Following on from episode 2 on why your "WHY" is so important, I delve into getting to know your audience in order to commercialise your passion. 

My 3 practical tips for market research will help you get to know your audience - preferably before you even think about starting your business. 

These are: 

1. Find out if there is a market 

First consider some broad, basic questions. I recommend using Josh Kaufman's market research checklist from the Personal MBA you can access online here

2. Blog about it first Experiment with content to start building an audience. 

I recommend reading Austin Kleon's book Show Your Work to understand more about how sharing what you're doing with the world will help you build an audience and iterate your work. 

 3. Know what results your audience value What results do your audience want that you can offer? A great book to read to understand the power of a audience + results-driven approach to marketing is Absolute Value by Itamar Simonson & Emanuel Rosen 

 Also...I talk about building personas of your prospective customers that consider their mindset, drivers and motivators. 

Tonight's 'Straya Day special episode is about Dale Carnegie's global sensation of a book: How to Win Friends and Influence People. 

With over 16 million copies sold, I dig into why this book, written in 1936, continues to be a bestseller 80 years after it was first published. In just over 15 minutes I cover many of the key principles of the book looking at each section and discussing how this book was way ahead of it's time. 

I wanted to feature this book early on in my series as I think it is an important book for combatting bullying in the workforce - instead emphasising the importance of being genuine, kind, friendly AND using this to thrive in your career. In fact, I am of the opinion that this book is the first book on emotional intelligence - published way before we recognised EQ as a "thing". 

It also shows that the whole "authenticity" buzz word that brands have been throwing around for the past couple of years ain't new. In fact Carnegie humanises sincerity and authenticity, in a way that quite ironically, publishers of content on "being authentic" in articles like "the social media trends every brand must know" do not. I will be back again soon on Monday night with Episode 3 on "It all starts with your audience". 

Leave a question for my next episode on market research and understanding your audience in the comment section below or on instagram or twitter @laurenkress89 and I'll answer it during my next episode.

So many entrepreneurs talk about finding your "WHY?" but what do they mean by that, and why is it so important? 

Starting a business isn't for everyone and asking yourself "what should I do with my life?" is the first step in thinking about the direction for yourself and your potential business. 

The last thing you want is to be stuck working your arse off towards a goal that you actually, when it comes down to it, have no desire to achieve (!) 

In this second episode I talk about the first step of starting your business and why your "WHY?" is so important. For me, the first step really boils down to thinking about it like this: if money wasn't an obstacle - if you had enough money guaranteed for the rest of your life - what would you do? 

This is where the question "what should I do with my life?" needs to come from - from a place that is about your happiness not making a quick (or slow) buck. 

Once you have your reason for starting a business you're able to set your business vision as well as your short and long-term goals towards living the life you desire - not the life fashioned for you by others.

In this first episode, I speak about the five books that have gotten me through my first year and a half as a business co-founder and entrepreneur. 

They are: 

"Steal Like an Artist" by Austin Kleon 

"Rising Strong" by Brene Brown 

"Status Anxiety" by Alain de Botton 

"The Organised Mind" by Daniel Levitin 

"The Personal MBA" by Josh Kaufman