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When you're starting a business, sometimes the hardest thing is just figuring out what the heck you need to get started….

You’re asking yourself questions like:

• do I need a website?

• how do I get a website?

• do I need a mailing list?

• what I need to spend my money on?

• what do I do first?

And then you get overwhelmed because you don’t know what you don’t know.  So you start googling which can sometimes cause even more overwhelm because everyone has their own idea of what you should do in those beginning stages.

The key is to just start – take consistent action and then keep going. (tweet that)

Here are my 5 tips for getting started.

1.  Define your thing – The first thing you need is something to offer.  Maybe a coaching session?  Maybe a product?  Maybe blog posts to share information and build a platform?

2.  Set up a home base – Once you have your thing, then you need a place to put it.  This could be a full 5 page WordPress website site.  This could be a one page site using Wix or Weebly.

3.  Figure out your goal – Take your offering and figure out a way to make it work for you – whether that’s getting paid or getting feedback  If you want to get paid, get a Paypal account, create a “buy now” button.  If you just want to get experience and do it for free, make free work for you.  Create a survey using Google Forms or Survey Monkey to capture feedback from your offering and turn it into testimonials or use that information to improve your offering.

4.  Find your peeps– Sign up for a free Mailchimp account and start building an email list.  Use your social media networks to promote your thing and build an audience of people who like what you have to offer.  Encourage folks to share your blog posts with their communities or leave comments.

5. Keep moving – Follow the steps above, experiment, see what people like.  Start offering your services.  Share with your community.  See what you like.  See what they like.  The more you keep taking action, the clearer you’ll get on your thing, your people and your business.

Are you trying to start a business or some other new thing and find yourself struggling with a particular area?  Do you feel stuck?  Share with me in the comments and we’ll work together to help you figure out your next step!