And thousands of others.
Let me explain…
This isn’t anything personal against Russell.
He’s a great entrepreneur who I have a tremendous amount of respect for.
He sells a funnel building software, so I get why he does what he does. I just don’t agree with it.
He’s taught thousands of entrepreneurs that you 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 a sales funnel when starting an online business.
I’d venture to say that most of these entrepreneurs are green behind the ears. As in, they’re brand spanking new to business.
When starting out, a funnel is the last thing you need.
You also don’t need;
- A logo
- A website
- Any type of advertising
- A blog, podcast or YouTube channel
- A large social media following (or any social media following)
The first step, in any business — online or offline — is a target market.
Target market = A SPECIFIC person with a SPECIFIC (painful) problem.
You should be committed to serving, leading, teaching, guiding, inspiring these people for the next 2+ years.
This is the mindset I want you to adopt when starting out.
Now that you have a market, you want to start having conversations with these people (by phone is recommended) to find out what they’re fed up with. What are their fears, frustrations, values, dreams & desires?
With this intel, you can craft a ‘Hell Yea Godfather’ Offer (an offer they simply cannot refuse).
Offer = Your solution (to their painful problem).
Now it’s time to sell your offer to these people.
If you have something that can save people time, money, stress, anxiety, humiliation, fear, shame, guilt and frequent trips to the liquor store, please change accordingly. (Hint: You DO have something that does the above. I promise)
Reach back out to the initial people you spoke with about your new offer, and offer it to them!
It sounds third grade level simply, and it truly can be.
Serve these initial clients (it might be one, and it might be 13 — the amount does NOT matter) well.
Ask for feedback. Make tweaks. Improve the offer based on feedback. Increase the price. Sell it to more people.
Do this for the first 20-30 clients.
Now you have a business.
Now you can build a funnel (a SIMPLE one).
Now you can explore the idea of a website, blog, podcast, and/or a YouTube channel.
Don’t get caught up in the fancy tools or software.
They’re not needed when starting out.
By the way…. What I listed above costs 𝐙𝐄𝐑𝐎 dollars and 𝐙𝐄𝐑𝐎 cents.
So, “I don’t have money” is no longer an excuse.
Your market and your offer are the foundations of your business.
Ironically, if you implement this advice, it will save you time, money, stress, anxiety, humiliation, fear, shame, guilt and frequent trips to the liquor store 
If you want to build a sustainable business, focus on building a solid foundation FIRST.
The rest is just noise.
