The Weekly Compass is a curated weekly newsletter for aspiring entrepreneurs that brings you the best tips, resources, and lessons learned from around the web to help you launch and grow your business.
Starting your business
David Heinemeier Hansson, the founder of Basecamp (and other things) gives a short yet impactful argument for why “Small is not just a stepping stone. Small is a great destination in itself.” Not everything needs to turn into a huge $1B company, and that mindset often prevents great businesses from getting started in the first place. Small is not a stepping stone.
There’s no perfect formula for coming up with a business idea, but Yury Lifshits outlines 11 of the most common ways entrepreneurs come up with ideas. Hint: “Product vision” isn’t one of them, but “Traveling” is. How to Find New Business Opportunities
Growing your business
Blogging for the sake of blogging is a waste of time. Ramin Assemi from Close.io breaks down how to blog in a way that turns readers into customers. Any content from Close.io all comes down to one thing–sales. 5 steps to turn your blog readers into loyal customers.
Looking to improve with Email Marketing? Get some insight into what it looks like to run a revenue generating email marketing machine in this Mike Nelson’s interview with Teespring’s Alli Shea. From A/B tests to re-engagement emails Alli gives a glimpse into some of the little things that take email marketing from 80% to 100%. Lessons learned from Teespring’s Email Specialist.
Useful tools
THIS WEEK: CALCULATORS
How much can you afford to spend on marketing? Qwilr’s ad spend calculator helps you find out (disclaimer: this works better for businesses that charge monthly recurring subscriptions).
Are you a solopreneur that supports yourself with your own business? Harpoon’s Yearly Revenue Goal Calculator helps you calculate how much revenue you need to make in a year to support both your personal life and the business itself.