Sessions 1: How to Start for Free

Where are you starting from?

We kicked off by recognising that everyone in the room is at a different stage. Whether you described yourself as an Explorer (still figuring out your idea), a Starter (ready to launch or just getting going), or a Builder (already in business and wanting to grow), all of that is valid. Business is not a competition, and it does not matter where you begin, what matters is that you begin.

What is actually stopping you?

Across every course Rebel has ever run, in every country, the same three things come up again and again: people do not know what to do or how to do it, confidence and fear hold them back, and money feels like a barrier. The good news is that all three of those things are exactly what this course is designed to address, step by step over the next eight weeks.

The traditional approach to starting a business does not work for most people

Most of us have been taught that starting a business means coming up with a brilliant idea, writing a business plan, doing market research, getting funding, and then spending money before you ever make a sale. Rebel’s view is that this approach compounds the very fears and barriers that hold people back. A business plan is a useful tool for getting a loan, but it is not what gets a business started. You do not need a perfect idea, and you do not need to borrow money. Business is about having money, not owing it.

You do not need a good idea, you need action

One of the most important mindset shifts from this session is this: a brilliant business idea matters far less than the willingness to take action. If you put two people in front of us, one with a great idea and one doing something they genuinely love and are taking action on, we back the second person every time. Passion and momentum will carry you further than the quality of an idea, especially when things get difficult, as they inevitably do.

Five ways to start a business for free

Rather than spending money to get going, Rebel invites you to work through this checklist in order. First, ask yourself whether you can get what you need for free, tools like Canva, SumUp, and Google’s business tools cost nothing to start with. Second, ask whether you can borrow it, space, equipment, or people. A pop-up escape room launched by borrowing a hotel function room, and Rebel Business School itself was built largely on borrowed spaces and volunteers. Third, consider whether you can barter, exchanging your skills for something you need. Fourth, sell things you no longer need to build a small slush fund, which also doubles as practice for your sales skills. And fifth, the most powerful of all: sell before you create. Use your customers’ money to build your business, not your own.

Sell before you create

This is the foundational principle of the Rebel approach. The very first Rebel Business School course was sold in April 2012, paid for in April 2012, written in September 2012, and delivered in September 2012. Dennis sold lasagna before he had the ingredients. Sonia sold sugar-free chocolates before she had made them. Mark, who came to the Isle of Wight course on the verge of taking out a £25,000 loan, instead launched a zero-cost local food delivery business the very same day. Asking for payment in advance might feel uncomfortable, but it is the difference between owing money and having it.

Done is better than perfect

Perfectionism is one of the most common things that stops people from making progress. It often shows up as a feeling that everything needs to look polished and credible before you can put yourself out there. In reality, you will not get it perfect until you put it out there. The businesses that build their audience as they go, sharing things before they are finished, having conversations before they have a website, tend to make sales faster than those waiting for everything to be ready.

How to choose your business idea

For those still deciding what to do, the question is not which idea is the best one, it is which one excites you the most. Notice the feeling in your body when you think about each idea. The one that lights you up is the one worth running your first experiment with, because business can be hard, and passion is what keeps you going when things get tough.

For those who have an idea but are not sure where to start, the key is to narrow your focus. Rather than offering everything to everyone, pick one product or service and one group of people it could help. A hypnotherapist who helps people with anxiety is clearer and easier to talk about than a hypnotherapist who does everything. Clarity leads to action, and action leads to customers.

If you have too many ideas and cannot choose, remember: first this, then that. You can do all of your ideas, just not all at once. Pick the one you are furthest along with, or the one you would fight hardest to keep, and start there.

The only way to know if your idea will work

Market research can be useful, but it has a flaw: people will often say they would buy something when they are being polite, and then quietly disappear when you ask them for money. The only true test of a business idea is asking for the sale. That is the moment that gives you real information. It feels uncomfortable for many people, and next week’s session on getting customers will give you the practical tools and language to make that conversation feel much more natural.

Your mission this week

Before next Monday, your task is to write down your ideas and the audiences you could serve, and then complete this sentence: “I am selling [product or service] to [type of customer], which helps them to [outcome].” Once you have something you are happy with, share it in the Facebook support group. The team will be there to offer feedback, encouragement, and questions. Sharing it publicly is the first small step outside your comfort zone, and that is exactly where progress lives.

Next week

Session two is all about getting customers, how to price your product or service, who to approach, what to say, and how to have that conversation without it feeling like a sales pitch. See you Monday at 8pm.