What to Sell When You’re Starting a Business (Even If You Have No Idea Yet)
I started my first business with a potato.
The idea was simple… I would carve every letter of the alphabet into potatoes, dip them into a stamp pad, and stamp one letter at a time onto paper until I had a full newspaper.
Then I’d sell it for 25 cents in my little town.
The plan was to launch a tiny newspaper empire and become the next Rockefeller. (Never mind that Rockefeller wasn’t even in newspapers, it made sense in my eight-year-old head.)
I got through one letter – a T – before slicing the bottom off by accident and calling it quits.
That potato press didn’t make me rich, but it gave me my first taste of entrepreneurship.
And here’s what it taught me: most people think the problem is the idea. The real problem is that they never stop to ask who they want to become.
This is where your business starts. Not with the product. Not with the service. With you.
Step 1: Identity First: Start With the End in Mind
Why your Future Self decides your business idea
Before you even think about what to sell, start with the end in mind.
Picture your Future Self, the version of you who already runs a successful business, who has clients, freedom, options. What does their life look like? How do they spend their mornings? What do they say yes to, and what do they refuse to tolerate?
Questions to ask your Future Self before you choose what to sell
Ask:
- What would feel deeply right for me to sell or create?
- What would feel beneath my standards?
- How does Future Me spend a Tuesday?
- What three values drive every decision in my business?
A client of mine once came to me stuck in the “I don’t know what to sell” loop. I had her write a one-page description of her Future Self. Who she was, what she wore, how she spent her days, how she felt when she opened her bank app. From there, we traced backward to the skills she already had that could get her there. She built a service-based business, scaled it step by step, and today she runs a million-dollar company that looks almost identical to the life she imagined.
That’s why identity comes first. Once you know where you’re going, the rest is just logistics.
Step 2: Skills vs. Passions: What Pays for Your Dream Life
Why monetizing passion first is a trap
People love to say “follow your passion.” That little sentence has broken hearts and bank accounts.
You can love hiking, burrata, and moody playlists. That does not make them a business model.
My rule is simple.
Monetize what you are good at so it pays for the life where you get to live your passions.
When your business funds your life, you stop resenting the work and you stop strangling your art.
Real examples of skills funding passions
Story time….
A stylist I know paints stunning abstracts on weekends. When we met, they were ready to throw away the scissors and become a full-time artist with zero runway. Instead, we flipped it.
They built a premium chair experience, raised prices, started a quarterly studio day funded by their styling income, and within a year their paintings were selling because there was no desperation attached.
Skills paid for passion, not the other way around.
An accountant obsessed with wellness asked me if they should start a supplement line.
My immediate answer? No.
Instead, they launched a boutique bookkeeping service for coaches and creators, filled a client list quickly, then started a wellness podcast that grew because they weren’t broke and frantic.
Their skills created stability while they enjoyed their passion on the side.
Step 3: Best Products and Services to Sell When Starting a Business
The most important thing to remember here is this… You are not choosing a forever spouse. You are choosing a first vehicle. Pick a lane that matches your current strengths.
Coaching and consulting
If people come to you for clarity, package conversations. Start with a 60-minute clarity session, then a four-session starter package.
Want to be certified as a coach?
Get information being a Certified Transformational Nutrition Coach here.
Get information on being a Certified Identity-Based Life Coach here.
Online courses and digital products
If you keep repeating the same advice, record it.
A short workshop beats a bloated course you never finish. Screen record, add a worksheet, and sell it while you sleep.
My first digital offers were simple trainings that answered one painful question well. They funded everything else.
Podcasts and media
Content alone is not a business. Pair it with a service, offer, or product so listeners have a next step until you get your downloads high enough to take on sponsorships.
One of my clients launched a career podcast and promoted her interview coaching sessions in every episode. The show built trust, the sessions paid the bills.
She later got sponsorships from brands that were a great fit for her like Indeed.
Service businesses
Accounting, speaking, design, hairstyling, photography… these are all skills that people need and will pay for. If you can do them, you’re in a great place!
Create a clear offer page with three options: starter, standard, premium and price accordingly.
A hairstylist I advised added a VIP “event day” package and sold three in a week because it solved a specific problem for people who wanted to lean how to do their own hair at home like she did in the salon. She had a great time and they walked away feeling capable and looking forward to the next!
Physical products
When it comes to physical products, you can sell everything from jewelry and candles to apparel and skincare.
Start small and lean. One hero product with a story beats twelve random SKUs plus, it will fund your other products without you taking on investors or going in debt.
A founder I know launched a single travel case for makeup brushes that solved a real pain. The product shot was clean, the copy was simple, the checkout worked. That was enough to get traction.
You are looking for the intersection of skill, demand, and a story that feels honest in your mouth.
Step 4: How to Tell If Your Business Idea Is Viable
Five tests for a viable business idea
Let me be clear… you do not need a 40-page business plan to start a business. I have made over $100 million in sales across multiple businesses and 20 years and not one time have I ever put together a business plan.
Instead, you need five things that will tell you if people care and will pay for what you have to offer:
- There is a specific person. If your customer is “everyone,” there is no customer. Name them, how they spend their day, what annoys them.
- People already buy something like it. Competition is proof, not a threat. Look at who serves them and note what they miss. Find the gap and see if you want to fill it.
- You can make it different, better, or simpler. Faster results, cleaner process, kinder experience, clearer promise.
- A stranger says yes. Not your mom. Not your best friend. A real person hands you money.
- Your Future Self is proud to put their name on it. If you cringe when you imagine selling it at scale, pause.
Quick stories that prove validation works
Here are a few examples to get you thinking…
An organizer posted two closet transformations with a single caption: “I help busy founders get their mornings back, one closet at a time.” She offered three paid beta spots at a starter rate. They sold in two days. This was her proof this would work.
A copywriter wrote five micro case studies on LinkedIn, each with before and after snapshots and a “two audit spots open” CTA. Both sold by the next morning. Again, proof it would work.
A candle maker ran a 24-hour preorder of one scent and capped it at 50. She sold 38. Not a hundred, not zero. A viable signal with room to improve. Again, proof it would work AND that some things needed to be improved. Overall a win/win!
Keep repeating the test until you collect those five things. If it fails, that is data. Tweak the who, the offer, or the promise, then test again this weekend.
Step 5: The Daily Meeting That Changes Everything
How to run a daily Future Self meeting
This part will make or break you and it’s something I do every single day, no matter what.
Your idea matters, your marketing matters, but nothing competes with the way you show up.
I meet with my Future Self every single morning. Yes, literally. A fifteen-minute check-in that keeps me honest.
Here is how it works.
Sit down, breathe, and ask the version of you who already built the business you want three simple questions:
- What would you do first today if you already had the results you want?
- What would you stop tolerating today?
- What tiny promise will we keep before noon to prove we are serious?
Examples of Future Self advice in action
Now follow orders. That is the whole game. You are learning to take advice from the identity you are becoming instead of the identity that created your current results.
When I was underpricing, Future Me said, raise the rate and write the email. I wanted to wait until next month. She said, do it now. I did. The first client said yes without blinking and I realized I had been the only one arguing for less money.
When I kept saying I had no time to build an offer, Future Me told me to remove Instagram from my phone for a week and reclaim two hours a day. I sulked, then I did it. The offer got built, which told me the truth I did not want to admit. I did not have a time problem. I had a boundaries problem.
This is the SELF Made formula: Identity → Rituals → SELF Made.
Identity is who you decide to be. Rituals are the daily routines you use to take action. SELF Made is the compound result.
- Ask your Future Self for advice and then listen.
- Dress the way they would dress for the task at hand.
- Write the post they would write, not the one that feels safe.
- Say the rate they would say, then hold the silence.
- Eat the breakfast that keeps your brain online.
- Go to bed at a time that respects tomorrow’s vision.
A thousand tiny choices will build a life that looks suspiciously like the one you keep journaling about.
A Simple Seven-Day Starter Plan
Here is a clean week that moves you from zero to selling without guesswork:
Day 1: Identity and values
Write out who your Future Self is and the life they live along with the three values that run yourSELF and your future business. Say them out loud. Set a five-minute daily Future Self meeting on your calendar.
Day 2: Choose your skill
List ten things you are good at. Circle the one with the cleanest path to paid. That is your first vehicle.
Day 3: Define the person
Write a one paragraph description of your buyer. Give them a name. Write the problem they wake up thinking about.
Day 4: Draft the offer
Create one offer. Include what they get, how long it takes, what it costs, how to pay. No vague fluff. Clear outcomes.
Day 5: Collect a receipt
Put your offer up at a fair rate. Message five people who will genuinely benefit and see what the response is.
Day 6: Deliver and learn
If anyone said yes, book it, send it, deliver the service. If no one did, adjust the promise or the person and try again with one new angle. Keep it simple and don’t overthink it. It’s not personal, it’s just business.
Day 7: Review with your Future Self
What worked, what felt heavy, what needs to change this week? Take one brave adjustment and set three promises for the next seven days.
If you want to go deeper, grab my Online Business Starter Kit.
It has the tools, checklists, and bite-size systems I wish I had when I was stamping letters with produce. Seriously, it’s the guide I wish I had. (Bonus: I recently turned it into videos too so you can watch or listen if that serves you better.
Real Examples Across Coaching, Courses, Services, And Products
Coaching example
Problem solver with a knack for decisions.
Offer a 60-minute Decision Session with a one-week follow up. Price it fairly. Share three client snapshots on your socials. Book two spots this week. Your Future Self would not overthink a logo before making money.
Course example
You have turned five DMs into the same advice this month.
Record a one-hour workshop, add a template, and sell it for a starter price. Keep the promise tight. One outcome. One hour. One step.
Service example
You are an accountant who keeps rescuing messy books.
Offer a Month One Rescue package and a clean ongoing retainer. Say the price with confidence. Buyers want relief more than they want a bargain.
Product example
You make one unforgettable candle.
Launch a 48-hour preorder with a cap. Take orders, produce, ship, learn. Your Future Self will cut the extras, polish the top notes, and improve the story on round two.
Your Next Right Move
One skill, one buyer, one offer
Pick one skill. Name one buyer. Ask one person to buy.
Meet with your Future Self tomorrow and do what they tell you.
That is how you become the person who can sell anything with confidence and a calm nervous system.
And when you are ready for help with the nuts and bolts, the Online Business Starter Kit is waiting.
Why the Online Business Starter Kit gives you the practical side
It is the practical side of this philosophy, from packaging and pricing to how to write the post that sells without feeling like a circus act.
You do not need permission or do not need to wait for clarity. You need to choose an identity and prove it with action. The rest gets easier, then obvious, then inevitable.
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