Building Your Startup in 7 Days
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The Ultimate Guide. Where do you want to go? What’s your destination?
nYou don’t need to go to business school or have 5 years of experience to launch a new business. In fact, you probably don’t need any experience at all. The truth is that anyone with a great idea, the drive to succeed and the willingness to work hard can start their own company — no matter how old they are, what their background is or what levels of education they have completed. The world is packed with examples of successful entrepreneurs who launched their businesses with almost no prior experience in the field. There are many famous examples such as Bill Gates of Microsoft, who dropped out of undergrad to start his software business; Sara Blakely who was working as a secretary when she launched her billion-dollar fashion empire selling underpants; and Oprah Winfrey who worked as a reporter before launching her talk show and media empire.nn n
As a CEO you should have the answers to all these questions after 7 days.
nHow to quickly making an assessment of your situation? What is your Inspiration? Why do you want to do this?nWhat got you interested in this field? What problem do you want to solve? What do you want to achieve?nWhy do you care about this? What are your skills? What are your strengths and weaknesses?nWhat do you know how to do? What are you bad at? What can you improve? What skills do you need to learn?nWhat is the industry? What are the trends? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your industry?nWhat is the state of your startup market right now? What resources do you have available?n
Leadership abilities but Understand the value of his team.
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Leadership is a skill that is not easy to master. It takes time and effort to learn how to lead a team. But it is also important for the leader to understand the value of his team. A good leader should be able to motivate his team and make them feel valued. He should also be able to delegate tasks and responsibilities so that everyone can work in their strengths.
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Integrity and a strong sense of ethics.
nYour integrity and a strong sense of ethics are the foundation of your business. They will be what informs all of your decisions and keeps you on the right path when things get difficult. They will also be what inspires trust and loyalty in your partners, employees, customers and investors. They will be what makes you successful, or they will be what keeps you from ever getting off the ground. A person with a shady past and a shaky foundation is not someone who you would want to do business with. And people will recognize this. It is not just about what you do and say now, but also about what you have done in the past. Be honest about your past and what you’ve done in the past. Be trustworthy and have integrity.n
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Highly Competitive & self-driven.
nYou are going to be competing with others for every single customer, investment and resource. You are going to be up against other businesses for employees and investors. You are going to be up against other people for press and attention. You are going to have to have a highly competitive drive to push past other people, other businesses and other companies to succeed. You need to be highly competitive and motivated to succeed, regardless of what others are doing and how they are working. You need to be willing to work hard, make sacrifices and push past any doubts you might have to succeed. You can’t let other people’s confidence or success stop you from trying. You need to be self-driven, motivated and willing to do whatever it takes to succeed.n
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Willingness to take risks & fail.
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Creative innovator
nEntrepreneurs are creative innovators. They are constantly coming up with new ideas and new solutions to problems. You need to be able to come up with new ideas and new solutions to problems. You need to be able to generate new ideas and new solutions to problems as they arise. You need to be able to create new opportunities and new solutions to problems that may not be obvious to others.nn n
Recognize what you don’t know and willing to learn.
nIt’s normal to feel nervous and even hesitant when you first start a business. It’s like you’re standing at a crossroads and your entire future is up to you. You might not feel ready, but you have to be willing to push through that feeling. The best way to conquer that feeling is to recognize what you don’t know and then be willing to learn it. You don’t need a college degree or years of experience to start a business. You don’t need tons of capital or even a brilliant business idea. All you need is a willingness to learn and a desire to get started and make things happen.nn n
The truth.
nThe truth is that anyone with a great idea, the drive to succeed and the willingness to work hard can start their own company — no matter how old they are, what their background is or what levels of education they have completed. The world is packed with examples of successful entrepreneurs who launched their businesses with almost no prior experience in the field. There are many famous examples such as Bill Gates of Microsoft, who dropped out of undergrad to start his software business; Sara Blakely who was working as a secretary when she launched her billion-dollar fashion empire selling underpants; and Oprah Winfrey who worked as a reporter before launching her talk show and media empire.nnRemember “Failure is just feedback and not final”n
Don’t Develop an Expert Skill Before Launching Your Company.
nIf you’re starting your company with no experience, it’s a good idea to develop one or more skills that are relevant to your business before you start. This will help you to understand your industry better before you launch your company. You can also use these skills to help generate income while you’re getting your company off the ground. but you don’t have an expert skill and frankly don’t have the time to learn it within 7 Days!n
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Decide What You Are Going to Sell
nBefore you start building your product, you should think carefully about what you are going to sell. What problem are you solving? Who are your customers? What are their requirements? What is the price point? How much will you sell? These are all important factors to consider. Most entrepreneurs will start by selling a product and then adding new services or products later on.n
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Pick the Right Platform for Your Product
nOnce you’ve decided what you are going to sell, you’ll need to pick the right platform for your product. This will depend on the industry you’re in, your location, and what kind of product you’re selling. If you’re not sure where to start, you can use the B2B Marketing Checklist to help you decide what platforms are best for you. You should also decide which platform to use for your marketing site. This can be a subdomain on your main site, or a completely separate site depending on your product. If you’re selling software or other digital products, it is typically best to have a subdomain on your main site. If you’re selling physical products, a completely separate site is often best.n
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Two Days: Build Your Website and Marketing Site
nOnce you’ve picked the right platform to use for your marketing site, it’s time to build it. Many entrepreneurs start with a simple Squarespace site or a Wix website, but as your business grows, you’ll probably want to switch to a more powerful and scalable platform like Shopify Plus. You can also choose a scalable ecommerce solution like Big Commerce or Shopify. You can use the Marketing Checklist to help you decide which platform is best for you. If you’re selling a digital product, you’ll also want to put together a sales page for your product. You can see examples of sales pages that have been successful in the past to help inspire you. The Sales Funnel Checklist can also help you choose the right sales strategy for your product.n
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You need a business plan or at least a flow chart action plan
nIdeas are a dime a dozen. Anyone can have an idea for a business. What differentiates one idea from another is the amount of effort that goes into executing that idea. Anyone can have an idea, but only the people who actually follow through with the idea are successful. You need to have a business plan or at least a flow chart of actions that need to be done to make it happen. You need to be able to walk people through exactly what you’re going to do and how you’re going to do it.n
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Be flexible, Adjust on the fly, Never stop tweaking until it’s working.
nNo matter how much you plan, things will change. Pressures and opportunities will arise that you can’t anticipate. Markets will shift, customers will change their behavior and your team will evolve. What worked yesterday may not work today. Your original idea may not be the best path forward. You need to be flexible and willing to adjust on the fly and make changes as needed. You need to be willing to never stop tweaking and refining your plan until it is working.n
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Competitors analysis, Who are they? What do they do?
nWho are your competitors? What are they doing? What are they offering? How are they positioning themselves? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What is your brand and how does it differentiate itself from other brands in the industry? What do you offer that is different from what is currently offered? What needs do you fill for customers that aren’t currently being fulfilled? What are the trends in the industry? What is changing and why? What are your competitors doing with these trends? How will these trends affect your business? What is the growth rate of your industry? What is the projected growth and decline of your industry? What are the trends in your industry? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your industry? Are there any major problems with your industry that need to be resolved?n
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SWOT analysis, Where do you want to go? What’s your destination?
nWhat do you currently have? What do you have that can help you? What do you have that can hurt you? What do you want to accomplish? What is your overall goal? What do you want to achieve? What is your mission? What are your strengths? What are your assets? What are your opportunities? What do you have thatnn n
Three Days: Build Out Your Product and Backend Services
nOnce you’ve built your marketing site and sales funnel, it’s time to start building your product. This step can vary greatly depending on what you’re building. If you’re building a software product, you’ll probably want to start with the SaaS (software as a service) model. If you’re building a B2B product, you’ll want to start with the on-premise model. If you’re building a B2C product, you’ll want to start with a marketplace or e-commerce model. If you’re not sure what model is best for you, you can use the B2B Marketing Checklist to help you choose.n
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Two Days: Build Out Your Team and Infrastructure
nIt might seem strange to put this as a priority during your 7-Day Startup, but once you’ve decided what you’re going to sell and how you’re going to do it, it’s time to start building your team and infrastructure. This is the time to find contractors and employees if you need them. It’s also the time to start looking at infrastructure, cloud services and legal structures. If you’re building a software product, it’s time to start researching scalability, hosting and other technical needs. If you’re building a physical product, it’s time to start looking at sourcing or manufacturing partners. If you’re building a marketplace, it’s time to start looking at legal structures and compliance issues.n
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Two Days: Build Out Your PR, Marketing and Advertising
nOnce you’ve built your product, sales funnel and team, it’s time to start building your PR, marketing and advertising. This step can vary greatly depending on what you’re building and who your target market is. If you’re building a B2B product, you’ll want to focus on building a strong brand and making sure your conversion funnel is set up correctly. If you’re building a B2C product, you’ll want to start building your brand and acquiring customers as quickly as possible. If you’re building a marketplace, you’ll want to make sure you’re complying with all regulations, paying your taxes and making sure you have a good PR strategy.n
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Two Days: Legal, Accounting and Incorporation Setup
nLast but not least, it’s time to finish up your 7-Day Startup by setting up your legal structure, accounting and incorporation. If you’re building a B2B product, you’ll want to make sure you’re complying with all regulations. If you’re building a B2C product, you’ll want to make sure you have the correct tax structure for your state. If you’re building a marketplace, you’ll want to make sure you’re following Amazon’s rules and abiding by all other regulations. When it comes to incorporation, it’s best to hire a lawyer or do it yourself through a company like LegalZoom.n
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One Day: AdWords Campaign and Analytics Setup
nThe last thing you need to do during your 7-Day Startup is set up your AdWords campaign and analytics. If you’re building a B2C product, you’ll want to start your AdWords campaign as soon as possible. If you’re building a B2B product, you’ll want to wait until you have a pre-sales funnel set up. If you’re building a marketplace, you’ll want to wait until you have enough inventory available to start tracking conversion rates.n
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One Day: PR, Marketing and Advertising Setup
nOnce you’ve set up your AdWords campaign and analytics, it’s time to start building your PR, marketing and advertising. If you’re building a B2B product, you’ll want to get in touch with industry publications and start building relationships. If you’re building a B2C product, you’ll want to start with your local market in order to get valuable feedback. If you’re building a marketplace, you’ll want to start getting in touch with your suppliers and find out how you can help them.n
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One Day: Legal, Accounting and Incorporation Setup
nLast but not least, it’s time to finish up your 7-Day Startup by setting up your legal structure, accounting and incorporation. If you’re building a B2B product, you’ll want to make sure you’renn nn n
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What is your Inspiration? Why do you want to do this?
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What are your skills? What are your strengths and weaknesses?
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Industry analysis, What is the industry? What are the trends?
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Competitors analysis, Who are they? What do they do?
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SWOT analysis,
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What are your financial sources?
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What are your financial risks?
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What are your financial constraints?
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Conclusion, What do you need to do next?
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The Bottom Line: You Don’t Need Years of Experience to Build a Startup
nBuild a prototype, validate your idea, find co-founders and a team, and get investment. There is no time for sleep, only time for hard work and hustle. 7 days is enough time to start a company. You don’t need to have years of experience in your field to start a company. If you’re passionate about your idea and willing to work hard, that’s all you need to get started, so let’s get to it.n
