You can start a 6-figures business with just one free tool

Hey,

This is Pat, founder of Starter Story — I wanted to give a warm welcome to the 780 people who joined us since our last newsletter. To anyone reading this, your support means a lot! I hope you enjoy reading our content as much as we enjoy creating it.

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And now, let's dive in:

You can start a 6-figures business with just one free tool

Two of the most common objections people mention to not starting a business are (1) not having enough money and (2) a lack of technical knowledge. 

With this approach, you can’t stop worrying about both of them.

Entrepreneurs are creative people by nature. Finding solutions to unexpected problems that seem unsolvable to other people is a daily routine.

And this also applies to the early days of launching a business. When the resources are minimal, and there’s a lot to figure out.

To help out those in the early days, I wanted to share a small playbook to start a business with literally $0 and using mainly the most popular tool in the world: email.

Say hello to the ultra-minimum viable product. 

A bit too wordy, sorry.

Even though it’s hardly suited for all types of businesses, there are definitely a ton of ideas that you can get started with it.

What tools are we really going to need?

Essentially a free email account. 

Sometimes, complemented with a spreadsheet, pdf files, or a calendar. Depending on your business. But they all will be free. 

Is it really necessary to make it that minimal? 

Nope, but it’s the easiest, quickest, and cheapest way to test if a business idea has demand.

What types of businesses can be started like this, and how?

I figured you already wanted to know this.

Let’s see:

#1. Sell stuff

It can be e-commerce (your brand or reselling), or a marketplace.

I have purchased fresh seafood by replying to an email with an attached spreadsheet, so believe me when I say this can be done.

 How to get started?

Build a list: Spam your friends, colleagues, and network like there’s no tomorrow. Be friendly, share what you’re working on, encourage them to share feedback, and ask for referrals.

Grow it: Just add people to a spreadsheet or an email list. 

Sell: Attach a pdf with your catalog. Include all the information a website would, and make it super clear how to order.

Take orders: Use P2P tools like Cash App, Paypal, Venmo, Bizum, or whatever people use in your country to send money to others.

Get inspired by others who started with the bare minimum resources:

👉 Organizing group buys on forums turned into a $5K/month side hustle 

👉 These brothers started a $2.4M/year business from their bedroom with a phone and a fax machine

👉 A Facebook page and $35 in ads is all this couple needed to make $100K in one week

#2. Sell services

A perfect way to start a side hustle or an agency business and test the waters to find out what customers are really willing to pay for.

How to get started?

Cold email: As before, friends, colleagues, network, and target customers on LinkedIn and Twitter. Some people even scan Youtube comments to get leads, awesome idea.

What to say: Create a (not too long!) custom message describing your experience, and how you think you can help them specifically.

Sell: You can use Calendly or something similar to book calls and Trello to organize your work with the client.

Hack: Sell other people’s services. Master the art of getting customers and find others to do the work.

Get inspired by others who started with the bare minimum resources:

👉 A basic SurveyMonkey form was the origin of this $35K/month service for Airbnb owners 

👉 This business generates $16K/month connecting developers with IT gigs

👉 To start his $200K/month community, this founder sent over 3,000 personalized emails 

#3. Sell content

This doesn’t have to be necessarily a newsletter.

You can start a weekly email sharing flight deals, the best discount coupons, or content you’ve enjoyed. And monetize them using affiliate links when possible. 

I have friends that do this, recommending music, movies, and even organizing super complex tournaments to guess the results of the World Cup. All they do is ask you to use their link if you buy a vinyl album, register to a website, or pay a small fee to participate in the tournament.

There are loads of platforms to get fancy with this. But you can get started with your personal Gmail account; it feels more personal, and people will connect more with you.

How to get started?

Blast: Just send a message to everyone you know and ask them to reply “I’m in!” if they want to get the emails. 

What to write about: Channel your passion and hobbies. Take advantage of what you already do and write about it. Watch a ton of Netflix standup specials? Recommend your favorites. Do you think money can't be made with that? You're wrong.

Make money: Generate revenue with affiliate links (easier way), sponsorships, or ads (writing about local food? Sell a sponsorship to a restaurant!). 

 Get inspired by others who started with the bare minimum resources:

👉 A one-paragraph email was the first step of this $3M newsletter with financial advice

👉 This guy makes $4K/mo writing about his favorite football team

👉 These founders started a $100K/month biz hunting travel discounts 

Additional suggestions 

You’re going to type a lot. Leverage Gmail templates and consider taking advantage of ChatGPT to create your first drafts. 

Get fancy: Most email marketing tools will allow you to build a landing page to get new subscribers and use their email platform for free until you reach a certain number of subscribers.

Ready to get started? Reply to this email and let me know what you're working on! I'd love to check it and receive your emails.

Want to discover how hundreds of people started a business with almost zero resources?

Get full access to our database with 4,000+ real-life case studies and 8,000+ business ideas.

Discover how founders:

a) Come up with money-making business ideas

b) Launch their businesses with $0, $20 or $100 (literally)

c) Get their first customers, and what strategies they use to generate cash as quickly as possible

And find out exactly how founders went from idea to thousands of customers.

You can learn all the systems and strategies to build a successful business, so why not learn them from others who have already done it?

👉 Unlock full access now and launch your dream business.

Quick hitters

This founder turned his hobby into a $540K/year business. Making a living out of a hobby is something that many dream of. I love featuring stories like this; I feel like they have something extra that comes from that passion.

This guy bought a business for $2,5K and grew it to $100K/year. For some, coming up with a business idea is everything. But spotting a good business with the potential to grow is a huge skill.

This guy quit his job, learned a new skill, and started a $4K/month business. All in 6 months. At his job he was very well paid... but he still felt that something was missing. With his new gig, he couldn’t be more excited.