How To Start An Online Business in 2024

Hey – are you ready to create a life and business you love? Hell yeah, you are.

I’m revealing the 5 questions you need to get crystal clear on FIRST...

Plus, one thing I think so many new entrepreneurs get SO wrong.

According to research, up to 90% of new businesses fail, so you definitely want to pay attention to this.  

Hey Posse, what’s up? It’s Alex. 

I want to talk about some JUICY QUESTIONS to help build the money-making, industry-shaking business of your dreams. 

But first – if you find this useful and want to see MORE blogs like this one… join my newsletter so you don’t miss out!

Alright, let’s jump right in, shall we? 

Here are 5 questions you need to get crystal clear on BEFORE starting a business.

#1 – What’s Your “Passion”?

Okay, so the first question you need to ask yourself is essentially, “What DO I want to do with my life?” lol

Yes – I know, that’s a loaded question.  

And it’s something that a lot of people get hung up on… 

Another way to ask this is, “What makes you feel happy and fulfilled?”

In the self-help and entrepreneurial worlds, there is SO much pressure put on all of us to “find our purpose”…

And honestly, I hate this so much because it implies that we all only have ONE distinct purpose in life…

And you either find it and succeed, or you don’t and end up miserable, apparently.

What a crock of bullshit…

Because let me tell ya… when I was just starting my freelancing business back in 2011, my purpose in life was to pay my freaking rent. That’s it…

So I hustled to get my business off the ground and start making some money to survive.

It wasn’t even a blip on my radar that I could build a global community of hundreds of thousands of people and change the world through the power of words. HA!

So no, I don’t believe you only have one purpose in life…

I believe our purpose evolves and reveals itself over time. It starts with survival, and only once you’ve got your bases covered in that department can you move onto a more altruistic “purpose”.

BUT this process of discovery CANNOT happen until you start taking steps in the right direction. 

Here’s what I mean by that…

If you are not actively engaging in things that are enjoyable for you – hobbies you love, activities that are fun for you, going to events, volunteering, helping others, etc…

Then how do you expect to ever find the things that “light you up”?

YOU WON’T. 

Most people don’t just wake up one day and suddenly realize their purpose is to teach ballet to adults with two left feet…

Your purpose comes from exploring your passions first.

You have to get out there and do things. Figure out what you’re good at. What makes you feel happy when you’re doing it? What can you do over and over and over again without getting sick of it? 

These are the questions you need to start exploring. Then, ask yourself…

#2 – Who Will You Serve?

Now this is such a simple question…

But most business owners totally overlook it.

And then they get a year or two into their business and wonder why it’s just not working.

They have a great product that really helps people…

But no one is paying attention. 

What gives?!

Well, if you don’t first know and understand EXACTLY WHO you want to serve…

Then the people you want to serve will have a really hard time finding you. 

That’s why it’s so important to get crystal clear on this question BEFORE you actually begin building your business or putting anything into motion. 

Get as granular and specific with this as you possibly can… 

• WHO are they?
• Why are they interested in your product or service? 
• What are their biggest goals, hopes, dreams and fears?
• What are the biggest challenges they face?
• What keeps them awake at night?
• Who do they call after they have a hard day?

Is it a health-conscious single mom of 3 who wants to give her kids the best quality food she can? But she’s living in suburbia and doesn’t have the money or time to drive for good quality food… 

Or maybe it’s a health-conscious professional in his late 40s who prioritizes working out and eating healthy when at home, but his demanding career and busy schedule have him traveling all the time…

This is the level of thinking you need to be putting in here. 

The more time and detail you put in HERE will make everything else so much easier. 

This information is really going to come in handy and save you SO MUCH TIME with question #5…

Alright, next up… 

#3 – How Can You Help Them?

Okay, so now you know what you want to do and who you want to serve…

Now it’s time to take all this information about your ideal customer and ask yourself…

• “What can I do to best transform and impact their life?”
• “Where do they need the most help, and how can I provide that for them?”
• “How can I make their life better, easier, faster, happier or more enjoyable?”

Going back to our examples from the last question…

The health-conscious mom who can’t easily access healthy fresh food for her children. How would a farm-fresh CO-OP service impact her life? What if it was easy, affordable and convenient for her to get fresh food for her family? 

Or the guy who travels a lot for work but doesn’t want to sacrifice his health… How would a meal-prep service impact his life? What if he could get macro-friendly meals delivered to his hotel – no matter where in the world he traveled? 

This will help you create that irresistible product, service or offer that is going to excite the hell out of your ideal customer…

And make doing business with YOU a no-brainer. 

Alright, next question…

#4 – What Makes You Different?

Now we’re going to dive deeper and start doing some RESEARCH.

You need to research the businesses that are already out there, doing what you do or offering something similar. 

What exactly are they doing? What’s their method? What’s their message?

And most importantly… HOW ARE YOU DIFFERENT FROM THEM?

One of the most important things you’ll do when starting your business is setting yourself apart – from the start. 

Figure out what makes you different. It could be your story, a special skill, a unique method or approach…

One of the best ways to do this is to hop on forums and read reviews or ratings of other businesses and see what people DIDN’T LIKE about their experience…

Oftentimes you’ll see what people WISH they had, and that can be a gap you can come in and fill for them… 

And once you know this, you can move on to perhaps the most important question of all…

#5 – How Will You Attract Your Customers?

This is where you take EVERYTHING you just mapped out… 

And you USE IT to develop the messaging that will become the foundation of your brand. 

So what exactly is your messaging, and why does it matter?

Think of it this way…

Your messaging is literally the words, phrases and vibe you put out to your audience.

It’s WHAT you say, HOW you say and WHEN you say it.

It’s the tone you say it in and how you communicate in general.

Two brands can offer the same exact product or service… to two very different audiences… and, because of that, have two VERY different messages or ways of communicating. 

The #1 rule in marketing is that you HAVE to talk to your customers in a way they’ll be receptive to. 

It’s not enough to just have the right product and the offer…

You also have to APPEAL to the right customer. 

They have to resonate with your brand voice and messaging… Otherwise, literally nothing else will matter.

I really believe this is the one thing so many new entrepreneurs fail to get right, and it’s part of the reason so many new businesses fail.

If you need help developing memorable messaging that will help you stand out from day 1 and effortlessly attract your dream customers, then check out my super fun brand voice program, The Posse Eye Challenge…

The Posse Eye is a step-by-step, customizable framework that you can immediately apply to your own business (or soon-to-be business).

I’ll walk you through the entire process using real-life brands in a variety of niches and show you how to create your own stand-out positioning strategy.

Plus – you’ll walk away with your own beautifully designed brand voice guide that you can use to create powerful, consistent and compelling marketing campaigns every single time. You can find out more here.

And make sure to like and subscribe to my newsletter if you’re interested in learning more about copywriting, marketing and online business…

Until next time, I’m Alex. Ciao for now!

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