Finding your first business opportunity is like adopting a pet. You look at a lot of options, but when you find the right one, you just know.

Finding Your First Business Opportunity

Why Read:

• Gain pragmatic advice on choosing a viable, low risk, first business idea, focusing on profitability over passion, and avoiding overly competitive or unproven markets. It challenges conventional startup wisdom with practical insights.

Featuring:

• Nick Huber (@sweatystartup), Owner of Bolt Storage LLC

Link: 

• “What business should I start?”

Key Concepts and Tactics:

• Avoiding Venture Capital-Dependent and Revolutionary Ideas:

  • Point: Focus on businesses that don't require venture capital or aim to revolutionize an industry.

  • "If you are new to entrepreneurship and you aren't already making $20K/month, there are two kinds of businesses that I would throw out the window based on two simple criteria.

    • Criteria #1: You need to raise venture capital money to start this business.

    • Criteria #2: You have a new idea to revolutionize an industry and the model does not exist today."

  • "If your idea checks either one of these boxes, you are wasting your time and gambling with your most important resource - TIME. These businesses are not realistic for 99.99% of humans to go after and therefore they are NOT FEASIBLE for you."

• Prioritizing Profitability Over Personal Enjoyment:

  • Point: Choose a business based on profitability potential rather than personal interest or enjoyment.

  • "Your goal is to build something that can be profitable ASAP. We need to get you to $20K/month before you think about anything else. And the reality is, the less fun your business is, the more money there is to be made. You should not care what is fun or not fun."

• Avoiding Highly Competitive, Passion-Driven Industries:

  • Point: Steer clear of industries that attract many passionate individuals, as they tend to be more competitive.

  • "A lot of people are passionate about fitness. A lot of people have also tried to start a fitness app. This is why there are hundreds of them in the app store right now. And this is why your competition is strong, and your odds of success are terribly low."

• Seeking Low-Status Business Opportunities:

  • Point: Pursue businesses that are perceived as boring or uninteresting, as they often have less competition.

  • "You want a business with low status. You want a business that isn't sexy, exciting, or even a little bit interesting. You don't care what people think about you, and you don't care what other people think about your business idea."

• Testing Business Ideas with Older Adults:

  • Point: Use the reactions of older adults as a litmus test for the potential success of your business idea.

  • "Go to your grandma (or any older adult) and tell them what you have in mind. If they say, 'wow that is such a good idea!' it means it is actually a terrible idea, highly competitive, and nobody has won that game before. BUT if they say, 'oh, good for you,' that means your business is boring, has been done before, and is likely to succeed."

• Focusing on Proven Business Models:

  • Point: Choose businesses that have already been proven successful rather than trying to create something entirely new.

  • "If no one has succeeded before or if your business doesn't exist yet, it is because nobody has been able to win the game and make money doing what you want to be doing. And if nobody has won, why would you want to play that game?"

Does SEO Still Work?

Why Read: 

• Understand the evolving landscape of SEO and content marketing, recognizing its continued value but also the increased effort required for success in 2024.

Featuring:

• Jason M. Lemkin (@jasonlk), Trusted Advisor at SaaStr

Link:

• “Does SEO Still Work? Our Data Says “Yes But””

Key Concepts and Tactics:

• Here are the main points of the article, following the format you've requested:

  • Understanding the Effectiveness of SEO in 2024:

    • Point: Recognize that SEO still works

    • "Does SEO still work? …I'll say … "Yes But""

    • "What do I mean? Well yes content marketing and SEO still clearly are the magic and miracles of the internet. Google and now other GPT-related engines will find your content on their own, and if it’s truly high value, ultimately promote it for you. For free. And to potential customers! Boom."

    • "Organic Search remains our #1 source of SaaStr readers for 13 years straight"

  • Appreciating the Value of Content Marketing and SEO:

    • Point: Acknowledge that content marketing and SEO remain powerful tools for free promotion and customer acquisition.

    • "Well yes content marketing and SEO still clearly are the magic and miracles of the internet. Google and now other GPT-related engines will find your content on their own, and if it's truly high value, ultimately promote it for you. For free. And to potential customers! Boom. That's a gift. At a high level, as big a gift in 2024 as 2011."

  • Recognizing the Increased Competition in Content:

    • Point: Understand that the volume of quality content has increased dramatically, making it harder to stand out.

    • "But, I can also tell you what our data says. Which is that we have literally 100x more quality content than 2011-2014. Our content page ranks remain high. And we've actually increased our output."

    • "And roughly … our SEO is the same. All that work to sort of stay in the same place in terms of organic drive viewers, readers, traffic, etc."

  • Committing to High-Effort Marketing Strategies:

    • Point: Understand that successful marketing in 2024 requires more planning, effort, and energy than before.

    • "A reminder I guess that the marketing playbook still works, all of it still works. Just so much of it takes far more planning, effort, and energy to work as it used to."

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