Let’s start with an Odd Truth.
Building an online business is one of the toughest things that you can do. Not because the steps to doing it are hard.
In fact, they are very easy to understand.
It’s tough because it requires you to take a look inside and be okay with who you are. As we like to say here, building an online business is either greatest or the worst therapy that you can go through.
But damn, it’s worth it.
So if you’re on this page you’re wondering what it takes to build an online business and that’s a valid thing to ask. We’ll try our best to show you how we go about building online businesses here at Odd Noodle.
First, What Is a Business?
Forget about an online business. What is a business in general?
Well, thankfully, this is a simple thing to answer. Business is a formula that anyone can remember.
Audience x Offer = $$$$$We call this The Pocket Business Formula. Every single business that has ever existed and will ever exist follows this formula.
The success of the business is determined by how well it can increase each variable and if one variable goes to zero then the business follows.
So when building an online business, what you’re trying to do is keep an eye on both of these variables and how you can increase each one.
That’s all it is and remember, this applies to every single business. There are no exceptions.
Second, What Is an Audience?
This is where a lot of people get confused because they’ll hop on social media and sweat how many followers they have.
Your followers are not your audience.
Well, some of them might be, but just because you have 100,000 followers on Instagram doesn’t mean you’re on the path to becoming a millionaire.
So then who is your audience? It’s the people that have bought or will buy from you. They are your customers.
Look at the formula above again. If Audience meant people that simply followed you on social media and did nothing then how would the $$$$$ increase?
It wouldn’t.
That’s why when we talk about audience we are talking about the people that are going to give you money. Otherwise, what kind of business is it?
Third, What Is an Offer?
An offer is more than a product or service. It’s everything.
- The product
- The price
- The messaging
- The packaging
- The customer service
And probably some other things. It’s just easier to think about it as a product or service so that’s what we’ll do.
Alright, So How Do You Build an Online Business?
Now that you understand how to build an online business what are the things that you need to do to make it happen?
We like to build online businesses around digital products. There are many reasons why but here a few of them:
- No inventory
- Easy to create
- Can price them however we want
- People come back for more
Where people tend to get confused is trying to figure out what type of digital product to create and that’s looking at it backward.
For example, if you needed help with a very specific aspect of your business that only applied to you (let’s pretend this is possible) then would it make sense for me to create a book? It wouldn’t. You’d be better served with a 1:1 call to sort through the issue.
You shouldn’t look at your online business and decide that you’re going to create books when you don’t know what outcome you’re going to help your audience achieve or what problems you’re going to help them solve.
Which means the first thing that you need to do to build an online business is understand your audience.
What Outcome Do They Want?
Every time we buy something we buy it because we think it’s going to lead to some type of improvement. That means when we buy something we can visualize an outcome.
Your business needs to understand what outcome your audience wants and then it can figure out a way to help them achieve it.
At Odd Noodle, the outcome we help our audience achieve is freedom through a digital product business. That’s the outcome that dictates everything that we do.
When we understand the outcome then we can move on to the problems that are preventing them from achieving the outcome.
The Problems They Face
This is what most people are searching for. They know they have a problem and they are hoping to find a solution to that problem.
If you’re the one who can convince them that you have a solution to the problem that will allow them to achieve the outcome they want, then you will win at business.
And this is why many people fail when trying to build an online business.
They create solutions to problems that don’t exist for their audience in the hopes of helping them achieve an outcome they don’t desire.
Building an Online Business: The 5 Simple Steps
I’m sure you were expecting something a lot more complicated but the more complicated you make a business, the more difficult you make it to find success. It’s better to keep things simple.
So let’s breakdown how to build an online business in some simple steps.
Step 1: Who Do You Want to Help?
First, you need to figure out who you want to help. What does the person want?
Step 2: What Do They Want to Achieve?
Then you need to figure out what they want. When they wake up in the morning, what’s the outcome that they desire?
It’s important to keep in mind this is usually different than what you think they need. You might think they need happiness in their life when they’re thinking about how they can finally talk to the cute girl at work.
Step 3: What Problems Do They Face?
What problems are keeping them from their desired outcome? Remember, it’s not what you think they have a problem with. It’s what they believe they have a problem with.
Step 4: Create an Offer Solving a Problem
You don’t need to solve all of their problems at once. You need to solve one problem that will remove on barrier and then you can move on to the next one.
For example, we have an offer that contains a 5-Day Sales Sequence. It’s nothing big or fancy but it solves a problem for our audience.
Will they have more problems that they need to solve? Most likely and we address those in other offers.
Step 5: Let People Know Your Offer Exists
This is where social media, blogging, and email marketing come into play. Your goal is to let people know that you have a solution for them. This doesn’t mean that the only thing you do is sell.
What it means is that you’re going to lead people back to you (there are many different ways) and show them that if they truly want to get to the outcome that they desire, then you’re the one who can help.
Success Lies Within the 5 Steps
I know what you’re thinking.
There has to be way more involved to make an online business work and you are right, but that doesn’t mean there are more steps. It just means that there are things to do within those steps.
Remember the simple formula?
Audience x Offer = $$$$$The 5 steps take care of everything you need to build up both of the variables on the left to make the outcome on the right whatever you desire.