Outline Plan to Start a Small Business Online

Job Squaring Gets the Small Busines Online

In my first blog I talked about the huge number of tasks there are when you are starting a new online business. It is harder for the new E-ntrepreneur to keep up with her/himself than to marshal bees in a flower-field. It is therefore vital to be organised, systematic and methodical.
You can’t rely on multi-tasking even if you are a mother. As a person who has studied personal efficiency in detail, and taught it to hundreds of people, I know that using multi-tasking is unfortunately utterly ineffective.

Then I had a brilliant ‘a-ha’ moment. You can’t multi-task (there have been scientific studies by experts proving this), but you can job-square. That is, instead of trying to do multiple jobs at once, do one job but make it have multiple outcomes.

Plan to Blog and Blog to Plan

My idea was that once I had broken my goals down to a list of tasks, I would use that list as headings or subjects for my blog, my tweets and whatever other social networking I start doing.

The power of job squaring like this comes from the fact that not only do these task headings give me subjects to write about (always a problem for bloggers), but in writing about them, I will be going into them in detail, thereby improving my results.

The Nature of my Online Business

For those of you who have not read previous posts, I am a business consultant and Learning & Development specialist who has decided to make innovative learning materials and events available online and offline. I want to share my knowledge and experience to help others starting small businesses.

I am creating an association of small businesses where people can come to get online and offline training, to get advice, to find mentors and to generally network and tell each other how difficult and horrible this online stuff is…. but isn’t it better than being unemployed.

That’s the plan. At this stage of the game I am overwhelmed by the incredible number of things I have to do. (Yup; the field is full of bees!

Documenting the birth of an Online Business

But in many ways I am lucky. The core of what I will be helping people learn is how to start a new online business, or how to get your existing small business online. So “all” I need to do is document what I am doing as I do it.

Start with one product

The key I believe is to start with a single product or area. In my case this is Online Marketing. I intend to create a dynamic course that can be taught at offline seminars, and also online. Taking the offline bit first, I will need a course outline and tutor’s notes, a workbook a PowerPoint presentation and my secret ingredient – a pocket toolbox. These documents can then be used to create the online materials – job squaring again – brilliant.

Creating a Dynamic Outline

The first question anyone should ask themselves when designing creative, engaging training, whether on or offline is “what is the problem or challenge the training is supposed to solve?”

In this case we know that people want more control over their lives; they want profitable work if they have been made redundant; they want that work to be exciting, stimulating and to develop them. We can suggest one method of doing this and that is to create online businesses designed around an area of their lives that they really enjoy.

Question two is what knowledge must people have, what skills do they have to develop and what kind of attitude must they acquire if they are going to learn.

Knowledge – I have come up with the following list people will have to learn about;

Understanding the types of business they can start.

• Finding their Niche.
• Creating a business plan.
• Giving customers and spiders (I know; it sounds creepy, but its fun!) exactly what they want.
• How to have fun – network, socialise and create a vibrant presence online.
• Turn a one product wonder into a really profitable business.
• Job square and profit square – always.

Skills – the skills people will need to start their business include:

• Basic keyboard and computer skills (all skills can be learned).

 Attitude: (this is really easy)

• Stickability, stickability and more stickability.
• Patience (you won’t get rich overnight, even if you buy the most expensive course online that absolutely promises that you will).
• Hard work.
• Stickability.

 OK. That’s the plan. So let’s get to it.

Ever onwards and upwards