Thinking about starting a business? AMA

[Happyfeet234]

I’m a business coach / mentor / strategist and happy to answer any questions this evening.

What would you start a business in right now with little investment?

How would you best market a YouTube channel?

Do you think an online business will generally always be more lucrative than a physical store one? I owned an online business previously that did very well, but stopped for a plethora of reasons. Thinking of starting up again on my own this time. Was thinking of it being something that could perhaps translate into a physical store in the future, but have always been apprehensive about physical stores due to having to pay rent, potential theft, etc.

Thanks!

What qualifies someone to be a mentor/coach?

I’d think about what you love and are passionate about and talk about for fun and then brainstorm ways to monetise and build a community about like minded people. That’s the start point for YouTube as it’s a long slog if you’re doing it just for the strategy

If you mean what qualifies me, my track record

Mind blowing.

Online will always be more profitable and lower risk, yes xx

Online might be more profitable if you're just talking about a retail business selling straightforward 'stuff' but there are plenty of other types of businesses that are a lot more profitable and don't require a stock outlay. Particularly those offering a specialist service that has enough healthy competition to create interest and demand in the market, but not too much that it's oversaturated.

How do you feel about coaches bigging themselves up online and telling people “build a community around what you love” and then when it very obviously doesn’t work, the coach sells their “method” either via a course or a 1:1 coaching plan for huge amounts each month? Because the market for that kind of MLM style coach is getting saturated, don’t you think?

This is such a weird corner of the internet

How much do you earn? I
always imagine these type of jobs earn peanuts unless work in the corporate world in house or with a few very large organisations.

You didn’t like the questions? Doesn’t bode well considering your “profession” @Happyfeet234 !

What business types would you avoid, and which come with specific licensing requirements? I'd assume any food or drink creation business requires at the very least hygiene certifications, and perhaps similar for beauty products. What insurance does someone need to set up a basic business selling a product? What about selling your expertise (as you do), how can someone go about setting themselves up for part time or flexible working in this way?

How does that answer the previous question? What actual qualifications do you have? Did you do a marketing or business studies degree? What do you know about data protection / handling data / website building / tax / profit margins. What is your ‘track record’ I mean what does that even mean?
How does coaching actually work? How do you recommend finding clients? (Friends and family don’t count.)

Can you tell us more about your experience and what made you move into coaching?