How To Start A Business With No Money (Step By Step)

No money but want to start a business? Watch this...
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When you're starting a business with no brand, no money, and no leads, it can be overwhelming. It's like pushing a heavy stone wheel that barely budges. To get momentum, you need a gritty, hands-on approach that most entrepreneurs avoid. Here's a breakdown of how to build an audience and generate leads from scratch without spending a fortune.
Paid advertising can be tempting, but it's not the best starting point. If you haven't refined your message or product, paid ads can quickly drain your budget without results. Instead, focus on manual, targeted efforts to find your audience and test your messaging.
Three key elements form the backbone of this approach:
1. Call to Action (CTA): Give people a clear action to take. This could be a waiting list, a scorecard, an event registration, or a discussion group. Just like a party invitation, you need to provide a reason and a way for people to engage.
2. Signature Content: Create a piece of content that explains your business's core thesis. It should include the problem you solve, your unique solution, and proof of success through case studies or research. This becomes the anchor for your outreach efforts.
3. Cold Outreach: This is where you reach out to people manually through direct messages or emails. It might feel uncomfortable, but it's crucial to build relationships and get feedback on your signature content and CTA. Cold outreach should focus on sharing what you've accomplished and inviting people to engage with your CTA.
For cold outreach, you need to target the right people. Look for those who follow relevant Instagram accounts, use specific hashtags, or have job titles that fit your ideal customer profile. Start by sending 3,000 direct messages, introducing your business, and inviting people to check out your signature content and CTA.
Even successful entrepreneurs who have made billions still get hands-on with their customers. They understand that the best way to learn what works is to engage directly with people. So, roll up your sleeves, send those messages, and don't be afraid to get your hands dirty.
This approach might seem tough, but it's what separates successful entrepreneurs from the rest. If you're starting with no budget, this is the strategy to get the wheels in motion. Remember, entrepreneurship isn't about taking shortcuts; it's about doing the hard work to build something valuable.
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[@Startyourownbusinessacademy]

Hi Key Person of Influence, What I gathered from your video is that there are no shortcuts when it comes to the fundamentals of running a business. I appreciate the emphasis on the Direct Mail process as a means to reach new clients. When combined with the promotion of signature content, this approach provides startups with a robust process for launching a business. I would like to add that anyone starting a business should ensure it aligns with their gifts, talents, skills, and experience. This alignment can help guarantee the resilience needed to weather the inevitable challenges. Thanks so much for creating this video!

[@EcomCarl]

Spot-on advice about the importance of refined messaging before launching paid campaigns! Building authentic relationships through cold outreach can indeed set a solid foundation for sustainable business growth. 👍

[@drr7027]

Super helpful thank you. Just building my health coaching business. Working on my signature content. Designed a waiting list landing page. Trying to slowly build social media presence. Thinking about webinar content. If my niche doesn’t pan out, I can easily pivot the content to another health coaching niche. The thought of cold outreach gives me the shivers 😂. Time to put my big girl pants on.

[@HOPDrRaj]

Good luck, I’m doing a lot of the same for my new B2B startup in the psychedelic-assisted therapy space!

[@HOPDrRaj]

Look at it like you’re just letting people know about you, and you’re providing them value, not selling.

[@michelleytalbert]

I just got my book! Key Person of Influence. Looking forward to applying principles.

[@Mandiology]

Don’t outsource!! - great piece of advice

[@ammar-akram]

hahaha the plane and filling up the fuel tank ... i just love the examples and analogies you come up with

[@leadgenjay]

Very important video

[@EmmaCartmell-hp9th]

Great video Dan - love how specific you are with the formula and the actual wording of the DMs! (PS - It's like you read my mind....can I outsource this? Message received and understood lol!!)

[@haskellcameron]

Incredible video! Priestley is a legend 💯

[@andymckechnie9861]

Really informative email here. Thank you very much. I've made a heap of notes and feel for the first time I have real clarify on how to start building my business. Practical no BS coaching. So refreshing!

[@recordingforbusiness]

nice one really handy advice thanks

[@Forbidden.fitness]

Let's goo Dan, loving the content 💥💪

[@fernandocasella5503]

Thank you! Great advice and very valuable information. As always.

[@yeahweburnstuff]

Good morning from sunny London! Thanks Dan, this is straight to the point and actionable. You do practice what you preach, and that is rare. 🙏🙏🙏

[@israelporras8306]

great content, my business is based on the experiences you share here. Thanks

[@KeyPersonOfInfluence]

Thanks for watching!

[@LynnErasmus-vj8bd]

Brilliant content thank you!

[@seennosun2522]

Loving this, and enjoying your book right now. Hopefully I'll meet you to tell my story

[@MichaelWilliams-lo3ix]

Awesome

[@Jo-AnnaMorris]

Thanks Dan! Fabulous guide 😊

[@danielholbourn1708]

Thanks Dan 👊

[@veselin.kostov]

A tip for the cold outreach🥶 - try to make it "hotter" 🥵 Make sure that on top of personalization, you also add free value for the person on the other side. It might take longer, but it will increase conversion rate!

[@tharrison7832]

I think your advice is really sound.

[@Joey.Hidalgo]

Love it, very concise Dan!

[@KeyPersonOfInfluence]

Much appreciated!

[@the_monicabaker]

Any tips on not getting flagged for spam while you do the 3,000 cold outreach? Keeping it to certain numbers a day? Also, best ways to get this list of people to reach out to?

[@heydaviduribe]

Thanks for the honest answer, Daniel. Now give me the easy answer where I just show up and people give me money.

[@demorivida-3501]

Awesome vid, and perfect for where I'm at. Thanks Daniel 🙏🏼

[@KeyPersonOfInfluence]

Great to hear!

[@freebeing88]

What is an example of a signature piece of content and how do you structure it?

[@JilianToree]

@4:47 he says “a signature piece of content that you can read about” along with the DM script. Most likely a “free guide”

[@ZumJm]

Amazing! Can this approach work for those doing ecommerce?

[@jaesonsmith2211]

What would be the best type of “signature content”? Would it be a Masterclass?

[@JilianToree]

@4:47 he says “a signature piece of content that you can read about” along with the DM script

[@CaribbeanEmbassyUKTV]

Summary - Step 1. Prepare Assets [Call to Action + Signature Content] - Step 2. Prepare a list of targetted audience - Step 3. Send personalized direct messages to audience + include signature content + call to action TimeStamps 1:57 - 1. Call to Action [Waiting List / Scorecard / Event / Discussion Group / Registration of Interest Forms] 2:42 - 2. Signature Content [Problem / Solution / Background / Proof / Traction / Academic Research / Case Studies ] 3:13 - 3. Cold Outreach 3:50 - Cold Outreach > Signature Content > Call to Action 3:54 - Audience Targeting 4:15 - Promoting Past Achievements + Call to Action 5:31 - Send 3,000 DMs Quick Maths 3,000 Cold Outreach - 20% of the audience move to the next step 600 Signature Content - 20% of the audience move to the next step 120 Call to Action - 20% of the audience move to the next step 24 Clients

[@theexportstudio]

Thank you

[@CaribbeanEmbassyUKTV]

@@theexportstudio no, thank you for appreciating the effort!

[@arylleyoung]

Simple enough. Time to take action

[@nicomoloi936]

Nice - however the math is over optimistic. Daniel convertion rate is 0.6%, from 3000 dm's out of 150 people who booked for the event only 75 people showed up, finally only 15 to 20 people bought his solution. * Those are real numbers - his using the numbers and messaging to create paid ads campaign. Almost no failure strategy PS: timeline 05:00 outreach message template

[@CaribbeanEmbassyUKTV]

@@nicomoloi936 greatly appreciated. Where did you get those conversion rates from? Would be good to have a look

[@acfitweightloss]

Hey, in the future can you do a break down of cold outreach messaging... It confuses me, are you doing it from your own personal socials/ email, I've heard people getting banned etc... would be great to hear how to do it properly

[@figurehorizon520]

❤

[@rochellemyles3045]

Awesome advice, thank you! How long did the 3000 DMs take you?

[@DanielPriestley]

2 weeks

[@laurarobinson5996]

Would you suggest testing the email messaging from the off?

[@JilianToree]

He’s saying send a DM not email

[@JodiClarke]

Cold DMs are the worst! And they don’t work for B2C.

[@DanielPriestley]

Tell me more about your exact experience. I know two b2c companies that grew to $20M+ revenue with cold outreach as a cornerstone strategy. ... And yes you are right, it's the worst!

[@JodiClarke]

@@DanielPriestley I highly doubt they made their fortune just from cold DM. Product or service? cold DM’s are considered spam Only people who cold DM as a strategy like them. No one likes to get them. No one. I’ve asked. LinkedIn is one big DM factory (I’ve not read one DM there, every time I log in there are hundreds of them, it’s a waste of time and energy). DMs are mostly spam or scams so the mindset is your message is too. And if you are a weight loss clinic how would you go about cold DM people?! its not something People would like to receive a message about, we have to be ethical and I worry it could be triggering for some.

[@JilianToree]

@@DanielPriestleyon what app? People on instagram have gotten hip

[@dancoman8]

Why not do inbound instead of outbound?

[@DanielPriestley]

Too slow and too expensive for unfunded startups.

[@careercanvas.jb9]

Hello 👋 pls reply