Days before launching her first product, her boss at the time came up to her and said “Look, Tina, I’ve come to a decision. I just don’t think you have what it takes to get this off the ground.”  Tina was devastated. She had put so much time and effort into the company, and now, she was left with nothing. 

Within that fury was also motivation and determination to succeed. So she made a promise and that promise was to launch a company in only one month.  

And in 30 days, from idea to product, the Institute of Code was born. 

Tina May is the co-founder of the Institute of Code along with her partner Emilio. Together, they are pioneering and redefining what education can look like. Located in Bali, Indonesia, Institute of Code encompasses a new way of learning. 

Tina and Emilio believe that when you remove people from the distractions of everyday life, keep them nourished with high-quality food, movement, and meditation, plus a beautiful natural environment to surround themselves in while they learn, something amazing happens. 

Their programs combine mentor-supported online learning with a 10-day intensive’s to help students launch a new career in web development or social media marketing in only two months!  

Currently, IOC has taught over 500 students and is pulling in 7 figures… I’d say this lady definitely has what it takes to get a business off the ground. 

In this episode, Tina shares  5 easy steps that you can use to take your own business idea off the ground and running in 30 days. 

Put aside any preconceived notions about how things are or should be.

Tina shares that “If you’re trying to innovate, and you’re trying to come up with something new, you have to step back from the perspective of why things are the way they are, and just reimagine what else could be possible.”

Even if your idea sounds ridiculous, entertain it for a while! Tina and her partner Emilio have a policy when they are brainstorming ideas to not shut each other down too quickly. The rational mind can be so quick to judge and figure out why something wouldn’t work that ideas have a tough time of even getting off the ground. 

Your brainstorming session should be spontaneous and free-flowing, plentiful, and without hesitation. Once you have your ideas out on paper,   start to see how you can organize them to turn an idea into action. 

Validate your idea by getting feedback 

Talk to a lot of people about your idea, and be prepared to receive their feedback. Tina shares that this is one of the hardest things to do. As an entrepreneur, you need to stay true to your vision, even when other people don’t understand it, but you also have to receive valuable feedback and criticism from other people. 

Yes, these are conflicting goals. There will be some people won’t see or understand your vision, and that’s okay. You can’t let them wack you down. In the words of the iconic Steve Jobs: “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”

What starts to happen when you speak to people about your idea is that you are able to see problems and solutions from a different perspective to really understand what your future customer would want. 

Find a way to test your idea with minimal risk as possible.

Start with fast and cheap experiments when your uncertainty is at its highest.  Starting with expensive and time-consuming experiments can become very costly if your initial assumptions turn out to be wrong. For example, one of the reasons why Tina choose Bali was that it was a lot cheaper to rent out a luxury villa and run their programs there than getting a similar set up in Australia.

Jump in! 

Tina gave herself a 30-day time frame to launch her business and within 12 months they had run 8 retreats and gained valuable information from taking action. Yes, they made mistakes but so much of starting your business is not just thining or daydreaming about it but actually jumping in and learning as you go. 

So don’t spend the next  12 months deliberating on the perfect idea. Just pick something that feels right to you, and that you’re passionate about and start. 

Prioritize your mental health.

“As an entrepreneur, having good self-care practices and surrounding yourself with other people who believe in you are probably the most important things you can do as an entrepreneur. 

Some recommended self-care practices are; 

• Reflective practices like acupuncture, massage, meditation, yoga, and journaling
• Eating a balanced diet, minimal substance use and plenty of sleep 
• Being a part of supportive communities 
• Being creative outside of work by making art, cooking or dancing 
• Taking a vacation or mini holiday. 
• Being okay with doing less. 
• Watching Netflix 

Unless you’re taking care of yourself first and getting yourself into the headspace to succeed, it’s very hard to pull any business off. 

Giveaway!

Institute of Code online course Website in a Weekend. The course takes you from absolutely zero coding skills to build your own responsive live custom website. “zero to hero” is the approach 😉 

To be entered to win the giveaway, click here. A winner will be selected next week

Find out more about the Institute of Code on Instagram or through the website.