Dylan Curran
Contributor
Well, I guess it's not impossible.
It takes more than 3 days to create a successful business, but to just start one, to just put something on the Internet that has even a slim possibility of making money, that is not impossible.
One of my friends works in the fitness industry, and a few months ago, he identified a particularly open niche that nobody had filled yet. I sensed an opportunity at the time, but it seemed too daunting of a system for me to develop alone while working freelance.
After reading 'The 7 Day Start-up' (Fantastic book for any of you who are guilty of obsessing over small details in projects, credit to Andy Black for recommending this to me), I decided, to hell with it. I've done nothing but pour hours upon hours upon hours of my valuable time and money into pathetic ventures that I eventually would get sick of, before I even released them and tried to get customers!
I decided that Sunday to pour my heart and soul into this project, and by the following Sunday, I would have launched it.
Well here I am, 3 days later, trying to sign up some early users, the day before I launch it. It's thin in features, it doesn't look that great, it's not fully automated, but more importantly, it's a minimum viable product I got on the Internet as quickly as I could to start gauging interest. It works, it solves a problem, it's relatively easy to use, and it can make money.
The website is FitFast.ie, in Ireland there is no real way to find personal trainers online, nor is there a way to narrow down your search for a specific type of personal trainer to suit whatever goals you have in mind.
I've aimed to solve a double-edged problem with my start-up, to help personal trainers get more business (which is a big problem here from talking to my friends in the industry) and to allow people to narrow down their search for high-quality, certified trainers (a big problem for people, you never really know what you're going to get when you just message some dude on Facebook).
How much did it cost me to make? About 100 euro. Built on WordPress, hosted on a personal VPS. I've done all the technical stuff myself, getting Stripe/PayPal set up, all the writing, all the graphics, analytics...the only thing missing is a mailing list, which I'm working on as I type.
If I sound like I'm trying to sell the website, I'm not, but I also am at the same time. The Millionaire Fastlane has taught me the importance of seeking to solve a problem, not seek money. And that's exactly what I've aimed to do here. Will it work? Probably not, but I'm going to do my best to help people out and get these trainers more business, which will in turn encourage them to keep paying me and spread the word.
I guess the point is, there really is no excuse no one can't start their own business in a couple of days. Can you guarantee a successful business? No, but that's the fun I guess. If anyone has any advice/criticism, I gladly welcome it!
It takes more than 3 days to create a successful business, but to just start one, to just put something on the Internet that has even a slim possibility of making money, that is not impossible.
One of my friends works in the fitness industry, and a few months ago, he identified a particularly open niche that nobody had filled yet. I sensed an opportunity at the time, but it seemed too daunting of a system for me to develop alone while working freelance.
After reading 'The 7 Day Start-up' (Fantastic book for any of you who are guilty of obsessing over small details in projects, credit to Andy Black for recommending this to me), I decided, to hell with it. I've done nothing but pour hours upon hours upon hours of my valuable time and money into pathetic ventures that I eventually would get sick of, before I even released them and tried to get customers!
I decided that Sunday to pour my heart and soul into this project, and by the following Sunday, I would have launched it.
Well here I am, 3 days later, trying to sign up some early users, the day before I launch it. It's thin in features, it doesn't look that great, it's not fully automated, but more importantly, it's a minimum viable product I got on the Internet as quickly as I could to start gauging interest. It works, it solves a problem, it's relatively easy to use, and it can make money.
The website is FitFast.ie, in Ireland there is no real way to find personal trainers online, nor is there a way to narrow down your search for a specific type of personal trainer to suit whatever goals you have in mind.
I've aimed to solve a double-edged problem with my start-up, to help personal trainers get more business (which is a big problem here from talking to my friends in the industry) and to allow people to narrow down their search for high-quality, certified trainers (a big problem for people, you never really know what you're going to get when you just message some dude on Facebook).
How much did it cost me to make? About 100 euro. Built on WordPress, hosted on a personal VPS. I've done all the technical stuff myself, getting Stripe/PayPal set up, all the writing, all the graphics, analytics...the only thing missing is a mailing list, which I'm working on as I type.
If I sound like I'm trying to sell the website, I'm not, but I also am at the same time. The Millionaire Fastlane has taught me the importance of seeking to solve a problem, not seek money. And that's exactly what I've aimed to do here. Will it work? Probably not, but I'm going to do my best to help people out and get these trainers more business, which will in turn encourage them to keep paying me and spread the word.
I guess the point is, there really is no excuse no one can't start their own business in a couple of days. Can you guarantee a successful business? No, but that's the fun I guess. If anyone has any advice/criticism, I gladly welcome it!
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