Page 224 - The $100 Startup_ Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love

attractive benefits, not boring features.
If you’re good at one thing, you’re probably good at something else. Use the

process of skill transformation to think about all the things you’re good at, not
just the obvious ones.

Find out what people want, and find a way to give it to them. Give them the
fish!

There is no consulting school. You can set up shop and charge for specialized
help immediately. (Just remember to offer something specific and provide an
easy way to get paid.)

Some business models are easier than others to start on a budget. Unless you
have a compelling reason to do something different, think about how you can
participate in the knowledge economy.

Action beats planning. Use the One-Page Business Plan and other quick-start
guides to get under way without waiting.

Crafting an offer, hustling, and producing a launch event will generate much
greater results than simply releasing your product or service to the world with no
fanfare.

The first $1.26 is the hardest, so find a way to get your first sale as quickly as
possible. Then work on improving the things that are working, while ignoring
the things that aren’t.

By “franchising yourself” through partnerships, outsourcing, or creating a
different business, you can be in more than one place at the same time.

Decide for yourself what kind of business you’d like to build. There’s nothing
wrong with deliberately staying small (many of the subjects of our stories did
exactly that) or scaling up in the right way.

It only gets better as you go along.

When we last left off, Jamestown Coffee Company was opening for business in
Lexington, South Carolina. Owner James Kirk had moved south from Seattle
and kicked things off. What happened next? Did a flood of loyal visitors show
up right away?

Not exactly. It was a tough start, settling into a community not familiar with
specialty coffee. The shop grew one customer at a time, with a focus on
providing personal experiences and encouraging repeat business. One weekend,
James and his crew gave out coupons for a free coffee at a local golf tournament.
A man stopped in to redeem his coupon and mentioned that he normally picked
up his morning cup at the gas station but was inspired to try something new. The
next day he returned, saying it was the best cup of coffee he had ever had.

A morning group began to gather most weekdays, consisting of regulars from