Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

They say, for entrepreneurship:

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

Reminded me of this famous photo of Jeff Bezos building Amazon from ground zero, using a door as a desk.

So what exactly do I have to offer that can get me an extra $1000 per month? Someone suggested I do this:

1. write down all your skills.
2. see if you can provide a service using them where time = money
3. reach out to your network to see if anyone needs help with those skills.
4. charge >$250 so you need 4 people max.

Okay so here goes:

1. My skills: Design thinking, design research, coaching for design thinking, web design, web development, building simple apps, copywriting, social media marketing,

2. What can I offer:

• Design thinking, design research:
  • [Doing] My design consultancy for government and non-profits.
  • [Doing] Freelance in design research.
  • [New] Advisory for scoping tenders for design services.
• Coaching for design thinking:
  • [Doing] Training for organisations.
  • [New] 1-on-1 coaching for folks in design industry.
• Web design &/or development:
  • [Doing] Sweet Jam Sites (but wanted to shut it down previously).
  • [New] Create niche websites - listing directories, Carrd sites
  • [Doing] Building tech for good apps by applying for grants.
  • [New] Build micro-SaaS as consulting?
  • [New] Software consulting by building Carrd plugins?
• Copywriting & social media marketing:
  • [New] Fiverr or Upwork writing gigs
  • [New] Write technical or niche blog posts for creator/indie hacker/web dev/keto/sleep biohacking industry
  • [New] Ghost-writing tweets or content?
  • [New] Write social media content for technical or niche blog posts for creator/indie hacker/web dev/keto/sleep biohacking industry

3. Who I can reach out to:

• Design thinking, design research:
  • Contacts in government and non-profits.
  • Post on LinkedIn and Twitter about needing projects.
  • Cold message contacts to ask if they have gigs.
  • Market new offerings on social media.
• Coaching for design thinking:
  • Cold outreach to organisations about design thinking coaching and training offerings.
  • Post about 1-on-1 coaching for folks in design industry.
• Web design &/or development:
  • Tweet about offer to create niche websites - listing directories, Carrd sites.
  • Apply for new grants to build tech for good apps.
  • Tweet about my new offering to build micro-SaaS as consulting
  • Email to existing customers about software consulting by building Carrd plugins?
• Copywriting & social media marketing:
  • Check out Fiverr or Upwork for writing gigs
  • Cold outreach about writing technical or niche blog posts for creator/indie hacker/web dev/keto/sleep biohacking industry

4. Of all the ideas, I just need to get say 5 clients at $199 each. 5 does feel possible! Or:

• 1 client × $1000
• 2 clients × $500
• 4 clients × $250
• 5 clients × $199
• 10 clients × $99
• 20 clients × $50
• 50 clients × $20
• 100 clients × $10

So what else can I look into that I can offer?