The majority of people won’t bat an eyelash when it comes to taking on considerable student loan debt. But what if I told you that you could find your passion and build a profitable business for under $70?
A college degree is supposed to help you make a return on your investment, yet the average student will incur $30,867* in student loan debt. The standard repayment plan for student loan debt is 10-years, but research has shown the average bachelor’s degree holder takes 21 years* to pay off his or her loans.
Despite the stats about student loan debt, Iâd go out on a limb and wager that the majority of students who take on that average $30,000 in debt believe the education received in college was not worth the time, effort, and money. If we’re talking specifically about a return on investment (ROI), the stats don’t lie: spending $30,000 only to pay it back in 21 years is a pretty raw deal. Even worse than the ROI, most people hate their jobs and live paycheck to paycheck.
I donât believe college is the right option. In fact, I think itâs actually an irresponsible financial decision given the statistics staring us all in the face.
Regardless of my stance on higher education, by following the steps Iâm about to share, Iâm extremely confident that you can find your passion and start running a profitable business of your own. You will be able to arm yourself with all the knowledge you need to get going and for the meager investment of just $64.08.
And yes, you read that correctly: For just $64.08 I want to show you how to gain all the knowledge youâll need to start doing work that matters (to you and others). And no, none of that money will end up in my pocket.
A couple disclaimers before we move forward:
I, just like a college institution, cannot guarantee that by spending any amount of money that you will make money in return.
However, I can guarantee that your investment of $64.08 (which doesnât go in my pocket by the way) is exponentially easier to pay off than $30,867.
If you donât actually do the work laid out below, your chances of finding passion, building a profitable business, and having happy customers are about 1 in a 1,000,000.
I have not been paid by anyone to write this article and the recommendations in it are based solely on my 15 years of experience of going to college, working in corporate America, and then spending nearly a decade as a successful entrepreneur.
You are going to have to read four books and then take action on the practical things mentioned in them. This will take you exponentially less time than four years.
Now, letâs dive into how to find your passion, build a profitable business you enjoy working on, and learning how to make your customers love you.
Step #1, Find Your Passion: Read Pamela Slimâs Body of Work ($12.73)
This is where you start. If you donât know what your values are, what you want in life, no amount of money or success in business is going to make you happy. Iâve been there and so have countless others.
Pamela Slim is a wonderfully smart human and has written an actionable guide to discover exactly what it is you are passionate about. Does that mean youâre going to build a business based on your passion? Probably not. But it will help you define a clear set of values with which you can build a business around so that every decision you make pushes you toward actually enjoying the work you do.
Your values will change. Your passions will change. Your purpose will change. This book will help you start to identify all of those things, and just as important will help you identify things you arenât passionate about and donât want to be doing.
Step #2, Build A Profitable Business: Read Eric Riesâ The Lean Startup ($14.96)
Business is not being done the way itâs being taught in the majority of colleges right now and the word âiterationâ barely exists in corporate America. If you want to build a business in the digital age we currently live in, this book is required reading.
Eric Ries gives you a framework for understanding how to start and operate a business. He walks you through the principles of using “lean” methodology to avoid spending a lot of time and money on your ideas. He introduces you to the term âminimum viable productâ (MVP) which is a critical business concept.
I read this book after building multiple businesses and wish I would have read it at the very beginning.
The Lean Startup reframes your thinking and helps you truly understand what it means to own and run a startup.
Grab The Lean Startup on Amazon.
Step #3, Create Insanely Happy Customers: Read Kathy Sierraâs Badass: Making Users Awesome ($23.47)
If your business is going to have customers, which every business does, this book will change the way you think about serving the people who spend money on your product or service.
When you help your customers succeed, you will succeed.
Kathy Sierra is a brilliant woman who has written a no-fluff book that breaks down exactly how you should be talking to your customers and presenting what you sell to them. She includes some eye-opening examples of how to shift the way you think about interacting with your customers, especially how you educate them and help them succeed with whatever their goals are.
The advice in this book is timeless. You should always want to make your customers badass and if your products donât do that, the likelihood of you building a business that will last is very slim.
Grab Badass: Making Users Awesome on Amazon.
Step #4: Read Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hanssonâs Rework ($12.92)
Rework is the perfect book to wrap everything together in a nice bow. Itâs full of real-talk about running a business and free of âchase your dreamsâ propaganda.
Random fun fact: This is the book I’ve read the most times from cover to cover (4 times!). I make it required reading for myself every year and it’s worth it.
Running a business takes work. Running a business takes messing up and learning from your mistakes. Running a business does not take an executive summary and a business plan anymore.
You donât have to work 8 hours per day (9-5). You donât have to have years of experience. This book is an excellent practical guide to stop thinking about building a business and to actually start building a business today.
Additional free resource to Rework: David Heinemeier Hansson, one of the authors of Rework, wrote a fantastic article to back up my points about passion and money.
Even if you’re well past college, these books will help you!
I wrote this article for a prospective college student, but I know the bulk of people who might find it is like me. You’ve already gone to college and you’ve either racked up debt or feel like you wasted a few good years of your life.
There’s no acceptance process to reading great books. You don’t have to apply to learn from people who’ve been where you want to go.
Whether youâre a 13-year-old aspiring entrepreneur, or youâre currently in college, or youâve been to college and incurred student loan debt, you can do this.
If youâre scoffing at the idea that reading four books can help you build a business youâll truly love and make you successful, I challenge you to put it to the test. Read these books. Invest the $64. Implement the practical lessons in them. Invest time and effort.
No one article, book, or piece of advice is going to answer all your questions. Consume the right knowledge for what youâre seeking in life, and enjoy the journey along the way.
