 in my bank account and I want to have $1 million. It is then a matter of understanding a plan, the execution of that plan and the time that you have to reach that goal of $1 million. (Reference Sam Ovens, formula C + PE^T = D’)

2. What do you love? What do you dislike?

   Having a list of things that you love or are passionate about is helpful. This might mean you have already developed skills in this area and it comes easy to you, making work, well, less work-like and more purposeful. There might be something that sparks. This also helps identify a problem that you can create a solution for in an area that you have some knowledge or expertise.

   Passion does not substitute finding a solution to a problem and a need in the market for a product or service. Make sure whatever you are developing is a vehicle for your customer to get from their current disposition to their future desire. A to B.

3. Problem & Solution

   Write out a list of problems that are you interested in finding solutions for. Refine down to your 3 favorite then explore solutions that excite you. Get creative and let your mind wonder. Draw a large ‘T’ for framing your ideas. Use the top for the title, left for a small illustration and the right for a description.

   IF YOU GET STUCK, STOP. Understand the industry or market you would like to enter and write a list of assumptions of the market you would be in. There are potential structures and principles of that industry that need to be broken. If you can reverse the assumptions of an industry you have an interesting business that will gain attention.

   Make sure you are solving a REAL problem and start to understand your customers deep needs and desires. Remember something that sounds great and you could be passionate about is NOT a business if you’re not solving a customers problem.

   When you talk to your potential customers get a feel for their urgency to solve the problem. If they think it’s a nice idea, they still might not buy it. If you explain and show them the product or service and say “when can I buy it” and “Ive been waiting for this my whole life”, well you can be optimistic you seemed to have solved their problem.

4. Moving forward

   If you are confident you have a good solution to a problem, let’s go through some checks.

   1. What is the market like that you would enter. Is there a lot of competition. Competition is ok but you want to be as unique as possible.

   2. Who is your customer specifically. Review creating a customer segmentation and a customer persona.

   3. Is your idea Remarkable? Will customers want to remark on the idea and talk to their friends about it. A purple cow is remarkable right, you stop, stare and tell your friends what you saw or experienced. The less remarkable the idea and the more competition you have, the higher the costs of getting any brand awareness and sales.

BE A SCIENTIST! Pretend like your project is a science experiment. Be prepared to pivot or 'Think again’ - Adam Grant, zoom out and reflect where you are, how you got there and if you need to reconsider anything. You might just realize that your customers are telling you what they need but you feel firm on the concept you have. You need to be malleable and pivot where necessary to see big gains.

If you get through all these steps, it’s a great idea to start talking to people that would consider using this service or product and getting some feedback.

Collaboration on a business is wonderful thing. If you can build a small team. A Hustler (Sales), Hacker (Developer) & Hipster (Creative) you’re onto a great start.

First and foremost, HAVE FUN, BE PLAYFUL & FEEL & FOLLOW. Starting a business is not all getting wound up and frustrated. Its about hustling, yes, no doubt but ensuring you make this a fun and rewarding process. Even better if you have a strong Purpose that will guide you every morning when you wake up, you will get up and get the work done without thinking about it.

As you get started think about Kindness & Reciprocity. As you grow, help others grow and teach them what you’ve learned. Its rewarding helping others as it is receiving insight from others. Those relationships early on build strong relationships and collaboration that can guide you forward faster!

Cheers,

Henry