Ways to participate in the 7 Day Startup Challenge that don’t involve starting a new business

By dan - On

At the start of the year I launched the concept of the 7 Day Startup Challenge. The aim of the Challenge was to deliver a free online 7 day program to help people launch their entrepreneurial project. Since then the 7 Day Startup Challenge has seen a bunch of small businesses and projects come to life.

Challenge number 3 is just around the corner (commencing on 12 July) so it’s time to start thinking about turning that next idea into reality. Click here to sign up.

But wait, I don’t want to start a new business, I hear you say? Well the 7 Day Startup Challenge can be used for any project or goal. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking.

Launch a business project

 

If you already have an established business and want to take it to the next level, consider what you need to do to improve it and use the Challenge to implement your chosen project.

The Merrymaker Sisters used the challenge to launch a new podcast, #MerryBiz. They launched during the challenge week and used the group for inspiration and accountability. The podcast rocketed to the New & Noteworthy section and has featured guests like Mark Sisson, Frank Body, Jadah Sellner, Darren Rowse & Peter Shankman and has been downloaded over 30,000 times.

Related: Merrybiz Episode 2 – How to get shit done with Dan Norris

Grow your social media following

Why not set yourself a goal to grow your following on a new social network? A few people have used the challenge this way and used the Facebook group to get advice and accountability from members.

If you want to use it to get started on Snapchat, I recently wrote an article How I’m doubling my Snapchat followers in one week by using the 70:30 rule.

Or check out my post on my predictions on social media networks, including some emerging networks.

Write 7 blog posts

It goes without saying that I’m a big advocate for writing shitloads of quality content to grow your business, but I had to work at it to make it happen. In a recent article I discussed how I went from creating one piece of content per week to delivering 50 pieces per day. If this sounds a bit daunting your writing challenge may be more modest – perhaps along the lines of writing 1 post every day of the challenge.

A bunch of 7 Day Startup members recently completed a writing challenge in May to help get a bit of accountability and punch out more content. Why not organize a group of people and do it during the Challenge week of 12 July?

Implement new online business tools

 

Maybe you’ve been eying off some software to roll out in your business like Drip or Leadpages. If you’ve been putting it off, the challenge could be a good excuse to make it happen.

Again I’ve written about this topic before, check that post out if you want to use the challenge to implement some new software.

Self development opportunities

Identifying and acting on opportunities for personal growth is another area where the Challenge could help you. Maybe you’d like to be a better listener or a more assertive communicator? If you’re a bit of an introvert perhaps you’d like to learn to network more effectively? I wrote about that one recently too.

For most people it will be a combination of a few things that they’d like to be better at. Identifying your own personal growth areas and making these the focus of your Challenge can help you be a more well-rounded and successful person in all aspects of your life.

Write a book

Writing a book is a challenge that is near to my heart. Having written 2 books already (with 2 more on the way), I know first hand how overwhelming it can seem to get it done. I also know that with the correct framework and disciplines in place, becoming a published author is certainly achievable if you really want to do it.

Most of the words for my first 2 books were written in short bursts, The 7 Day Startup took me about 2 weeks to write the first draft. I think you could definitely write the first draft for a book in 7 days, and if you did so you’d be a decent chance of winning the challenge!

Learn a new skill

Think of ways of improving your business skill set. For example you may wish to tap into the power of visual media to create epic videos, or have the skill to take high-quality photographs to support your business. Coming up with the best way of achieving such an aim is another potential Challenge topic.

I recently posted in the Facebook open group about what projects people wish they had completed and hadn’t and a lot of them were based around learning some sort of skill.

Launch a new business

 

Yes you can still use the challenge to launch a business!

There are plenty of examples of businesses that have launched using the challenge. Zenify Me, a provider of managed live chat services was the winner of the first challenge. They launched in 7 days and had staff and paid customers the following week. And there are businesses launching via the Facebook group every week. If you’ve thought about launching something, the time is now!

Related: The Results & Winners of the first 7 Day Startup Challenge

How the 7 Day Startup Challenge can work for you

 

So how can 7 Day Startup Challenge help you to ‘get shit done’? From 12 July we’ll work online together for 7 days to launch your business, project or challenge. I’ll do a Facebook live call each morning and we will all be active in the Facebook group helping each other out.

As I like to say, you don’t learn until you launch, so I encourage you to let go of your fears and jump in and give it a red hot crack! Life is short, what have you got to lose?

My mission is to inspire one million entrepreneurial projects. Here’s your free ticket, so come take the ride.

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