This document outlines steps for quitting your day job to start your own business. It discusses dreaming about your business idea, addressing common lies entrepreneurs believe, proving your concept works before launching, and continually learning and pivoting your business model after launching. The agenda includes defining dreams, discussing prerequisites like expertise and intellectual property, proving concepts with tests, and checklists for launching and pivoting a business through learning from customers.

2. Quitting Your Day Job
For Your Day Dream:
Navigating Your Way
From Dream To Real
Business
Dan Duncan
@dandunc
@dandunc

3. WHO AM I

4. WHY AM I HERE

5. WHO ARE YOU?

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Today’s agenda
1.
Dream
What is Dream and Why
Dream It
2.
Lies &
Prerequisites
Before we begin…
3.
Proof Before The Jump
“Make your dream
make you quit your job”
4.
Launch Loop:
Launch + Pivot

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LETS DREAM:
5 min and $10,000 how would you
start your business?

8. What is Dream and Why Dream It

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Ask The 9 Year old version of yourself:
Before money, family, or parental peer pressure
gets/got in the way what did you want to do/be/
become?

10. How To Start Off Wrong
(3 Lies Most Entrepreneurs Buy Into)

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You don’t have to be successful right away
(Be patient and don’t fake it)

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Scarcity Mentality
(Good opportunities don’t mean you have to say yes. Be fiercely
committed to your why!)

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Fear of Failing
(90% of funded startups fail)

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If you don’t start off right, you probably will
never grow your business…but you have to
start.
Take Away: Entrepreneurs launch they don’t
tinker….

15. 3 Prerequisites before you jump…

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Expertise
10,000 Hours will save you 100,000
(3 Steps to gain expertise)

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Expertise
1. Intern/Take a job in that vertical
2. Recruit someone who does
3. Launch small and learn on the job

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IP
If you can’t own anything…then you
won’t own anything
(CBD Le Lush)

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Buy In
Do you know what game you are
playing?

20. Prove it…before you Jump

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MXD CASE STUDY
MXD CASE STUDY

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Proof of concept:
Prove that people want what you are selling. Blind test, street
interviews, & lean launches. #Zappos

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Get A Stranger To Believe:
Can you get strangers to buy in? Can you get a small seed
investor? Do you need a co-founder? Can you find one?
(Platforms/Questionnaire)(pull all into a check list)

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Don’t Buy Into Your Own Hype…
Make your business show you.

25. Launch Loop: Launch, Learn,
Pivot

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Launch…For The Love Of God

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Launch Check List
1. A product and/or service people want (see proof of concept)
2. A brand people can believe in
3. A meaningful paid and organic marketing/social/PR strategy #Influencers
4. A Hypothesis of what will happen when you launch
5. Go Live

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Pivot Check List
Don’t try to climb the mountain in one leap
What did you find out? Wrong? Better?
(How are you getting business insights?)

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Case Study: Yemisi Awosan, Egunsifoods
One step at a time

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ACTIVITY: The Danny Meyer Challenge

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The 200 Rule:
Why I have decided to say no to projects….

32. THANK YOU

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SELF MADE ATLANTA NIGHT SCHOOL
SELF MADE ATLANTA NIGHT SCHOOL
SELF MADE ATLANTA NIGHT SCHOOL