How to Build a Feel-Good Business Model for Success

The Feel-Good Business Model

• The feel-good business model is based on prioritizing personal fulfillment, meaningful work, and positive impact while also making good money with a focus on work-life balance and flexibility.

• It differs from traditional businesses which usually have steady and moderate growth, moderate capital requirements, and a formal, hierarchical structure.

• In contrast, high growth startups aim for rapid and exponential growth, prioritize profit, and often have a less structured, more dynamic organization.

• The feel-good business charter outlines key principles including enjoying the journey, embracing autonomy, diversifying clientele, prioritizing slow, sustainable growth, and maintaining a small, efficient team.

• It also focuses on profitability, longevity, flexibility, minimizing synchronous work, setting own deadlines, and pursuing fulfilling work beyond just monetary rewards.

The Feel-Good Business Model

Key Points of High Growth Startup and Feel-Good Business Model

• High growth startups prioritize exponential growth in the short to medium term, often backed by venture capitalists and with a high capital requirement.

• Work-life balance is usually sacrificed as high growth startups demand a flexible organizational structure and constant role changes within the team.

• In contrast, feel-good businesses prioritize fun, freedom, and lifestyle over high growth. They have high profit margins, minimal capital requirement, and prioritize work-life balance with a small, manageable team.

Key Points of High Growth Startup and Feel-Good Business Model

Building a Feel-Good Business

• Building a feel-good business is about enjoying the work and making money alongside it.

• It's important to identify a skill or passion that brings enjoyment and adds value to others.

• Choosing a business model involves considering service, product, or content business approaches.

• For example, woodworking can be turned into a service business by offering custom furniture design, a product business by creating and selling woodworking products, or a content business by creating woodworking tutorials.

• The skill or passion should be connected to a viable business model that works.

• Building a minimum viable product is crucial to get the idea, service, or product out in the world for feedback and validation.

Building a Feel-Good Business

Building a Feel-Good Business

• Building a feel-good business requires agility, adaptability, and flexibility to respond to market conditions and audience needs.

• Sustainability and balance should be prioritized for long-term success, avoiding burnout and overworking in the early stages of the business.

• Periodically re-evaluating the business direction and being open to pivoting is crucial for staying aligned with personal values and passion.

• Ignoring market validation is a common mistake, as businesses need to provide value to others and generate income, not just be driven by personal enjoyment.

• Seeking high margins and finding the balance between personal fulfillment and profitable opportunities is essential for a feel-good business.

Building a Feel-Good Business

Avoiding Common Mistakes in Building a Feel-Good Business

• One common mistake in building a feel-good business is trying to scale too quickly. Rapid exponential growth may lead to problems and result in spending time firefighting instead of focusing on the core mission of the business.

• Forgetting work-life balance is another pitfall. The essence of a feel-good business is to enjoy life, not just work. It's important to make time for health, relationships, hobbies, and joy.

• The founder emphasizes the need to constantly reevaluate and ensure that growth targets are not excessively ambitious, as excessive stress can be detrimental to physical, mental, and emotional health.

• The key principles of a feel-good business involve not only making money but also having fun and enjoying life along the way. It's about creating a sustainable and enjoyable business model.

• The blog series aims to share insights in real time as the business evolves, and the founder invites feedback and suggestions from the audience to shape the content.

Avoiding Common Mistakes in Building a Feel-Good Business

Conclusion:

By prioritizing personal fulfillment, meaningful work, and positive impact, a feel-good business model can be successful while maintaining work-life balance and flexibility. Follow the key principles to build a sustainable and enjoyable business model.