Writing Is The Best Startup On The Internet

Tell me what other venture is virtually risk-free?

When you fail at something huge, there’s no “get back up again” quote in the world that will make you feel better about it. The only notions that help you get through it are time and acceptance.

Over time, you begin to accept the failure a little more each day, and then you move forward.

When I look back over some of the ventures I’ve attempted and failed at, I sometimes wish I’d just stuck with the one thing I know best: writing. Especially after spending thousands of dollars on really expensive and risky ideas that flopped.

The upside of experimenting with a business startup is the learning experience. Undertaking a new pursuit requires planning, research, stamina, and tenacity.

No matter if you succeed or fail, if you haven’t learned anything along the way, the entire exercise was for nothing.

Failing at a product-based business served me very well after I emotionally recovered from it. It allowed me to look back over a paper trail of planning and a mountain of expenses, and scrutinize what went into it.

That’s when I was able to compare a product-based business with a service-based business, such as writing. Why I didn’t do that before the colossal waste of money is beyond me, but we live and learn, right?

The following are the nuggets I gleaned from my experiences, and the reasons why writing is one of the best startup ventures you can dive into.

No overhead.

Writing is virtually FREE to start.

Aside from a $12.99 domain name and some hosting, it costs next to nothing to sit down and begin writing. No matter how you go about starting your writing business, there’s no way you’ll invest near the amount of money a typical business requires.

Even if you factor in marketing, advertising, and software to enhance your skills, you still won’t come close to the capital required in a traditional business.

Furthermore, if you start out on Substack, it literally costs zero…period. And they even have internal social media and growth engines built in.

We can change our product overnight.

If writing were a physical product, it would be the most malleable substance on the planet. We can change it up instantly, without spending a dime on research and development. We can adapt it effortlessly to suit our client's needs.

If we choose to rebrand at some point, it’s a task as simple as changing our voice, our target, and maybe a new logo.

Most times, as writers, we don’t even need to do a complete rebrand because we can run several brands side by side. Just because you’re a travel writer doesn’t mean you can’t be a technical writer, a ghost writer, a fiction writer, or any other kind of writer you want.

We can literally do it all under one umbrella. I mean, look at the website you’re sitting on. I’m ALL over the map with workshops and services, and yet, I’m thriving!

There will always be consumers.

Words can never sell out. It’s impossible.

Humans have been reading since hieroglyphics were first inscribed inside caves, so while words and messages may change over time, writing will never go out of style, and people will never stop reading.

And if you think AI can replace you as a human writer, think again. AI can help all of us to a certain degree but it doesn’t have life experiences. It’ll never write like a human can.

Writing is one business that will always have an eternal fountain of consumers.

There will always be potential clients.

Not everyone is a good writer, just as not everyone can be a good skateboarder, a good triathlete, or a good lawyer. This is why writers will always be in high demand and sought after.

We will always have potential clients and jobs as long as businesses are doing business, and as long as someone has a story they need to convey.

We have nothing to lose.

If you’re venturing into the world of being a paid writer, it’s the safest business risk you can take. You’ve invested nothing except time and words, so if it doesn’t pan out, you’ve lost nothing.

Writers can still work other jobs while starting in the industry. Aside from burning the candle at both ends, this is the most portable, flexible, and convenient craft that exists.

A painter can’t paint just anywhere.

A musician can’t play in any old space.

But a writer can literally write anywhere, anytime, as long as they want, without disrupting a soul.