You have dreams of starting a business and creating an amazing website. But hold your horses – don’t let the excitement rush you into wasting time and money. 

There are crucial steps you need to take before you should even think about building a website. Follow this advice to create real business value rather than an empty website vanity project.

Define Your Purpose

A common mistake aspiring entrepreneurs make is wanting a website or online presence just for the sake of it. They get caught up in the glitz and glam of having their own site. 

But this “business card” mentality leads nowhere. Don’t be like the high school kids printing useless cards to look cool. Before creating a website, clearly define its purpose and how it will provide real value.

Some key questions to ask yourself

– Who specifically will my business serve?

– What problems or needs can my business help solve?

– Why am I uniquely positioned to help this audience?

If you draw a blank on these questions, hold off on the website. Figure out your niche, ideal customers and value proposition first. Resources like the book Will It Fly provide frameworks to validate and plan a business idea.

The point is not to have a website for the sake of it. The website should have a well-defined purpose and bring value to a specific audience.

Choose a Brand Name Strategically  

Let’s assume you’ve defined who you will serve and why. The next step is starting to build your brand, beginning with the name.

The name should capture attention while clearly conveying what you do. For personal brands, incorporate your name plus your specialty. For businesses, pick a name aligned to your positioning.

Brainstorm extensively and try the Post-It note technique

1. Write all name ideas on individual sticky notes.

2. Organize them into categories like: catchy, descriptive, inventive, etc.

3. Identify the strongest options per category.

4. Mix and match fragments from shortlist to create new options.

Once you have some candidates, Google them to check availability and trademark conflicts. Consult a lawyer with any concerns – better safe than sued.

With a name secured, you can proceed to aligning other brand identity elements like logo, color scheme, fonts and messaging.

Forget Perfection – Start Creating Value

Here’s an important mindset shift to make:

Forget about building the “perfect” website that will magically make you a millionaire. Instead, focus on creating real value for people with your content and offerings – results come later.

Don’t get caught up making your website flawless at launch. It never will be – it should constantly evolve. Build a basic viable site to start creating value, generating feedback and refining based on what your audience responds to. 

Similarly, don’t expect overnight success from your website. Building authority, traffic and revenue takes consistent effort over months and years. But by providing genuine value to people, you set the stage for growth.

So ditch perfectionism, build a simple site to start and focus on creating content that helps people. That’s what matters.

Ready to Build Your Brand? Start Here.

Hopefully this gives you a better idea of the crucial steps before even thinking about a website. To recap:

– Clearly define your business purpose and value proposition

– Strategically choose your brand name and align identity elements

– Adopt a value-first mindset over website perfection 

For more guidance and frameworks on planning your brand and business, check out the free 5-day Build Your Own Brand course. It’s perfect if you:

– Have a business idea but unsure of next steps

– Need to nail down your brand identity

– Want to create a website that attracts the right audience

Stop daydreaming about an ideal website. Build real business value first. Follow these steps and leverage resources like Build Your Own Brand to set yourself up for success.