Wantapreneur To Entrepreneur - 5 Keys to Starting Your Own Business
Key #1 - Mentorship "If I have seen further, it is from standing on the shoulders of giants.
" -Isaac Newton No highly successful person got to where they are by themselves.
Successful people have the ability to humble themselves (at least temporarily) so that they may ask for and receive help from smarter people.
Find people who are successfully doing what you want to do.
Take advice from them only.
Not only will this give you practical, step-by-step guidance, it will also give you confidence.
It will encourage you and help offset the army of naysayers that swarms anyone trying to improve their life.
Key #2 - Marketing I can't stand it when people say "Look where we are, and we spend NO money on marketing!" I think to myself "I hope you like where you are, because that's where you're staying".
Marketing is the foundation of any successful organization, and the nations top companies spend billions on marketing each year because they want to stay on top.
Make marketing education, implementation, and tracking a regular part of each day.
Yes, you need to track your results to know what it costs you to acquire and keep a customer, and what the lifetime value of that customer is.
Some example #'s you might find: $20/one time - cost to acquire one new customer $30/year - cost to maintain contact w/ that customer via email, mail, and telephone follow up $200/year - average amount that each customer spends on your products The above numbers represent a good situation.
You aren't overspending to acquire or keep your customers, and they are providing you a healthy return on investment.
"Sharpen the Saw", says Brian Tracy.
With marketing, if you aren't sharpening the saw on a regular basis, you're falling behind.
Try new things.
Listen to the "I Love Marketing" podcast.
it's fantastic.
Learn and implement new ideas.
Track them.
Repeat.
You'll be a marketing badass in no time.
Key #3 - Sales "Know Thy Customer" -Brendon Burchard (The Millionaire Messenger) Just as important as it is to get new customers, it is equally important to convert them.
Your sales strategy is something that should be continually improved.
Profitable companies are founded upon solid marketing and sales.
Marketing + Sales = Money.
Great sales boils down to knowing your customer.
What are their desires? What are their fears? What questions and objections do they have about you and your product? Design your sales approach based upon the answers to those questions.
Know your customer like you are in bed with them.
Can you sell to someone you are in bed with? Hint: You already have! Key #4 - Systemization "The E-Myth" by Michael Gerber is a MUST read for any small business owner, aspiring entrepreneur, really anybody for that matter.
If you want to learn how to outsource, automate, and systemize your life and business, have the paradigm shift that is contained within those pages.
You have to graduate from doing everything yourself or you'll hit a ceiling of growth and be pulling your hair out.
The wisdom in this book bridges the gap between the stressed out guy who owns a coffee shop making 50K/year, to the guys who own Starbucks.
Key #5 - Persistence We always hear the statistic that 9 out of 10 small businesses fail in their first year.
How do you fail if you never stop trying? You may lose all of your cash, but you only fail if you QUIT.
I made 17K my first year in real estate.
I went into debt that year.
Getting up every morning and putting on a suit, getting jacked up on coffee, and basically pretending that I had a business and was successful until it actually came true.
I didn't quit because I had already quit a ton of times in life, and I finally put my foot down.
I decided I would actually stick with something for once and see how it turned out.
So will you if you are to succeed.
In Conclusion Can you see the biggest common thread among these 5 keys? Continued learning.
Today, new concepts and ideas are being thrown at you faster than you could ever learn them.
Go on a low-information diet.
Learn what is applicable to your goals.
Commit to being a lifelong student in the above areas, and you'll do just fine.
" -Isaac Newton No highly successful person got to where they are by themselves.
Successful people have the ability to humble themselves (at least temporarily) so that they may ask for and receive help from smarter people.
Find people who are successfully doing what you want to do.
Take advice from them only.
Not only will this give you practical, step-by-step guidance, it will also give you confidence.
It will encourage you and help offset the army of naysayers that swarms anyone trying to improve their life.
Key #2 - Marketing I can't stand it when people say "Look where we are, and we spend NO money on marketing!" I think to myself "I hope you like where you are, because that's where you're staying".
Marketing is the foundation of any successful organization, and the nations top companies spend billions on marketing each year because they want to stay on top.
Make marketing education, implementation, and tracking a regular part of each day.
Yes, you need to track your results to know what it costs you to acquire and keep a customer, and what the lifetime value of that customer is.
Some example #'s you might find: $20/one time - cost to acquire one new customer $30/year - cost to maintain contact w/ that customer via email, mail, and telephone follow up $200/year - average amount that each customer spends on your products The above numbers represent a good situation.
You aren't overspending to acquire or keep your customers, and they are providing you a healthy return on investment.
"Sharpen the Saw", says Brian Tracy.
With marketing, if you aren't sharpening the saw on a regular basis, you're falling behind.
Try new things.
Listen to the "I Love Marketing" podcast.
it's fantastic.
Learn and implement new ideas.
Track them.
Repeat.
You'll be a marketing badass in no time.
Key #3 - Sales "Know Thy Customer" -Brendon Burchard (The Millionaire Messenger) Just as important as it is to get new customers, it is equally important to convert them.
Your sales strategy is something that should be continually improved.
Profitable companies are founded upon solid marketing and sales.
Marketing + Sales = Money.
Great sales boils down to knowing your customer.
What are their desires? What are their fears? What questions and objections do they have about you and your product? Design your sales approach based upon the answers to those questions.
Know your customer like you are in bed with them.
Can you sell to someone you are in bed with? Hint: You already have! Key #4 - Systemization "The E-Myth" by Michael Gerber is a MUST read for any small business owner, aspiring entrepreneur, really anybody for that matter.
If you want to learn how to outsource, automate, and systemize your life and business, have the paradigm shift that is contained within those pages.
You have to graduate from doing everything yourself or you'll hit a ceiling of growth and be pulling your hair out.
The wisdom in this book bridges the gap between the stressed out guy who owns a coffee shop making 50K/year, to the guys who own Starbucks.
Key #5 - Persistence We always hear the statistic that 9 out of 10 small businesses fail in their first year.
How do you fail if you never stop trying? You may lose all of your cash, but you only fail if you QUIT.
I made 17K my first year in real estate.
I went into debt that year.
Getting up every morning and putting on a suit, getting jacked up on coffee, and basically pretending that I had a business and was successful until it actually came true.
I didn't quit because I had already quit a ton of times in life, and I finally put my foot down.
I decided I would actually stick with something for once and see how it turned out.
So will you if you are to succeed.
In Conclusion Can you see the biggest common thread among these 5 keys? Continued learning.
Today, new concepts and ideas are being thrown at you faster than you could ever learn them.
Go on a low-information diet.
Learn what is applicable to your goals.
Commit to being a lifelong student in the above areas, and you'll do just fine.
