Randy A Brown

Category: Business

A focus on business management from a freelance perspective.

  • Choose a Business Idea in Three Steps

    Choose a Business Idea in Three Steps

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Choosing a business idea can be one of the most difficult and frustrating steps in starting a business. There are several methods of choosing a service-based business idea. In this post, I’ll focus on a concept that I heard on a podcast back in 2014 of how to choose the best service-based business idea for you. I don’t remember the podcast or the guest on the show, so I can’t give them proper credit. However, this is the advice that helped me choose to start my writing business.

    Step one: List your Top Skills

    Make a list of the top 3-5 skills that you’re especially good at. It doesn’t matter what the skills are at this point. You’ll analyze them later. List those that come easily to you, you’re comfortable with, and what you have an aptitude for. If you need to, make a larger list and then narrow it down. Think about the things people brag on you about, the comments they make, or the things they come to you for help.

    When I did this exercise, I listed:

    • Writing
    • Playing guitar
    • Leadership

    Step Two: Research Which of Those Skills Are in Demand

    Next, research those skills to see which are in demand. There are several ways to do this. You could search through job postings, search through training courses, and research career and growth data on sites such as the Bureau of Labour Statistics.

    This research was an eye-opener for me. I found that writing was in demand, and there were lots of different types of writing to choose from. My options included:

    • Copywriting
    • Article writing
    • White papers
    • Business Plans
    • Editing
    • Ebooks

    Step Three: Determine Which of Those You Can Afford to Provide

    Finally, look at ways you could provide the skills as a service in a way that you could afford to provide. Ask questions such as what you need to get started, how to get started, the cost of getting started, the difficulty of standing out from the crowd, etc. This can also include the ability to get backers if needed.

    I found that writing had a low cost of entry. All I needed was a computer, a good word-processing app, and a way to get the work. I did some research, created a business plan, and started my business. I’ve been a full-time freelance writer since September 2014.

    Ending Thoughts on Choosing a Business Idea

    Choosing the best business idea isn’t easy, but following a structure such as this one can help get you started in the right direction.

    I’d like to hear from you. Have you started a business using a process like this one? Let me know in the comments.

  • Don’t Follow Your Passion

    Don’t Follow Your Passion

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    One of the most popular pieces of advice you’ll hear when planning a business is to follow your passion. Another way of stating it is if you do what you love you’ll never work. This is bad advice. You should enjoy what you’re doing for a living. Life’s too short to do work you don’t enjoy. But, turning your passion into work changes your passion from something you want to do to something you have to do. Your passion is something you should do because you enjoy it.

    Do This Instead of Following Your Passion

    What should you do instead? Follow what you have an aptitude for. This will make your work easier to do and manage and can help you develop a well-paying career. This is especially important when developing a business that you intend to run for many years. Look at your skills and use that as a starting point. This can still be something you enjoy.

    Following your skills and aptitude will help you develop a business you’re good at and can do for many years. This keeps your passion as something you can do for fun so you still have something you enjoy when you need a break from work.

    How about you? Did you build a business following your passion or aptitude? How did it work out and what challenges did you face?

  • A Look at Lean Manufacturing and the Toyota Production System

    A Look at Lean Manufacturing and the Toyota Production System

    Reading Time: 16 minutestps

    Lean is a buzzword in today’s workplace. It is especially popular in manufacturing industries. While most companies have their own version of lean, the fundamentals are the same. This article takes a look at lean manufacturing, defines it, discusses the key terms, and describes the advantages of implementing lean into the manufacturing process.

    Note – there are no industry secrets in this article. The content of this article is public knowledge. (more…)

  • Creating Amazon Affiliate Links in WordPress

    Creating Amazon Affiliate Links in WordPress

    Reading Time: 12 minutesCreating Amazon Affiliate Links in WordPress

    We’ve all seen Amazon affiliate links. They’re everywhere. Sometimes they have pictures of products and sometimes they’re just a string of blue underlined text that looks like we should click on them. When we do, it takes us to Amazon. When we buy something through this link, the person who owns the link gets a portion of the sell. You can easily add Amazon links to your own WordPress website. (more…)

  • Building an Online Store with WooCommerce

    Building an Online Store with WooCommerce

    Reading Time: 9 minutesBuilding an Online Store with WooCommerce

    Building an online store is easier and cheaper today than it has ever been. It can also be complicated. There is a lot to track and keep up with. You have to track orders, customers, and inventory. As your store grows, this gets even more complex. To build and maintain an online store that will grow, you need a single solution that gives you everything you need in one easy to use package. That’s what WooCommerce does.

    WooCommerce is one of the most popular ecommerce solutions for WordPress with close to 6 million downloads and a rating of 4.4 out of 5. It’s a simple plugin that adds ecommerce features to your WordPress website. In this article we will take a look at its overall features and see why it’s the most popular choice for building online stores with WordPress. (more…)

  • Business Test

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteOne of my hobbies is developing business ideas. I’m very interested in starting a business, but I have trouble deciding what kind. I found an online test that I thought I’d share:

    Business Test

    I’ve taken this test twice. Once from the book (which I have on order) and today from this website. My first top result was Creator/Builder with Advisor/Counselor and Communicator/Trainer tying for second. Today’s result was Advisor/Counselor first and Communicator/Trainer second.

    Some of my top business choices (and book topics) are:

    Management Consultant / Business Coach

    Career / Personal Coach

     

     

  • Niche Site Duel 2.0 – Choosing a Niche

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteFor me, the hardest part of writing a book or building a niche site is choosing the topic. There are many techniques out there to help. Here’s my method.

    First, I build a matrix in Excel. I will make headings across the top of categories that I want to compare. One example would be- “is the topic podcastable?”

    Next, I start listing my favorite topics, topics that I’ve been researching, things that I’ve been searching for online, problems I’ve been trying to solve, etc.

    Next, I give each topic a score from 1-5 in each category (1 is bad, 5 is good). At first I just give a score based on what I already know about the topic. As I do more research I change the scores as needed (for example, I might not be able to make as much money from a topic as I thought).

    Then, I total all the numbers for each topic. The larger the number the better the topic would be for a niche. Here’s an example:

    excel niche selection matrix

    I then take each topic that ranked high and do more research. Long Tail Pro is a great tool for this research.

    Click here for more info on Niche Site Duel 2.0

    That’s a simple method to get a few topics to write about. Do you have a different method?

  • Niche Site Duel 2.0 – Searching for Keywords with Long Tail Pro

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteI’ve been using the trial version of Long Tail Pro to find keywords that will help me find a niche for the niche site duel. I’ve found a keyword that I like. It’s in a field that I have experience in. I’ve wanted to write a book about it for a while now. This tool helped me to decide if I should write it or not. The market looks so good that I’m considering starting a niche site to go with it. I’m still in research mode, but I’ll give out the information when I make my decision.

    I can recommend Long Tail Pro for helping you find niches. Click here for more info: Long Tail Pro

    Click here for more info on Niche Site Duel 2.0

  • Niche Site Duel 2.0

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteNon-fiction writers often write for specific niche’s. For this reason, many non-fiction authors run niche sites. To help me choose niche’s, and maybe even start my own niche site, I’ve decided to join Pat Flynn’s Niche Site Duel 2.0. The project will take you through choosing a niche, building a site around it, and make a nice passive income. This is an awesome project that I recommend trying. Even if you’re not interested in running a niche site, choosing a niche is still an important decision for non-fiction writers. You never know, you might end up with a nice passive income, but more importantly, you will learn a lot in the process.

    For more information see: Niche Site Duel 2.0.

  • Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World [Kindle Edition]

    Reading Time: 3 minutes
    I am currently reading Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt. It looks to be a great book for entrepreneurs and is currently on sale at Amazon. Here’s the description from Amazon:

     

    Michael Hyatt, one of the top business bloggers in the world, provides down-to-earth guidance for building and expanding a powerful platform.

    To be successful in the market today, you must possess two strategic assets: a compelling product and a meaningful platform. In this step-by-step guide, Michael Hyatt, former CEO and current Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers, takes readers behind the scenes, into the new world of social media success. He shows you what best-selling authors, public speakers, entrepreneurs, musicians, and other creatives are doing differently to win customers in today’s crowded marketplace. Hyatt speaks from experience. He writes one of the top 800 blogs in the world and has more than 100,000 followers on Twitter. His large and growing platform serves as the foundation for his successful writing, speaking, and consulting practice.

    In Platform, Hyatt will teach readers not only how to extend their influence, but also how to monetize it and build a sustainable career. The key? By building a platform. It has never been easier, less expensive, or more possible than right now. . .  The book includes:

    • proven strategies
    • easy-to-replicate formulas
    • practical tips

    Social media technologies have changed everything. Now, for the first time in history, non-celebrities can get noticed—and win big!—in an increasingly noisy world.

    Endorsements:

    “I’ve known Michael Hyatt for more than a decade, and during thattime I’ve seen him master just about every social media platform that’s hit thescene. He’s used blogging, Facebook, Twitter and more to expand his personalplatform from a successful book publisher to a leading national brand of hisown. Trust me, this guy knows what he’s talking about—so pay attention!” —DAVE RAMSEY, New York Times Best-selling Author, Host, “The Dave Ramsey Show”

    “A generous book from a man who knows what he’s talking about.Michael Hyatt has built a platform, and you can too.” —SETH GODIN, New York TimesBest-selling Author, We Are All Weird

    “Platform is absolutely essential to delivering value. As a big fanof Michael Hyatt, I’m excited he’s sharing this with you. Your job? Learn aboutthis and implement it. Your success depends on it.” —CHRISBROGAN, President, Human Business Works, New York Times Best-selling Author

    “Michael Hyatt is the authority on creating aplatform in our crowded world, and Platform is the definitive,step-by-step guide to building a platform—from the ground up. If you’re longingto become a true influencer in this world, Hyatt can teach you how. With Platform,Hyatt’s done the near-impossible: create a guide even more useful thanhis wildly popular blog!” —CLAIRE DÍAZ ORTIZ, SocialInnovation, Twitter, Inc.

    “I have watched Michael Hyatt build his own platform from the groundup to become one of the largest in the world. And he has done so with thestrategies and tips he outlines in this very practical book. Any author,speaker, or small business owner who wants a blueprint for getting the attentionand visibility they want, needs to read this book.” —JOHN C. MAXWELL, New York Times Best-sellingAuthor, and Leadership Expert

    “Michael Hyatt is a pioneer in social media who is now generouslysharing his ‘secrets’ with those of us who have been marveling at his successfor many years. Whether you are a seasoned writer, blogger, speaker and socialmedia enthusiast, or just now starting out, this book will help you take thatnext step and begin to build a platform of your own.” —DAN T.CATHY, President & COO, Chick-fil-A, Inc.

    “In today’s world, having an idea isn’t enough to land a book orrecord deal, get a movie made or find funding for your startup.  You needa platform: A connected following that’s ready to try, buy and spread the word.Final…