Business & Marketing

Starting a Side Business

Go from a vague idea to a paying customer and a simple set of numbers you can trust.

This course is for members

$9 unlocks every course in the library, this one included, plus a credit to build a topic of your own and at least 10 new courses every month.

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What you will learn about Starting a Side Business

The 7-day sprint
  1. Start From a Problem, Not an Idea. A side business is a repeatable solution to a problem someone already pays to solve, not a clever idea waiting for an audience.
  2. Define One Offer in One Sentence. An offer is a specific promise to a specific person for a specific price, and if you cannot say it in one sentence you cannot sell it.
  3. Test Demand Before You Build. You validate an offer by asking real people for money or commitment, not by asking whether they think it is a good idea.
  4. Price for Value and Sanity. Price is a decision about positioning and margin, not a reward for your hours, and beginners almost always set it too low.
  5. Build One Reliable Channel to Customers. Consistent revenue comes from one channel you work repeatedly, not from being a little bit present everywhere.
  6. Know Your Three Numbers. You only need three numbers to run a side business: what comes in, what goes out, and what one sale leaves you after costs.
  7. Decide, Systemize, or Stop. After a first round of selling, you deliberately choose one of three paths: double down, change one variable, or shut it down cleanly.
The 80/20: the 7 concepts that matter most
  • Demand Before Supply
  • A Specific Customer Beats a Big Market
  • Margin, Not Revenue
  • One Channel, Worked Repeatedly
  • Sell the Outcome, Not the Activity
  • Small, Cheap, Reversible Experiments
  • Protect the Day Job and Your Energy
The core idea, explained like you are 5

A business is an exchange in which you solve someone's problem well enough that they willingly hand over money, and it survives only when the money you get exceeds the cost of solving it.

Then the quiz and the ladder

10 questions that correct you when you are wrong, and beginner, intermediate, advanced levels, each with a practical exercise.