Here’s what we will cover today:

• Learn 3 criteria to choose the best business idea for you

• Get a business plan template used by thousands of successful companies

• Learn Ryan Holiday's best career advice 

Quote of the Day

"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”
~Bill Gates 

Today’s Tip

You have 17 different business ideas; how do you decide which one to go after?

This is a common issue. Both for new entrepreneurs who are still figuring out which business to launch, and for entrepreneurs who are already in business and are trying to figure out which new opportunities to go after.

Here are my favorite 3 criteria:

1. Which idea are you most passionate about? To succeed as an entrepreneur, you’re going to have to work hard. And you’re going to enjoy the hard work the most, and thus be most successful, if you go after the ideas that you are most passionate about.

2. Which idea best leverages your strengths/skillsets and/or the strengths/skillsets of your team? Michael Jordan was perhaps the greatest basketball player ever. But when he tried his hand at baseball, he was mediocre at best. The point is that you will be the most successful when you do what you are naturally best at and most gifted at. So, take stock of your strengths and the strengths of your team, and figure out which idea will best leverage those strengths.

3. With which idea can you get traction the fastest and without requiring outside capital? Raising capital is very hard work and takes time, time that you otherwise could be using to grow your business. Likewise, it’s more challenging to raise money when you don’t have traction. By traction, I mean that you’ve started to prove that your business will be a success, and ideally means that you have customer traction (i.e., customers have voted with their wallets or their time to buy or patronize your products and/or services). You should generally go after the ideas that allow you to achieve some traction quickly and without outside funding. This allows you to quickly enjoy some success, and positions you to more easily raise funding if and when needed later. 

To be successful, you need to focus on just one opportunity at a time. Remember, the idea is not nearly as important as the execution of the idea. So focus all of your efforts on executing the idea you have chosen.

Today’s Resource

Writing a business plan? Use this template…

Over the past 20 years, literally hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs, executives, and business owners have come to me for help with their business plans.

Well over 100,000 of them have used my business plan template to quickly and expertly complete their business plans.

And they’ve collectively raised billions of dollars and have gone on to build some pretty incredible companies.

Trivia

Today’s Question: Legend says that George Washington threw what object over the Potomac River?

Previous Question: What name was given to the man-portable anti-tank rocket launcher which saw widespread use during WWII? 

Previous Answer: The bazooka.

It was nicknamed "bazooka" from a vague resemblance to the musical instrument of the same name invented and used by Bob Burns. The word "bazooka" is often incorrectly used to refer to any shoulder-launched missile weapon.  

News

Ryan Holiday’s Best Career (Life) Advice I Ever Got

Get work organized (even if you’ve got ADHD)

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