On the walk to the care from part-time job number one, my mind was racing with all of the emails I needed to send and the litters at home I needed to go through. The pictures I needed to take in order to send them to their prospective owners. I knew I would have time to respond to a few emails after class during my work-study job………..
……… one of the biggest things that hold people back from starting their own rabbitry and turning it into a business is having the time to just do it. Trust me I totally get it. Life is crazy sometimes and you wonder how you will get it all done.
You are so busy doing #allthethings that already overwhelm you, how on earth would you add starting a business in the mix?
You might be surprised by what you can do. With a bit of intentional planning, you can do quite a lot.
It is true that running a business does take time. But, there are small things you can do in small little pockets of time that you have through out the day.
The thing that takes up most of our work time is decision making. When you have a list prepared and ready to go you don’t have to wonder “what to do” or take the time to figure that out. I am not going to get into what you can do in those small pockets of time just yet. But bare with me.
Let’s go over some things you need to know before you even get to the business management part. All of these ideas you can work on while you are doing everyday things. You can think about them while folding laundry, feeding the dog, doing yard work, driving, and so on…
Have a notebook close by or put them in the notes section of your phone. It does not matter where just put them someplace so you don’t forget your ideas. I have a board in trello tittle parking lot. That is where I create a card and dictate my ideas into the description section of the card.
Who Is Your Ideal Customer?
Who is your ideal reader, customer, or you will also hear the word avatar? Now you might be thinking “whoever will buy my rabbits, so everyone.” While rabbits are not as “neched” as say women’s clothing. You still need to think about they type of person who you want to work with. Here is what I mean.
My ideal rabbit buyer is:
- A woman age 35-40.
- She has kids and is looking for a calm pet.
- She is not over the top emotional and is fine keeping the rabbit outside.
- Her household income is $75k+ per year
It’s the person you’re talking to, no matter what kind of content you’re creating you think to yourself would she like to see this. Even something as small as a social media post.
Talking to one person does not mean you are excluding others. There are people on both sides of that who come to buy my rabbits. But when you talk to one your message is clear and the feel connected to you. People buy from people, not logos.
How to find who your buyer is?
I want you to get super clear into the heart and mind of who your person is. So before I jump into that, I am going to share some areas that knowing who your person is will help you and why you need it.
When you understand who you’re talking to, and what she or he needs, you’re going to be able to get your content written faster.
- You’re going to know what you need to write.
- You can come up with other products and income streams for your business.
- You’re going to see far more engagement on your content across the board.
- You will know if this content is helping your ideal person. Or if this is just something that hit the top of your mind, and you’re like, Oh, this is kind of neat but should I share this or should I not?
- And it’s going to result in far more sales and show up in your bank account.
It takes time to figure out who your person is. So go ingo this with an open mind and knwo that your person will change over time as well.
This about the people who have sold to before. Who did you mesh with and like to talk to? How did they act? If you are looking for more details on how to do this. Read this post and or listen to the podcast episode about the ideal customer.
Decide On Your Product Or Service
You are not here to just run a blog, a website, or a social media platform for free. It either takes money, time, or both. So you have to find a way to make an income if it takes a few years to get there, that’s okay. But you need to go into it with the intention of monetizing and training your people that you don’t do it for free either.
You probably have a ton of ideas but don’t try to do them all at once. But that is why knowing your ideal person is so important. You COULD do something. But should you is the real question.
Make a list of what you come up with and then evaluate them before you jump in. Sit on them for a few days before you try to do to many things and don’t get very far on any of them.
You want to find things that you do well and you like doing. If you try to make an income at something that is difficult for you or you really don’t like to do it. Then it is not the right choice. You will start to hate what you are building and your business will not thrive because your heart is not in it.
If you don’t have the time to take action on them right now then write out a plan of action on how you will get it done when the time is there.
Start Before You Are Ready
We make time for the things that are important to us. If you have time to watch 30 minutes of Netflix or waste time scrolling YouTube. Then you have time to invest in your business. Put your family first but sometimes “fun indulgences have to go out the window for a while to build your business.
Ok I am done being blunt. But the truth is you just have to start. No time is perfect.
People love to see the journey. You don’t have to wait until you have rabbits and babies before you start telling people you are out there. In fact, you need to start WAY before. Getting people excited. Telling them what is coming.
Now your homework is this. Find ways you can do things in the little in-between moments. You can type out Instagram or Facebook posts and schedule them to go out while on a car ride or waiting in line or in a doctor’s office.
Your business will come. Little by little. Keep taking one step at a time and you will get there.