As humans we love transition points. The new year, a birthday, the start of the school year, or even a change in the seasons represents the end of something and the opportunity to start fresh! Why do you think gym memberships have their highest selling point in the year right after New Years Day?
We see this in the advertising all around us. Companies know that a transition point is a great opportunity to get people to try something new. As customers, we need to be aware of these tactics and just know that we are being marketed to, at this point in time, intentionally. Since many of us are or aspire to be on the other side of the transaction, look to identify transition points for your customers and use that time period as one in which to reach out with some opportunities to purchase from your business.
Did you notice in the title of this article I mentioned that summer is almost here? School is ending, cold weather is fading, and the days are getting longer! Students may be graduating and moving on to the next big thing, teachers are getting ready for a break, families are planning to go on a vacation for the first time in over a year… There are a lot of great transition points coming up where people are going to be willing to try something new.
Are you one of those people?
Do you have a business idea that’s been sitting in the back of your mind? Or something new that you want to try with your existing business? Is it time to dust off the cobwebs on your old business, like Aleah mentioned to me in an email recently, and bring it back to life? Now is a great time to think about it and make a plan to try a mini-experiment over the summer!
If you have an idea already, wonderful! Start thinking about what steps you can take now to make that idea a reality once summer kicks in. If you don’t have an idea, think about what you might like to do. A business idea has to do 2 things:
- It has to solve a problem for people.
- It has to be something that people are willing to pay for.
Try to complete the statement “My business sells _______ to help [people] with ________ .” In the case of The Simple StartUp:
My business sells online courses to help 11-18 year-olds start their first business.
Your ideas should come from things that you already know how to do or based on the resources you already have available. Think about what stuff you have around the house, equipment you have access to, people who can help you with different parts of a business, and what skills you already have which are at a higher level than the people around you.
If you are looking for some inspiration for things you could try, check out my list of 102 Business Ideas for Young Entrepreneurs. You can pick an idea from the list to try or use it as the springboard for coming up with your own idea or slant on an existing idea.
Just remember that this doesn’t need to be a lifetime commitment! You can decide to try something for the summer and then determine at the end if it was successful, if you enjoyed it, if it was profitable enough, and if you want to continue it for another spell.
If you are interested in free events where I talk about different ways to start a business, sometimes with the help of guests, then check out my upcoming events page at www.thesimplestartup.com/events!
