3 Key Lessons from The Minimalist Entrepreneur
Lately both Felix and I have been fascinated by Sahil Lavingia’s ideas on starting a business and how he views life and money. While there are many takeaways from his book “Minimalist Entrepreneur”, I’m going to focus on the points that really made an impact on me.
There’s more than one way to build and run a business
It’s tremendously liberating to be reminded that there is more than one model to succeed in business. For instance, not every tech startup needs to be a unicorn, raise funds and bring on investors. It’s possible to build a minimalist business in a way that supports your values and your lifestyle.
2. Start by building for your community
The most authentic way to start a business is by solving a problem for your community. This sounds great, but what if you don’t have a community? Don’t worry, the book even guides us through the steps to create a social media account and how to create content that people want to read. He takes us through 3 levels of evolution when it comes to content creation:
Level 1: Educate
At this stage, the key is to transition into becoming a teacher. For example, this might mean sharing insights from book summaries without asking for anything in return.
Level 2: Inspire
According to Sahil, this stage is speaking from experience, you’re able to drive inspiration.
Level 3: Entertain
In the end, entertainment wins because “entertainment is the king of content”. You want to teach people in a way that will stick with them. Maybe it’s through a joke or a clever delivery.
3. Just start! (and keep going)
The final message, which is simple but not easy is to “start”.
Like everything in life, in order to improve, learn and have a chance at success, you must start. It’s a message that we need to replay over and over: “Just take the next step, no matter how small, keep at it for a while and over time, each step will add up”.
References and Inspiration
“The Minimalist Entrepreneur: How Great Founders Do More with Less” by Sahil Lavingia
Noah Kagan Presents -- How to Run a $100M Company Without Meetings (w/ Sahil Lavingia)
The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish -- #98 Sahil Lavingia: Observing the Present