What an interesting road to be navigating as we both transition into full time entrepreneurs. Seriously, I don’t know if I ever saw this coming but I can tell you that where we are headed excites me for so many reasons. If I’ve ever been sure of anything in my life, it’s that we are the kind of people to hit the ground running and to make big things happen. What excites me even more is that we can now do it together, we can travel more together, take midweek lunch breaks together, and get back to northern Minnesota more often. I don’t think it’s really sunk in just how entirely different life is going to be with both of us working from home, chasing our dreams in our own lanes (but together!) Huh, what a concept.

I wanted to share the ways we prepared for this gigantic leap for Drew! It took us about a full year from conception to making it a reality and there are still a few unknowns left for us to discover along the way. The good news is, this isn’t our first rodeo. Just five years ago I put in my notice at my salaried, corporate job to go for it so while this territory feels new again, it’s not anything we haven’t tackled before. So what the heck did we do to prepare for this change? Let me tell you!

1.) Lay the foundation:

We first had to get really serious about what Drew’s business would be, what his dreams were, what his vision was and how all of that could generate a profit. It’s important to get super specific and lay down what a business would look like. Where would your income come from? How many jobs/clients/downloads would you need to match your salary? How will you be serving the world? What does it all look like?

It took us months to even just dream about what The Kutcher Method would be and how it would function and how we could serve others using Drew’s knowledge and passion. While we dreamt about it for the first time in February, it wasn’t until June that we even started taking steps towards this vision. Wanting to make a leap? Think about your mission, your gifts, how you like to show up in the world, and how all of that can help pay the bills.

2.) Start growing a following and email list:

Long before we had even conceptualized an actual business plan, we started two very important things: an Instagram account (@kickingitwithkutch) and an email list. Our first priority was to grow the following on the platforms we know best. Instagram to build the trust and personality of the business and more importantly, an email list where we could serve the clientele and eventually sell to them.

What did we do? We created two freebies for the email list: a free grocery shopping list/food plan and a weeks worth of at home workouts. Both of these were free downloads and grew Drew’s email list quickly. We set goals for subscribers and dreamt up new ways we could foster a true community before the time came to launch and offer services/products. Thinking you might eventually want to start a business? Start growing your email list and following TODAY. That way, when the time does come to launch, you have people who are already at the edge of their seats ready to cheer you on!

3.) Hire the professionals:

Starting a business requires an investment. I can proudly say that every single business I’ve ever started did not require me going into debt to fund. I have never spent a penny I didn’t have on my business, I’ve always saved and invested where I knew I would get the biggest bang for my buck. Our budget for Drew’s start up was about $5,000! We hired the professionals we knew would make the biggest impact: an accountant to help us legally set up his business, a web designer to help create a brand identity and a beautiful space on the web, a copy writer to make sure our messaging was super clear, and a graphic designer to help us put together the deliverables!

This time around, it was a little different than when I had started my business on a shoestring budget. We were able to invest in the places that would help us hit the ground running. While I didn’t have the leisure to hire all of these professionals when I started, I’ve learned that this is where your money should be going in order to kick start with big impact and results. We wanted Drew to have a space he was proud of, we wanted to have products that would give real results, we wanted to have words that would resonate with the right people, and we wanted to make sure everything was legally sound and ready to rock!

Starting a business isn’t easy:

We did a lot of work behind the scenes, a lot of brainstorming, emailing, communicating, and dreaming. It took us one year to make this vision a reality and we’re sure things will morph as Drew grows his new business but we are so excited for this new journey and the impact it will have on our lives and flexibility. What a beautiful world we live in where we can chase our dreams together, side by side, and impact as many lives as we possible can muster! We can’t wait to share more about The Kutcher Method in the upcoming months and friends, if you’re still in that dreaming stage, start following these steps and get things happening so that you can turn your gifts into a real gig!

What’s the #1 gap for you in starting a business?

Check out Drew’s new website: The Kutcher Method