234. Talents, Passion, and Poison Ivy: From Experience to Entrepreneurship

Laura Zavelson, GenX, is a corporate finance escapee, turned serial entrepreneur, former professor of entrepreneurship, and fairy godmother for new business ideas. She helps GenXers who are laid-off, pissed-off, pushed-out or burned-out capitalize on their expertise and experience to build a business as a coach, consultant or independent expert. She draws on 25+ years of experience to deliver client getting and business building strategies that are both proven and practical. Her videos, articles, and programs are designed to be easy-to-follow roadmaps to financial stability, flexibility and freedom so her clients NEVER, EVER have to be out there looking for a job again. Here are the topics we covered: 0:00 Introduction 3:22 Escape Plan 4:25 Focus Area 7:11 Problem Statements 8:35 Poison Ivy 15:44 Research 17:48 Success Squad Memorable Quotes “Most people start marketing too early. They find an idea and fall in love with it…the problem is you can’t start a business with just a good idea. The best practice is to find a problem and fall in love with that rather than the idea.” “The best way for someone to buy from you is to solve a problem they already have and preferably to solve a problem that matters to them.” “If you’re at grand zero and have a lot of problems your business could solve, pick the itchiest one to solve. A lot of business owners solve problems that people can let wait.” “Reaching people through social media is difficult because it’s so fragmented.” Here are the 3 Takeaways:One of the best pivots you can make mid-career is to become a coach or consultant. The GenX Escape Plan is a 3-step roadmap that gives you a process so you can start exploring that option. The process will work for anyone. It’s about validating your ideas before you go out and start a new business. The first thing to do is to find your focus area which is a person plus a problem because people buy things to solve problems. Just announcing a service or product may not be compelling enough for someone to buy.  It’s likely when you go to find your target audience that they have a lot of problems. You want to pick the problem for your business to address that they think of all the time and they can’t wait to get rid of. If you put a solution in front of them for the “itchiest” problem, they will want to get rid of it – it’s like poison ivy! That can be the fastest path to revenue.  As Mentioned: Her podcast: The GenXpert Show - https://www.youtube.com/@laurazavelson101/featured Additional Resources: The GenX Escape Plan - https://programs.laurazavelson.com/the-genx-escape-plan Ways to contact with Laura: Website: LauraZavelson.com   https://laurazavelson.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurazavelson/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurazavelson Ways to reach Yo: eMail  yo@yocanny.com  Website: https://girltaketheleadpod.com Online Store: https://girltaketheleadpod.com/shop   Public FB group: Girl, Take the Lead! https://www.facebook.com/groups/272025931481748/?ref=share   IG: https://www.instagram.com/yocanny LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yocanny/ Pinterest: yo@yocanny.com YouTube: @girltakethelead