Seriously! It’s THE best time in history to be an entrepreneur!
That’s not an exaggeration.
I feel like I need to rant about this a bit because in my line of work I come across so many so-called ‘entrepreneurs’ that want everything to be easier.
Believe me, it’s NEVER been easier!
As Jim Rohn said,
“Don’t wish it was easier. Wish you were better.”
Why Do I Think It’s The Best Time Ever?
There is a combination of factors that makes starting, growing and operating a business dramatically easier, more affordable, and potentially more profitable than anytime in history.
Let’s go through them:
#1. An Office Is No Longer Necessary
I’m going to date myself several times in this post, but I remember that during the first .com boom in Silicon Valley, getting an office space was one of the most expensive things about starting a business.
The high cost of office space almost guaranteed the role of VC’s in funding startups…it was ridiculous.
Now you can get started in a coffee shop, graduate to WeWork or something similar, and scale a team with almost no long-term commitments.
#2. Global Talent Is Available On Tap
The global nature of the freelance economy is an absolute dream for entrepreneurs.
Fifteen years ago, the idea of being able to build and run a business without hiring full-time employees was nothing but a dream. Now it’s a reality.
Most small businesses were also very limited by proximity as well; you utilized the talent available in your community.
Now I have teams of people working for me around the world, none of which are employees, and all of which are very talented, at a cost that is a fraction of what it would cost to have comparable talent as full-time employees in the United States.
It’s not even close.
#3. Business Automation is Mainstream and Affordable
I was so fired up on the day that I shot the video above because a product called Kartra reminded me of just how amazing business automation has become for even the smallest startups.
With Kartra, Clickfunnels (the platform I use), SamCart, or many other similar platforms, you have just about everything you need to launch a business for a very affordable monthly fee.
You can have the best in the class sales process, marketing copy, a help desk, a membership area, everything all set up and running – in a handful of hours.
And all of those platforms have a free – or nearly free – option to get started.
It’s crazy.
#4. Reaching Customers Is Easier and More Affordable Than Ever
Online advertising and social media have completely changed the ease and cost of reaching customers around the globe.
More and more businesses are being started and scaling into the seven-figures or more without any paid marketing, just by publishing content on social networks.
But for those of us that don’t have content going viral, we can still pay to reach potential customers – any place and at any time – starting with a $5 ad budget.
And if that’s a search ad, you won’t even pay until someone clicks on your ad! Think about how that compares to your options just 15 years ago – taking out an expensive print campaign, an expensive tv or radio buy, or praying as you sent a hugely expensive direct mail campaign out the door!
There is no comparison!
Today you can put together a sales and marketing process that takes advantage of the reach of social media, the predictability of paid advertising, and nearly complete automation of your business – and have customers coming to you throughout the day for an entire month – at a fraction of the cost of a single newspaper print ad 15 years ago.
#5. The Challenge and Cost of Sourcing, Producing and Distributing Products Has Nearly Disappeared
Whatever products you want to sell, you can likely be fully equipped to do so within a week.
There are so many manufacturers, distributors, brokers, dropshippers, and fulfillment centers competing to supply you with every product line imaginable, and then distribute it on your behalf, that you can source or produce just about anything nearly on-demand.
Then put the product for sale on Amazon, eBay, your own Shopify store, or even just on Instagram – and start selling!
#6. Education on How to Succeed in X is Now Widely Available and Low Cost
In just about every industry imaginable, there is someone that has a course, seminar, or Facebook Group to teach you how to succeed in that business.
The information marketing industry has exploded, making teaching wildly profitable for anyone with specialized knowledge and the know-how to package and distribute that knowledge.
That’s an incredible head-start for anyone considering entering a business for the first time!
You don’t have to invest in an outdated MBA or learn in isolation – just find your community and mentors online and be a sponge!
#7. Raising Money is Now Easier
Getting money as an entrepreneur – either in the form of an investment or a loan – used to be an incredible challenge where very few people had all of the power and dictated the terms. Thankfully, this is no longer the case!
Entrepreneurs now have an incredible number of options to raise money, although the lower costs of starting a company due to the factors I already listed above are making it less and less necessary, which is even better.
But if you need to raise money, crowdfunding has completely revolutionized the process for those of us that need to raise smaller amounts of money. The government raised the crowdfunding limit from $1 million to $5 million in any 12 month period, giving the far majority of small businesses a viable way to raise money without having to work with banks or traditional investors.
Companies like Pipe are also making it much easier to get funding based on your receivables; something that entrepreneurs have done for a long time, but usually with relatively shady businesses that have onerous terms.
And if you need to raise bigger money to go after a unicorn idea, companies like Angel List and Y Combinator making the process much more transparent, and giving entrepreneurs a much more level playing field with the venture capital firms that used to hold much more power in the fundraising process.
#8. Buying and Selling Companies is Now Much Easier
Sensing a theme here?! It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur!
Buying and selling smaller businesses – those that are too small for investment banks to get involved in – used to be a pretty shady industry with ‘business brokers’ that weren’t much more than glorified real estate agents.
Microacquire has completely revolutionized this process, bringing total transparency to the process, and creating a marketplace that brings buyers and sellers together quickly to increase the likelihood of getting a transaction done quickly and at a fair price.
#9. The Blockchain Will Add Efficiency and Transparency to Everything!
We can’t finish this post without a mention of blockchain technology and web3.0.
Although it’s early days on this technology and its impact on our day-to-day lives, the smart money agrees at this point that it’s likely going to be as revolutionary as the Internet.
Blockchain technology is so powerful, that’s it’s hard to fathom the total impact it will have, but I believe there are a few key points that should be understood for today’s entrepreneur:
- Blockchain will make it easier for communities to gather around your brand and products
- Blockchain will make it far more efficient for transactions to happen
- Finally, the blockchain will make it far easier to deliver updates, additional products, and communication to your customers
Those three things are, honestly, just scratching the surface. But you don’t have to be a technology genius to understand that they are also incredibly valuable changes for entrepreneurs.
We Live In Amazing Times!
I think it’s so important that we all acknowledge how amazing of a time we live in and what amazing opportunities we have.
I hate to sound like an old man talking about walking to school uphill in a foot of snow both ways, but seriously…think about how much harder your grandparents had it if they wanted to build a business and take control of their time, money, and future!
PLEASE take advantage of it! Stop making excuses and get it done.
I’ll leave you with one more Jim Rohn quote to wrap things up (he was a genius).
It really is a dream to be an entrepreneur right now. If you don’t get that, I don’t get you.
I literally don’t get how you can not be so excited about being an entrepreneur right now and just dive into it and get shit done.
I don’t care if you have a full-time job or don’t know anything about technology…you can still have a business up and running within a month if you are committed to it.
Without mortgaging your home to do it.
When you acknowledge that, you can’t help but be grateful.
And if you want it bad enough, you’ll dive in and get it done.
No excuses.
If you need help, join my Facebook group and ask questions and get the support of me, my team, and the thousands of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs in there.
All the best!
Mike Cooch
