Once you have your second income ideas, it’s time to find out which ones people want to pay for and you’ll love doing.
Step 2: Validate your ideas
This is a critical step that MANY people miss. And I’ve seen the results from skipping this step happen time and again: People who are still, months after starting their businesses, trying to figure out why they’re not making any money or progress.
I’ll tell you why: Because their idea wasn’t good to begin with.
You’re not going to make that mistake though. Instead, you’ll invest a little bit of time to make sure that your second income idea is a winner.
To do this, we’re going to use a system I call the ‘Pay Certainty Test.’ The best part You can validate your ideas in less than 15 minutes.
Here’s how it works: Take the paper with your ideas and write down who would pay you for each service next to each one.
- Is your idea “social media consultant for law firms?” A law partner would pay for that.
- Is your idea “career consultant for millennials?” Twenty-somethings looking for jobs would pay for that.
- Is your idea “violin instructor?” Parents of musically inclined children will pay for that.
Once you do that, it’s time to ask yourself two questions:
- Is my prospect willing and able to pay me for this service? (Demand)
- Am I willing and able to provide this service? (Supply)
Where those two questions meet is where you’ll find your good ideas.
So take, social media consultant for law firms. “Will a law partner be able to pay?” Of course. Law firms have more money than God.
Are they willing to pay money for a social media consultant? Probably not. Law firms don’t typically care about social media. They recruit and market themselves through other means.
Verdict: Eliminate the idea.
What about something like “violin instructor?” Are parents able to pay? Yes. The parents who are able to buy a violin for their child are going to be able to give money for instruction.
Are parents willing to pay? You bet. These parents will spend virtually anything to make sure their child is well-rounded and successful.
Verdict: Great idea! Pursue!
Use the Pay Certainty Test for all of your ideas. Once you do this, write down all of the ideas that passed onto their own ‘good ideas’ list. Don’t worry about the other ones. They’re not permanently rejected and you can always revisit them later if you want.
For now, though, you should have at least three to five potentially profitable second income ideas.
Now pick the one you think is best.
I know. It’s like choosing which child is your favorite. But, at this point, there are no wrong answers. The important thing is you choose one and try it out.
Once you have your second income idea chosen, now it’s time for my favorite part: Finding your first client.
Step 3: Find your first client
So now that you have your second income ideas, it’s time to start putting your ideas to work for you, and you do that by finding your first client.
While it may seem daunting to start selling your skills, it’s actually pretty straightforward as long as you have the right systems.