Real Business

Sometimes, you see someone online saying, "That isn't a real business."

An email newsletter? Nah, not a real business

A YouTube channel. Nope

A TikTok shop. Seriously?

This brainwashing partly comes from legacy brick-and-mortar and office-based businesses and the Silicon Valley 2010s startup zeitgeist of what makes a "real startup."

The big banks still reject thousands of businesses every year because they don't have a traditional business plan.

Likewise, Y Combinator and those like it sold the dream of building the next Airbnb.

But this thinking is from the past - the world is changing. It has changed!

The next generation of startups will be built on media and attention, aka eyeballs.

On YouTube, TikTok, and all the new social apps and platforms.

This concept of "real business" is, at best, false and, at worst, will make most founders quit.

I, too, used to have this false belief.

But after years of talking to people and watching what's been working, I've also changed my perception.

If your skills solve a real problem that real people pay real money for, it's a business.