How To Start A Side Business AND Make Profit

For most people, a regular 9–5 doesn’t give the satisfaction needed. You didn’t grow up imagining that you would be stuck struggling to stretch one salary out to meet another salary. You had a plan for your life: graduate at 21, finish serving by 22, get married by 25 and start raising a lovely family. Unfortunately, you are stuck in this grind where you are hungry for more and you don’t want your creativity to die.

Your side business is just a few guaranteed steps away.

Know WHY You Are Starting A Side Business.

Is it just for the money or do you need a deeper sense of fulfilment? Maybe you used to feel like your life had some greater purpose but not anymore and you are convinced that a side business will rekindle that fire in you. This “WHY” will keep you going when times get difficult, and can even turn your customers to loyal defenders and even a family.

Discover WHAT You Are Good At.

A lot of people say passion is key, but having passion without skill will lead to you making promises and not delivering what you promise. Your skill does not necessarily have to be something you can do with your hands (although that it is very advisable to have). It can be knowledge you have gained over a long period of time. What have you studied enough to share to other people? What knowledge have you gained over years that people most likely don’t have? Find this out for yourself.

Find Out WHO You Want To Reach.

First of all, you cannot reach everybody. No product or service ever reaches everybody. Some people will not just want what you offer. Leave those people. Find your own people and give them what they need. Ask them questions. Talk to them. Listen to them twice as many times as you talk. Then listen again for what you missed the first two times. Remember that, when you are starting, you are trying to find what works best for you and for your audience.

Meet Your Audience WHERE They Are.

Rather than dragging them to meet you, go out of your own space and into theirs. Find them, wherever they may be, and meet them there. There is a reason why DStv will always advertise to people who already use DStv. That is because the people who are most likely to want to upgrade their subscription are people who already have a subscription.

Meet Them At The Right TIME.

The saying “timing is everything” rings true here. You can never go wrong if you time your arrival properly. Time doesn’t only mean the time of the day, week, month or year (these are still valid). It also means the stage of life when your customers most receptive to you. People who sell baby products will sell to pregnant women. Newlyweds will need new appliances for their new home. People who have settled far from home will need something to remind them of home (food, music and even places to gather). This is why almost every major city in the Europe and North America has its own Chinatown.

Meet Your Customers The Right WAY.

Have you ever been in a really crowdy market and people keep calling you, saying they have what you want? Some of them even grab you and pull you into their shops/stalls without even asking what you need. I have had that happen to me and it pissed me off. You don’t ever want your customers feeling angry/negative about you or what you have offered them. There are a lot of persuasion techniques that could work for you when you need to get new customers.

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