BiggerPockets Business Podcast 09: The Secret to Starting a Risk-Free, Debt-Free Business QUICKLY with Alan Donegan | Bigger Pockets Podcast

You’ve got your idea, and you’re ready to take over the world. Now, where should you start?

Should you... write a detailed business plan? Buy the equipment? Take out a loan?

Wrong, wrong, and WRONG, according to our guest today.

Alan Donegan founded the PopUp Business School to teach a different approach—one that encourages entrepreneurs to measure feedback well before they go into debt or get themselves stuck in a rat race of their own making.

In this episode, Alan shows us how to experiment to see if customers will actually pay for your offering (“people will always be nice to you up until the point when you ask them to take money out of their pocket”) and how to organize a trial run to determine whether you even enjoy running the business.

You’ll love Alan’s advice to “fail fast and fail cheap,” and to create a “high-trust environment” so you can get paid up front. Plus, you’ll learn how some of the most valuable companies in the world got started using this lean model.

Alan shares his thoughts on exactly when to quit your 9 to 5 and go all-in on your business. He also reveals how to keep your energy up when burning the candle at both ends and why understanding the “trinity of management” is vital to the success of your enterprise.

This is one of our most actionable, knowledge-packed shows so far. Be sure to download it and subscribe to the BiggerPockets Business Podcast using your favorite app for more!