Need a business idea? Run With It shares unused business ideas from successful entrepreneurs, including the exact steps they would take to launch them. If you're looking for a ready-made business idea, proven founders are sharing them every week on Run With It.
Facilitating Curbside Pickup for Local Businesses with Justin Hartzman
Nuggets: The best things in life come on the other side of fear (Will Smith speech) It’s incredibly difficult for business owners to be competent at their core skill AND marketing, delivery, etc…think of ideas that allow business owners to focus on their core skills Don’t underestimate the power of checklists as a foundation for a business or application Business Plans are hard to pivot away from, write out a vision document instead. Action Steps: Talk with local business owners about this idea. Start with a geofenced location and businesses you know or spend time in normally. Presell business owners $99 for lifetime access. Find a technical co-founder. Brainstorm a business plan: put every thought you have on paper then come back a few days later to organize it. Local marketing: join local business and community groups. Throw flyers in the local stores. Use local mailers with an odd shaped piece of mail. Facebook marketing. Needls. Follow through on these action steps and email us your results at update@runwithit.fm. You'll get exclusive access to a private Facebook group of action takers and one listener will earn a free mentorship call with our guest, and potentially, a business partnership.Links: Needls Media Justin’s LinkedIn jh@needls.com allrecipes.com Justin has always had an entrepreneurial mindset. When he was ten years old, he worked at an outdoor lifestyle store that his grandparents owned in the small city outside of Kingston, Ontario. While working at the store, he made it his mission to sell as many backpacks as possible. He found it thrilling to identify a person’s needs and find the perfect solution for them even at that young of an age. Justin is an internet visionary that has pioneered markets, he has more than 18 years of startup and exit experience. Previously, he founded the first brokerage for online businesses. During that time Justin brokered $100 million in transactions to Fortune 1000 companies, PE firms, family offices and venture funds. His plethora of experience making visions turn to reality makes him a known and respected player in the industry. There’s nothing he loves more than fixing problems. Justin sees himself as more of a leader and a mentor rather than a boss, he creates teams of meticulously picked industry specialists to help achieve his goals.
Bringing Professional Video Editing to the Masses with David Adler
Nuggets:Once you have ideas take action, always push the train forward Action Steps: Contact friends who might be interested in having some videos edited Contact wedding or event videographers and hire them to do the editing Consider/test pricing strategies offer free or $99 for a 60 second video teaser upsell to a $300-$500 3-5 minute video offer a rebate of $100-$200 for sharing on social with a link to your service find more partners and offer a subscription service to fans offer a number of credits per month that could be used for various concerts Create a video editing course and have students edit videos for free that are shared socially to build your audience Find an event or a venue that might be good for videos if enough fans buy in, then produce the first event (keep a production budget of under $10K) ask the venue to keep your equipment installed and sign them on as a partner Follow through on these action steps and email us your results at update@runwithit.fm. You'll get exclusive access to a private Facebook group of action takers and one listener will earn a free mentorship call with our guest, and potentially, a business partnership.Links: The Travel Secret (David’s company) Acadium (useful for finding digital marketing apprentices) David Adler, Founder and CEO of The Travel Secret. David is a seasoned entrepreneur who has had extensive experience in travel, e-commerce, telecom, hospitality, and international business.
Craft Hand Sanitizer with James Henderson
Nuggets: The value of the product goes beyond its functionality; for two equal quality products, the one that makes consumers feel better about themselves will win The snob effect is a documented phenomenon wherein a higher price point can actually increase the demand for a product or service. During a tumultuous time people who want to be perceived as doing okay may be a market for your products Some Craft Distillers are making bank by producing hand sanitizer instead of spirits Networking to develop one business can lead to other opportunities Action Steps: Build a list of distillers who are currently making hand sanitizer. Contact your list and see who would list a product online and allocate stock to you. Act as an affiliate and drop ship the product. Hire a designer on Fiverr to create branded mockups for post-pandemic sanitizer packaging and marketing so you can help distilleries make this work. Market through the existing channels of the distilleries, through bars and restaurants. You might donate a portion of your proceeds to support a relevant cause. Follow through on these action steps and email us your results at update@runwithit.fm. You'll get exclusive access to a private Facebook group of action takers and one listener will earn a free mentorship call with our guest, and potentially, a business partnership.Links:https://jimsesh.com/Australian Podcast Awards Finalist, Economist and Accidental Festival Owner, James Henderson develops audio brands with his businesses, Aych Media and CBD Entertainment in the Media and Music industries, respectively. His holding company commits to a broad philosophy to 'elevate universal consciousness'.
Recession Proof Startup Saturday - Session 4
For this event, 8 incredible entrepreneur guests paired up pseudo-randomly and all start from scratch sharing only their mindsets and experiences to co-create some innovative and unshakable project ideas that could beat a recession. We proudly raised over $400 on behalf of the WHO COVID-19 Response Fund in presenting this event.This session features Anthony Sarandrea, Josh Elizetxe, and Anthony MinkAnthony SarandreaAnthony is recognized as one of the top customer generators in the world, specializing in the financial services space, running a team that drives over 1 million customers each year.Anthony is recognized as one of the top lead generators in the world, running a team that specializes in driving thousands of inbound phone calls daily across a number of verticals including health, finance, legal, and education.He is consistently featured as one of the top “under 30 year old” entrepreneurs and was featured along side Snapchat’s founder Evan Spiegel as one of the “Entrepreneurs that are changing the world”.Josh Elizetxe Josh Elizetxe is the founder of Snow and an Internet advertising veteran and successful serial entrepreneur. Last year, over 100,000,000 people interacted with websites and brands owned by Josh’s parent company. He serves on the board of the Phoenix Coding Academy and the Fleischer Scholars Program. Josh is a sought-after company advisor and Angel Investor in the software (SaaS), e-commerce, and advertising technology industries. With an uncanny focus on data-driven strategy, his work has resulted in over $1 Billion in proven enterprise value tracked since 2009.Anthony Mink (Mink)Anthony the co-founder of Live Bearded. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, hunting and fishing is a way of life and growing a beard is the rule, not the exception. Anthony comes from a long line of beardsmen including his father who has lived bearded for over 30 years!Anthony has always had a desire to live life on his own terms, to not be confined by the system, or anyone in it so in 2011 he quit his "job" and started his own company so he could fulfill his dream of being his own boss, answering to no one, and traveling the world!Since Anthony has built and sold 4 successful online companies and has traveled to 41 countries! With a deep passion for business, beards, and brotherhood, Livebearded.com is more than just a beard grooming company for Anthony, it’s a passion project and a way of life!
Recession Proof Startup Saturday - Session 3
For this event, 8 incredible entrepreneur guests paired up pseudo-randomly and all start from scratch sharing only their mindsets and experiences to co-create some innovative and unshakable project ideas that could beat a recession. We proudly raised over $400 on behalf of the WHO COVID-19 Response Fund in presenting this event.This session features David DennyDavid Denny is the Co-founder and a Partner at Carpe Diem Developers which is a renewable energy industry leader that provides development services for commercial and utility solar PV projects nationwide. They partner with business leaders, landowners, and utilities to develop and execute profitable solar projects. With over a decade of experience in solar project development, Carpe Diem Developers has the expertise to create projects that generate long term revenue streams and reduce carbon emissions.
Recession Proof Startup Saturday - Session 2
For this event, 8 incredible entrepreneur guests paired up pseudo-randomly and all start from scratch sharing only their mindsets and experiences to co-create some innovative and unshakable project ideas that could beat a recession. We proudly raised over $400 on behalf of the WHO COVID-19 Response Fund in presenting this event.This session features Sam Davidson and Matt VerlinichSam Davidson is a serial entrepreneur and professional speaker who has written three books. He is currently the CEO of Batch, a gift and retail company that makes it easy for people to find or share a taste of their favorite southern city.Matt Verlinich was the founding General Manager of TechShop Pittsburgh and a founding member of the Protohaven makerspace. He’s also the founder of Clear Ice Rocks, where he invented, prototyped, crowdfunded, and mass-produced a system for creating completely clear ice at home. Matt is now a part of the Innovation Works team, where he works with early stage hardware companies to guide them through the design and manufacturing process.
Recession Proof Startup Saturday - Session 1
For this event, 8 incredible entrepreneur guests paired up pseudo-randomly and all start from scratch sharing only their mindsets and experiences to co-create some innovative and unshakable project ideas that could beat a recession. We proudly raised over $400 on behalf of the WHO COVID-19 Response Fund in presenting this event.This session features Peter Corbett and David Kosciusko.Peter Corbett:As the child of a single mother with 3 kids, Peter learned to hustle at an early age to afford a better life. He bootstrapped a digital agency, grew it to 100 employees and sold it to WPP, the world's largest publicly traded ad agency holding company. He retired two years ago and since then has been training in hospice at Brooklyn hospital, working directly with people who's family members are sick or dying. He lives in Brooklyn, NY, and continues to help others in their entrepreneurial journey.Dave Kosciusko:Dave has a couple of cell phone repair stores in Rhode Island. They buy and sell electronics for repair and resale on eBay and he also has a digital product teaching others how to profit from reselling phones the way he does.
Lesson Plans as a Product with Rob Fitzpatrick
Nuggets: Have customer discovery conversations in a casual setting to get real feedback; otherwise people will naturally try to placate your ego Design products (including education and workshops) such that attendees are energized at the end, not drained The key to sales is having a more expensive product; selling a $1,000,000 is within an order of magnitude as easy as selling a $1,000 product Action Steps: Choose a topic you are interested in and curate a lesson plan Find educators who are teaching that subject and offer it to them for free Watch how users respond to the plan and use that feedback to improve it Fall off your bike Follow through on these action steps and email us your results at update@runwithit.fm. You'll get exclusive access to a private Facebook group of action takers and one listener will earn a free mentorship call with our guest, and potentially, a business partnership.Links: @robfitz on Twitter The Workshop Survival Guide The Mom Test Union Square Ventures Looking for Syllabus 2.0 Y Combinator Rob Fitzpatrick is an entrepreneur of 13 years (his first business was funded, the rest have been bootstrapped). He's the author of The Mom Test, a book about how to talk to customers and figure out if your business is a good idea. He went through YCombinator in 2007. He describes himself as a techie who eventually learned sales. He currently lives in Barcelona, Spain.
Livestream Your Favorite Music Venues with Chris Meade
Nuggets:Successful businesses are started by people just like you; they go home and watch Netflix with their significant other, etc... Action Steps: Investigate current revenue split for concert venues Search for the managers/decision-makers of concerts at large venues Contact them via a cold call, email, or LinkedIn message Offer to run a trial event which you can help them presell a live stream of their upcoming concert If enough fans buy in, then produce the first event (keep a production budget of under $10K) Ask the venue to keep your equipment installed and sign them on as a partner Find more partners and offer a subscription service to fans You could offer a number of credits per month that could be used for various concerts Follow through on these action steps and email us your results at update@runwithit.fm. You'll get exclusive access to a private Facebook group of action takers and one listener will earn a free mentorship call with our guest, and potentially, a business partnership. Links: CROSSNET 1,000 True Fans Twitch Music Hall of Williamsburg Terminal 5 Chris Meade is the co-founder of CROSSNET, the world's first four-way volleyball game. CROSSNET combines elements of the childhood game four square and volleyball in a competitive game to 11, win by 2. CROSSNET is now available at Walmart, Target, DICKS, Academy Sports, Amazon, and 20+ other retailers.
[UPDATE] Translating Medical Lingo with Shuhan He and Josh Calvano
Nuggets: Non-linear thinking is critical to entrepreneurship; the path is rarely carved out for you so you need to make connections yourself. Successful entrepreneurs are looking for people to mentor and receive help from; if you take a little bit of action, you can stand out from the crowd. Action Steps: If you’re a medical professionals, web developers, or other entities wish to contribute to the goals of DoctorLingo reach out or submit terminology here. Choose an idea from a previous episode and take one small step! Do you enjoy this type of episode? What areas of business would you like us to focus on more? Email us at update@runwithit.fm and you may get an on-air callout!Links:https://getusppe.org/DoctorLingoWhite Coat InvestorDoctors Unboundjosh (at) doctorlingo.comJosh Calvano is a third year medical student out of Rocky Vista University in Colorado. Prior to medical school he worked in IT doing end-user support, computer repair, and network administration. He is also currently a second lieutenant in the US Air Force and plans to pursue a career as an Air Force Anesthesiologist upon graduation.
Fun Money Management and Impact With Anthony Sarandrea
Nuggets: Use the opposite of the “Mom test” - tell people about your idea/mockup as if it’s someone else’s terrible idea to get their honest feedback Waking up with a “poor mindset,” living on a budget and working hard to always earn more could be the secret of some very wealthy people Even if you have plenty of money it can still help to live less extravagantly so that you can maintain connections with close friends and family. Anthony echos a common entrepreneurial mantra “Fail fast.” Once one masters money, the next focus is often “impact.” Really dumb down your MVP a lot (e.g. the creator of palm pilot carried around a block of wood as a prototype to feel if it made sense to create) Action Steps: Create a very “dumbed down” MVP to see what might make sense for you Sign up for an existing app, like Mint to explore the niche Consider tech savvy millennials and college students that you can support as their income grows. If you are not technical, connect with developers at meetups and join developer groups. Also, develop your skills at communicating vision, emotion and motivation to others. Experiment further with potential app features Consider account blocks on spending via the app based on triggers users set up Focus on making the experience fun and easy for users Create “hoops” that users have to jump through before making questionable spending decisions Find a way to get yourself obsessed with one relevant number in your pocket all day long. Look for partnerships with banks (start with small banks then move to the larger players) Look into collecting financial data on client habits to help them get great loan rates and connect them with lenders Consider using AI and user feedback to help curate a good budgeting plan for users As an aspirational plan, you could move users from budgeting to making impact: saving money for fun to sharing it with a cause that’s important to them Follow through on these action steps and email us your results at update@runwithit.fm. You'll get exclusive access to a private Facebook group of action takers and one listener will earn a free mentorship call with our guest, and potentially, a business partnership.Links:Credit KarmaMinthttp://www.anthonysarandrea.com/Anthony Sarandrea started off door knocking and built a company to $100k+/day with over 1M customers a year. He is recognized as one of the top customer generators in the world, running a team that drives over 1 million customers each year. Today, he runs a profitable portfolio of websites ranging from commerce to content blogs that combined reach millions of buyers every month.He is consistently featured as one of the top “under 30 year old” entrepreneurs and was featured alongside Snapchat’s founder Evan Spiegel as one of the “Entrepreneurs that are changing the world.”
[UPDATE] Lessons from 4 of Our Top Episodes Thus Far
Do you enjoy this type of episode? What areas of business would you like us to focus on more? Email us at update@runwithit.fm and you may get an on-air callout!Links:The Expensive Water Bottle with Jeff ProctorDone-For-You Digital Marketing with TJ ClarkA Clever Take on Residential Window Cleaning with Richard BittonHow to Start a Software Company with David Hauser
Better Hiring through Software with Dane Maxwell
Nuggets: The idea is 5% of what makes a business successful; execution is the rest Jeff Bezos was savvy enough to make billions just investing in other companies Find a pain that elicits a visceral response in your customers Learn why some businesses pay some employees to quit Focus on three things when starting a business: your customers’ pain, their ideal outcome, and your mechanism for bridging the gap Craft your prospecting emails envisioning that you are the person reading it. “Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing” - Teddy Roosevelt Be willing to build things that might not work and move on from them if they don’t. Action Steps: In summary: Find a clear customer, get them a clear result, and implement a clear mechanism. Create sales funnels to recruit job candidates as if they were clients. Use landing pages, lead magnets, opt-ins. After the funnel qualifies them, prospective employees invest in personality tests, such as Kolbe A and Wealth Dynamics (test fees can be refunded if hired). Create a test that allows you to see how prospects implement a job-related task. Implement this idea manually. Take on your first client for free. Prove a result with some of their hiring jobs, then move on to clients 2, 3, 4 and 5, increasing your fee. Invest the majority of your time in client relationships and let the business details be determined by what you learn. Hire developers to build a saas around the systems that work. Follow through on these action steps and email us your results at update@runwithit.fm.Links:Start From Zero (no opt-in excerpt for Run With It listeners)Kolbe A IndexWealth DynamicsBreakthrough AdvertisingKey ValuesLoom.comWe Work RemotelyGoogle FormsWufoo FormsTeddy Roosevelt - A Square Deal speech
Hyper-Local Online Business Directory with Henry Lopez
Nuggets: The idea is a small part of a successful business; it’s about the execution Creating a business idea that forces you to network with local businesses has collateral benefits The pain is deep here: local business owners are eager for something that helps them compete with bigger names Action Steps: Create a list of all the businesses in your local area Build a minimum viable product website that houses these businesses' information Use targeted advertising to bring locals to your site Test monetization strategies Approach business owners and sell them on advertising with you Include an app-based discount card that promotes local businesses Gather local citizen email addresses and send them discounts and offers At a meta-level, you could create an app that allows local governments to implement this in their own towns and neighborhoods Follow through on these action steps and email us your results at update@runwithit.fm. You'll get exclusive access to a private Facebook group of action takers and one listener will earn a free mentorship call with our guest, and potentially, a business partnership.Links:The How of BusinessSCORE Find a Mentor ProgramExtracting Pain from Dentists with David CristelloSmart Home Installation and More with Mehdi KajbafHenry Lopez is a serial entrepreneur, Small Business Coach, and Host of top-rated The How of Business podcast show. In addition to investing in and growing his businesses, he is dedicated to helping others start, run and grow their small businesses. He has over 34 years of diverse business experience, including successful careers in the information technology industry, sales, sales training and business ownership. He has been directly involved in over 10 different small businesses since purchasing his first business in 1991. He has developed and launched his own businesses, and has bought and sold businesses as well. Henry also serves as a volunteer SCORE Mentor.
Accessing Hidden Spiritual Knowledge with Manuj Aggarwal
Nuggets: Spirituality doesn’t have to mean religiosity. Understanding your mind, body, and soul for yourself can be all you need to become spiritual. If you see the soul as a separate entity from our body, and a mind you may notice that all three conspire with each other to generate our experience. We want to improve in our personal development, but the content that is unique that has been accumulated over centuries and is not reaching the general public. Always be ready to pivot and stay detached from your ideas. Pivot or quitting depends on time, money and conviction. Action Steps: Validate the idea by having conversations. Determine who you want to talk to. Then figure out how you're going to search for these people, Google, LinkedIn, etc. Reach out, pitch your idea and adjust it until you come up with something people will pay for. Design an MVP once you narrow in on an idea. Create KPIs to track the success of the project. Build the MVP, bring it to market, and track the KPIs. e.g. time spent, money spent. An MVP could be as simple as a PDF ebook or basic course. Be ready to pivot anywhere where potential clients see the value and will pay. Follow through on these action steps and email us your results at update@runwithit.fm. You'll get exclusive access to a private Facebook group of action takers and one listener will earn a free mentorship call with our guest, and potentially, a business partnership.Links:Innergamepurpose.comLinkedInUdemy AcademyManuj Aggarwal is an entrepreneur, investor and CTO of Tetranoodle, a software consulting company that helps startup founders with tech projects. Manuj has become a technical leader and CTO of multiple startups. Through mindfulness and meditation, he broke through the emotional and mental barriers he faced along his journey starting from a 15-year-old working in a factory for $2 per day. Manuj remains passionate about education and spirituality.