Introduction
When searching for an online business idea or direction becomes a challenge, consider Skill Stacking. Firstly, it helps you identify a business that best aligns with your innate abilities and interests. Secondly, it accelerates the process of getting started. This post is for those who want to get closer than ever to achieving their first successful online business, start making money, and arrange work around life rather than life around work. Alternatively, it’s a way to create a seed-fund business for your ultimate venture while picking up valuable skills along the way.
Content:
- What is Skill Stacking
- Why Skill Stack – Who does it Benefit
- The Best Earning Skills to Stack – Baseline Stacks
- The Skill Stack Strategy
What is Skill Stacking
Skill Stacking is a well-used concept and a strategic approach that is often used as an option to get started by beginners with their first online business. If you are in one of these groups:
- struggling to decide on the right direction to take your first online business, or
- unable to start the business you want due to lack of necessary resources; often funds or skills
Skill Stacking starts with self-reflection to identify one’s strengths, passions, and existing competencies. What are you good at? What do you enjoy most? And, what knowledge, talent, skills do you currently hold? The next step is to consider how these abilities can synergise, if at all, to enhance one’s core skill. The result can lead to the development of a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) which allows you to differentiate from others in your chosen industry. For those aiming to establish a successful online business, recognising and acquiring an additional skill in high demand can be a game-changer. This should however align with your existing skill set.
Finding Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
A USP is a distinctive feature that sets your product, service, or business apart from competitors. Your aim is to establish an unique value or benefit that makes your offer stand out in the market. Having a strong USP can attract customers and differentiate your offering from others. Combining skills that are not often paired can create this difference.
So, let’s look further into the benefits of Skill Stacking
Why Skill Stack
This is perfect when you have only a few vague ideas on what direction to begin when deciding to create your first online business. It’s also perfect for you if:
- you don’t already have the level of capital required to start the exciting, unique business you originally to planned for
- you also feel you have barriers or limitations to starting your ideal business such as technical skills or even confidence
- the shortening of the timeframe before you can start putting your skills to work to turn them into earnings
Belonging to either one of these groups often lead many would-be business beginners stalling or even failing to ever get started; it’s even true of those who delay their business as they do ‘whatever is necessary‘ to build up and save the necessary start-up funds for their desired business venture.
Rethinks Barriers: Why Limited Funds and Skills Aren’t holding you back: A common obstacle to success is the belief that you lack enough funds or skills. However, you can (1) overcome this by using the Skill Stacking strategy (2) start with an alternative low-cost business. It can help you to use your time more productively by ‘skilling up’! Create your own unique value by combining three to four skills, of which one or two are in high demand, and the others that complement these. The crucial aspect is to emphasise your core skill in your offering.
Using your spare time learning skills, you’re setting yourself on an immediate pathway to creating online earnings. Opting to form an alternative business as you save means you can start your business in the shortest of timeframes.
The Best Earning Skills to Stack
There are hundreds of directions to move in when you’re first deciding which business is best for you. Starting with one of the highest earners and most in demand makes sense but only in some situations. If you are in this group here’s a limited selection of businesses with a low entry.
Skills like:
- digital marketing
- content creation
- SEO
- social media marketing
- email marketing
…just to name a few in demand for most online business owners however, but if this list doesn’t consist of any of your current skill set, this will be the wrong place for you to start. It this very important to begin your very first business in a place that is right for you…
You can get started without being exceptionally skilled in a specific specialty!
Skill Stacking
It always begins by taking an inventory of your strengths, passions, and existing competencies. Knowing at least 25-33% more than a large portion of your intended target marketing is the baseline for starting. Stacking 3 or 4 complementary skills, with at least one of these skill meeting around 50% mastery
As previously mentioned, it’s crucial to identify what is in-demand in the online market space. Achieving this will be require some research on popular freelance platforms, or other sources more appropriate for your particular intended target audience.
Remember, the crucial aspect of skill stacking is to establish a solid foundation from which you can build. This foundation should be rooted in a talent or skill you already possess knowledge of. Additionally, when starting, you only need to know slightly more than your intended audience. Consider skills that you’d be willing to invest in, such as becoming a website designer.
Here is a demonstration of Skill Stacking for an aspiring Web Designer:
Countless successful online business owners began their journey by leveraging an innate skill. They started right where you are now. Let’s imagine our protagonist as Chris:
Chris starts with an enthusiasm of all things technical; he possesses innate analytical skills and a good attention to detail. After analysing the market with some internet searching, Chris decided to ‘stack’, or compliment, his existing skill/talent with a new skill, he is undecided on which to choose, either Graphics Design or with a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) course, so he carries out further research on each of these to establish a direction.
In this scenario, Chris already has abilities in building websites; think of a website as a shop-front window where he can display each of his relevant services. By adding Graphics Design, he plans to market his content to attract customers who are more interested in the creative arts and by opting for SEO training instead, he can also learn how to focus attracting customers interested in SEO for their website content.
Alongside his chosen courses, which are ones he could do at his own pace online, he simultaneously approaches his first potential client. This is a business owner he found online while researching which topic to focus his business on. With his currently held limited knowledge, he was better able to spot businesses that he felt could benefit from his services. By taking this approach, he is putting the knowledge he is gaining into practise straight away and will have a client prepared for his portfolio when his business is up and running.
This stage, finding and securing your first customer, is beyond the scope of this topic. Starting this process very early is key to a successful outcome. If you are beginning your business in a phased manner, this will help in achieving immediate feedback on your proposition. Being able to receive feedback in real-time feedback will allow you to adjust or pivot you offering, if needed, without having sunk too much of your money and valuable time in.
Remember, you only need to know more than your potential clients who, after all, may know next to nothing, you will be amazed at how quickly you can become an expert when you focus on one skill at a time.
Important point to remember: If you have a natural aptitude in a particular area that is in demand, start building your skills around this talent as you’ll find the learning curve less steep. The benefit of this is to shorten the timeframe before you can start putting these skills to work to make earnings.
From this point you create your own uniqueness by meshing together a further 3 to 4 skills which are in demand AND complement each other skills, especially the foundational skill.
From this, you only need to know ‘more than your potential clients’ who, after all, may know next to nothing.
