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Creating an Offer They Can’t Refuse

Katie Corbett holds the book, "$100 Startup."

By Katie Corbett

Something I have learned in the product development world: Keeping things simple and providing a truly good deal will help you attract fans and retain customers. Tim Ferriss, author of “The Four-Hour Workweek,” gave his customers 125% back when they returned an item to one of his first online business ventures. That’s right. In addition to the cost of the item in question, he gave them an extra 20% back. He said that though some people took advantage of this offer, most people were surprised and appreciated the extra touch. Tim didn’t report a crazy-high number of returns, either. And he did have many loyal customers. That convinces me that this idea to create a standout offer has merit. The beauty is it can be applied to almost any product or service.

“The $100 Start-Up,” by Chris Guillebeau, has more examples of companies that have unique elements to their offers. In my coaching, I provide something extra at no additional charge, whether that be an assessment test, a résumé review, or an inside tip on an available job. When coming up with this idea to stand out, I asked myself these questions:

• What could I offer that goes above and beyond?
• What do my customers want?
• How can I go above their expectations?
• What can I do that makes me feel I’m providing stellar service?
• What is my competition doing?
• What can I learn from the competition?

I’m still thinking about how I can create a standout offer for my garment project. It takes creativity, out-of-the-box thinking, and confidence in you and what you offer to go outside the norm and truly create something special.

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The Possibilities List

Katie Corbett holds the book, "$100 Startup."

By Katie Corbett

I love lists. They help me keep track of things I want to do now, in the near future, and in the far-off someday.

“The $100 Start-Up,” by Chris Guillebeau, isn’t the first place I came across the idea of making lists to keep track of ideas. The fact that list-making is suggested in so many books I have read emphasizes the importance of the task.

To open your mind to the possibilities of lists, here is a “list of lists” to give you an idea of all the lists I have created. I have lists of:

• Nine weekly goals.
• Ten things I want to get done every day.
• All the little things that bother me.
• Product, book and business ideas.
• Things I want to learn and do.
• More than 100 marketing ideas.
• Everything I would do if I had a million dollars.
• People I want to stay in touch with or with whom I would like to reconnect.
• Career and business books I have read.
• When I feel stressed or frazzled, I make a list of everything I need to do, starting with the most basic first steps.

It is my hope that this list of lists inspires you to create a list of your own. I typically use spiral-bound notebooks and index cards to jot things down. You can use whatever works best for you: your phone, computer, sticky notes, or a large piece of paper tacked to your wall.

Whatever you do, start creating lists today so your ideas, thoughts and inspirations don’t get away from you.

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The Benefits of a One-Page Business Plan

Katie Corbett holds the book, "$100 Startup."

By Katie Corbett

While not strictly necessary to get started with your own business opportunity, a business plan can be a great way to feel like your venture is legit. When I began my garment project, one of the first things I did was to create my business plan. I didn’t do it totally on my own, though, and it wasn’t complicated to draw up. Here’s why.

In “The $100 Start-Up,” Chris Guillebeau talks about the idea that only three things are necessary to make money running your own business: a product or service, a way for you to get paid, and people who will pay you for that product or service. Writing a business plan can help you figure out if you have a viable idea.

Fortunately, a template for a simple, one-page business plan is included in the book. Writing up this basic business plan helped me:

• Clearly define my concept and what problems I was solving with my product.
• Brainstorm funding ideas.
• Determine my target market.
• Get all my thoughts out in writing, which made the project feel more real, and less like an idea in my head.
• Outline steps and benchmark goals towards completion.
• Intelligently discuss my project with people who would be working on it with me.
• Organize my thoughts and ideas.
• Decide if this was something I was willing to work on for an extended period of time.
• Realize what resources I could contribute in terms of time, money and effort.
• Discover where I needed guidance or expertise from others.

Writing up a business plan doesn’t have to be a daunting task. With the right template and a little time spent thinking, a business plan can be created to help you determine the life cycle, scope and money-making viability of a business idea.

I encourage you to grab a copy of “The $100 Start-Up” and get to work on your business plan. This will take your project from just an idea in your head to a process written down on paper. The act of creating your plan will ready you to bring your thoughts into the world.

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How I Made a Profit Before my Website Existed

Katie Corbett holds the book, "$100 Startup."

By Katie Corbett

When I began career coaching in 2017, I didn’t know if it was something I would merely try, or something I would stick with long-term. As a result, I kept my expenses to a minimum. When I made a profit, I didn’t yet have a website, logo, or even business cards. Here’s why.

In “The $100 Start-Up,” Chris Guillebeau asserts that the only things you need to start a business are: a product or service people will pay you for, a way to get paid, and people who will pay you. I coached for free for the first six months after starting, in order to build experience and get testimonials. As I developed my career coaching program, I bought a career coaching book to guide me through the process and suggest what I should cover in my own program. This book cost about $60 because I bought a braille copy. That was all I spent on my coaching business for the first nine months. Once I decided to begin charging, I charged $25 per session. After just three sessions, I was making all profit.

I have since spent much more than that on my business. Logo creation, web design, and business card development all cost money, not to mention purchasing the books for this blog. Each and every one of these expenses came about because my clients wanted them. I didn’t just go out and buy them because I felt I needed them to be a business owner.

What is the minimum you need in order to see if your business idea could make you money? If you run a service-based business, how long will you work for free or at a discount to gain experience? How do you want to grow moving forward? Answering these questions will help you build your business strategically and make wise spending decisions.

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