For many of us — the #futureofwork is going to be us starting our own businesses
Here are some books to read and people to follow if you want to start your own business successfully.
Taken from someone that has helped over 10,000 people start their own business over 25 years.
Recently, I have returned to my first passion, helping people start their own business. I have been lucky to help more than 10,000 people do so over the years. And worked with national organisations, over 30 universities and 20 schools and startup non for profits. Heck, I have even helped launched accelerators and written curriculums in enterprise.
I was even commission by one of them, to write a book about how to start your own business. Many moons ago…
A book which inspired me to, more than a decade afterwards, write a new book about how you can use AI to start your own business and do the same thing. But more successfully and more quickly.
And I hope — that if enough people want it — I will also create an online course to help people do so as well. Because I am now at a place in my life where I care more about other people starting businesses than starting new ones of my own…
Starting a business…
Starting a business is a challenging yet rewarding endeavour. Leveraging insights from renowned thought leaders and their seminal works can provide a robust foundation for aspiring entrepreneurs.
This article integrates key concepts from Eric Ries, Simon Sinek, Peter Thiel, Chris Guillebeau, Michael E. Gerber, Jay Conrad Levinson, David Suster, Melanie Mitchell, Marco Iansiti, Karim R. Lakhani, Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, Avi Goldfarb, Nick Bostrom, Dan Sodergren, and Daniel Priestley.
It is a lot of my knowledge about starting a successful business. If you feel you might like to start your own business — like take this quiz.
You never know — you just might be ready too.
Why might you want to? As it’s the best way for you to control your own destiny and make a difference in the world. I also know from my research around the future of work — that this WILL be the future of work for many of us…
If you do start your own business.
Please read the following books. Just reading one of them will help you be successful. Reading all them puts you in an amazing place. I have put the books into different themes. And added in a few more about tech startups and AI tech startups in particular, as I guess many people want to do that now a days…
Developing a Lean Startup Approach
“The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries introduces the Build-Measure-Learn feedback loop, which encourages starting with a minimal viable product (MVP) to quickly test business ideas and iterate based on customer feedback (Ries, The Lean Startup).
Entrepreneurs should be prepared to pivot their business models based on learning from early customer interactions.
Finding Your Why and Building Influence
“Start With Why” by Simon Sinek underscores the importance of understanding your purpose. A clear “why” can attract like-minded customers, partners, and investors (Sinek, Start With Why).
Start with your why is something I mention in most of my keynotes about the future of work, technology and AI as it’s such a useful concept.
“Key Person of Influence” by Daniel Priestley outlines the 5 P’s Framework (Pitch, Publish, Product, Profile, Partnerships), emphasizing the need to position oneself as an authority in the industry (Priestley, Key Person of Influence).
Some people might argue that I am such a person in certain fields which is why I was happy to help www.aiteachercourse.com into hopefully becoming a business.
Creating a Unique Value Proposition and Micro-Niche Focus
“Zero to One” by Peter Thiel advises creating a unique product or service that offers something distinctly different from competitors, thereby establishing a monopoly in your niche (Thiel, Zero to One).
“Entrepreneur Revolution” by Daniel Priestley advocates for focusing on micro-niches, which allows entrepreneurs to dominate small, targeted segments of the market (Priestley, Entrepreneur Revolution).
This is especially true — using AI — which is why I think this book has JUST been reprinted.
Operating Lean and Bootstrapping
“The $100 Startup” by Chris Guillebeau demonstrates how to start a business on a tight budget by leveraging existing skills and interests to create a profitable venture (Guillebeau, The $100 Startup).
Entrepreneurs should utilize free resources and reinvest profits back into the business, operating leanly to conserve resources. Remember, using AI is one of those things you can do. Which is what I talk about in my book…
Systematizing Your Business
“The E-Myth Revisited” by Michael E. Gerber emphasizes the importance of working on your business, not just in it. Entrepreneurs should develop systems and processes that allow the business to operate independently (Gerber, The E-Myth Revisited).
This involves balancing the roles of Technician, Manager, and Entrepreneur to ensure the business is efficient and scalable.
Creative and Cost-Effective Marketing
“Guerrilla Marketing” by Jay Conrad Levinson provides strategies for creative, low-cost marketing campaigns that generate maximum results. Entrepreneurs should leverage social media, content marketing, and community engagement to build their brand and attract customers (Levinson, Guerrilla Marketing).
Use storytelling, viral marketing, and guerrilla stunts to promote your business without significant financial investment.
“Oversubscribed” by Daniel Priestley teaches entrepreneurs how to generate more demand than they can supply by creating scarcity and exclusivity. (Priestley, Oversubscribed).
Use limited-time offers, exclusive memberships, and strategic marketing to build anticipation and excitement
“How to effectively use AI to market your business in one day a month.” by Dan Sodergren provides actionable insights on how startups can harness AI to revolutionize their marketing strategies. Sodergren emphasizes the importance of using AI tools to analyze data, personalize customer interactions, and automate marketing processes, ultimately driving more effective and efficient marketing campaigns (Sodergren, How to effectively use AI to market your business in one day a month.) .
Use AI help save you time with your marketing so you can focus on other more important parts of your business with your time.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Focusing on Product-Market Fit
David Suster emphasizes the importance of avoiding common startup pitfalls such as lack of market need, poor product-market fit, and running out of cash. Entrepreneurs should validate their ideas thoroughly before scaling (Suster, David Suster’s Blog).
Focus on ensuring your product solves a real problem for a significant market segment to achieve a strong product-market fit. Especially if you are working on a tech idea — do not fall into the startup graveyard. Take it from someone who has fallen there at least twice — it is not a nice place to be…
What About Leveraging AI for Business Success
“AI Advantage” by Dan Sodergren provides actionable insights on how startups can leverage AI to gain a competitive edge. Sodergren emphasizes the importance of integrating AI tools and technologies to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and drive innovation (Sodergren, AI Advantage).
“Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans” by Melanie Mitchell emphasizes the importance of understanding AI fundamentals, including machine learning and neural networks. Aspiring entrepreneurs should grasp these concepts to effectively integrate AI into their business operations (Mitchell, Artificial Intelligence).
“Competing in the Age of AI” by Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani highlights how AI can transform business models by enhancing scalability and efficiency. Entrepreneurs should integrate AI to optimize operations and innovate their offerings (Iansiti & Lakhani, Competing in the Age of AI).
“Prediction Machines” by Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, and Avi Goldfarb explains how AI reduces the cost of prediction, allowing businesses to make better decisions. Focus on areas where improved prediction can create significant value (Agrawal, Gans, & Goldfarb, Prediction Machines).
And then linking into the tech theme so specific thoughts on this…
Practical Steps for Launching a Tech Startup with No Money
Identify a Real Problem
Focus on solving a genuine problem for a significant market segment. Conduct market research to understand your target audience’s pain points. This is something I wished I had done more. And I can only ask you to do it …
Develop an MVP
Create a minimal viable product (MVP) to test your business idea quickly and inexpensively. Use customer feedback to refine and improve your offering. (Are you ready to start your own business — take the quiz)
Leverage Free Tools and Resources
Utilize free and low-cost tools for website creation, marketing, and project management. Platforms like GitHub, WordPress, and social media can provide powerful capabilities at little to no cost. And know with some of AI — i.e. ChatGPT4.0 you can use AI for free too.
Build a Community
Engage with online communities and forums relevant to your niche. Participate in discussions, share valuable content, and build relationships with potential customers and influencers.
Utilize Guerrilla Marketing Tactics
Implement creative marketing strategies to generate buzz and attract attention. Use storytelling, viral marketing, and guerrilla stunts to promote your business without significant financial investment.
Use AI to help you
Think about how AI can help cut down your time and help build your website and digital marketing. AI can help with all your online marketing, your marketing strategies and even write your social media and blogs.
Monitor and Adapt
Continuously monitor your business performance and market trends. Be ready to pivot your strategy based on feedback and changing conditions.
I hope the above hopes and you take the leap and start your own business. Maybe before you do — do this quiz and see where you are at?
References for the piece
Start With Why
Zero to One
The E-Myth Revisited
Entrepreneur Revolution
Oversubscribed
How to effectively use AI to market your business in one day a month
