How to finally start your first business in 2025

Key Concepts

• Myths about starting a business
• Importance of starting, even with a "bad" idea
• Learning through failure
• Service vs. product businesses
• Minimizing financial risk
• Side hustles
• Unrealistic expectations for first businesses
• Comfort with uncertainty

Debunking Myths About Starting a Business

The video addresses common myths that prevent people from starting businesses, drawing from a poll on the creator's YouTube community tab where the top concern was "not having good ideas and fear of wasting time and money on a bad idea." The creator, Ali Abdaal, shares his experiences building and selling businesses, emphasizing that his journey involved numerous failures.

Myth 1: You Need a Good Idea to Start a Business

• Main Point: You don't need a good idea, just any idea. The first few businesses are likely to fail, and that's how you learn.
• Supporting Evidence: Learning business is like learning to ride a bike – you need to try and fail.
• Example: James Altucher's advice: if you can't come up with 10 business ideas, come up with 20. Lowering the bar for idea quality is crucial.
• Actionable Insight: Use the free Adobe Express business planning template (link in description) to brainstorm ideas. The template focuses on:
  • Target customer (who)
  • Problem being solved (what)
  • Finding potential customers (where)
• Template Details: The template includes sections for:
  • Problem statement
  • Solution
  • Target market (referencing Alex Hormozi's "$100M Leads")
  • Unfair advantage
  • "Now, Not How" (from Noah Kagan's "Million Dollar Weekend") - fastest way to test if someone will pay.
  • Crystal ball method (identifying potential failures and mitigation strategies)
  • Distribution strategy
  • Annual goals (using the GPS method)
  • Quarterly quests (90-day action plan)
  • Weekly project plan
• Example Business Idea (Freelance Video Editing):
  • People: YouTubers under 50k subs
  • Problem: Editing takes too much time
  • Solution: Affordable, efficient video editing service
  • Finding Customers: DMs on Twitter/Instagram, YouTube-related Facebook groups, r/YouTubers on Reddit.
• Adobe Express Integration: The template can be customized with brand kits and generative AI features (e.g., generating images for a dog walking service).

Myth 2: Time Spent on a Business That Fails is Time Wasted

• Main Point: Failure is an investment in learning.
• Analogy: Falling off a bike is necessary to learn how to ride.
• Counter-Argument: School teaches us to aim for certainty, but entrepreneurship is about embracing uncertainty.
• Caveat: Some people need to prioritize financial security, but many overestimate their need for it.
• Personal Anecdote: The creator's first six businesses failed, but they were crucial learning experiences.

Myth 3: You Need to Spend Money to Start Your First Business

• Main Point: This is a myth perpetuated by shows like Dragon's Den/Shark Tank, which focus on product businesses needing investment.
• Distinction: Service businesses often require minimal or no capital.
• Thought Experiment: Imagine being a 14-year-old during summer holidays. You'd likely think of mowing lawns (a service business) rather than inventing a product.
• Examples:
  • Mowing lawns
  • Private tutoring
  • Financial controller for small businesses (requiring only a computer and internet).
• Recommendation: Start with service businesses that don't require startup capital.

Myth 4: You Need to Go All In to Start Your First Business

• Main Point: Don't quit your job immediately. Start as a side hustle.
• Counter-Argument: The fear of not having enough money is often disguised fear.
• Benefit of Side Hustle: Reduces financial pressure and allows for faster learning from failures.
• Time Commitment: Even 20 minutes a day can be enough to start.
• Key Insight: The point of your first business is to learn, not to earn.

Myth 5: Your First Business Needs to Give You Everything

• Main Point: It's unrealistic to expect your first business to provide financial freedom, passion, fulfillment, time freedom, and location freedom.
• Analogy: It's like expecting your first date to lead to marriage, a business partnership, and therapy.
• Reality: First businesses are often boring and challenging but help you learn essential skills.
• Progression: The first major unlock is making money decorrelated with your time.
• Personal Examples: The creator's early businesses included freelance web design, a multi-level marketing scheme, private tutoring, and a failed app.

Conclusion

The video encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to lower their expectations for their first businesses and embrace failure as a learning opportunity. It emphasizes starting small, focusing on service-based businesses, and prioritizing learning over immediate financial gain. The key takeaway is to be comfortable with uncertainty and take the first step, even if it seems risky. The Adobe Express template is offered as a free resource to help brainstorm and plan initial business ideas.