Posts in category: Plan

Most startups fail after 5 years.

Why? Mainly because of cash flow problems. There’s more going out, than coming in. And, usually, not keeping expenses in check was the culprit.

But I wanted to go over how you can increase your chances for success for your business.

There’s a never ending supply of the things we ‘need’ or don’t need, but still purchase.

But overall, putting the money part aside, there are certain ‘traits’ that people have, that have proven themselves over time, to be ingredients of the 3 S’s. The ‘Secret Sauce of Success’.

So in this article, I’ll be going over these three attributes of having ‘The Right Stuff’ for being an Entrepreneur.

What am I calling the ‘Big Three’?

1. Believing in yourself
2. Willing to get help
3. Not giving up

Here are some things to think about when trying to decide the right path for you and your business.

So, there’s pros and cons to every decision, that’s nothing new. And I’ve done both sides of the coin here in having my business be full time and part time, based on the economy and the market needs…also my family needs at the time.
So I think I have enough experience from both angles to talk about this and hopefully help you to have more clarity when you’re making your decisions.

Even if, ideally, you plan to run your business full-time, starting it up on a part-time basis can offer some significant advantages:
• It reduces your risk because you can rely on income and benefits from your full-time job and lets you have some additional ramp up time.
• It gives you more time to work on your 3 P’s (products, pitch and price)
• You’ll have more time to test the market and get a better feel of how easy or hard building this business might be
• More time to niche down to position yourself to stand out better instead of blending in
• It also allows your business to grow more gradually

You never know where it’ll hit you. You have a great idea for a new business and you’re really excited about it.

It might happen when you’re walking down the street or when you’re just laying in bed or just driving down the road: a new business idea hits you, and it doesn’t let you go!

While you might feel the urge to just drop everything else and jump on it, you should really take some time to think this through, rationally, to make sure that you’re not going to be spending a huge amount of time and money on something that doesn’t end up working out.

So, how can you test your business idea without going all in right away? What steps can you take to validate the proof of concept and avoid while not breaking the bank (or maxing out your credit card)?

I’ve found that, over the years, it can be easy to focus on the more tangible parts of a business. The parts that we can see and feel. The parts that we can have a more direct impact on, like:
• Sales
• Marketing
• Products/Services
The list can go on and on. But there’s one aspect of a successful business that I think gets overlooked time and time again; copywriting.
Not just any type of copywriting, but using words to move prospects or even the casual observer through the ‘know/like/trust/try/buy’ process.. and then we’ll add to that ‘repeat’ as well. Because as business owners, what do we really want? Sales? Yes.. but we also want repeat customers.

A personal brand is not just about having a website with your name on it, although that’s certainly part of it.

Your personal brand is how you present yourself, both online and offline, to your ideal audience. Your personal brand is the image you put forth. It’s what you stand for. Your values. What you’re all about. The core of who you are as a person.

It’s the combination of your values, unique skills, experiences, stories, personality, and image, all presented authentically to your audience.

Every person is now a brand. Everyone can constantly put themselves out in front of their audience. Everyone can add value to their audience. With everything you share with your audience, you’re building your brand.

Marketing has gone through quite an evolution over the past 20 years or so.

With so many businesses transitioning to Internet based products and services, it’s forced businesses to rethink their approach and what’s actually effective for modern consumers.

Marketing, in today’s terms is: Getting someone who has a need to go through the ‘know/like/trust/try/buy’ process.

I like to think of it this way. Marketing is serving and sales is a relationship.

What is an email list?
An email list is a special list of names and email addresses of people who gave you permission to send them updates and promotions from your business.
Many expert marketers say their biggest mistake was not building an email list when they first started out.
Why build an email list?
Because email subscribers joined your email list from your website and verified their identity by clicking on a link (double-optin), they are very interested in what you have to offer. This is why they’re more likely to convert into paying customers.
Usually an email list gets 10 times higher conversions than social media campaigns.
Here is a short list of the benefits of having an email list…

The next building block you’ll need to lay a strong foundation to your business is the Website.
But before we talk about products and services, we need to talk about sales. You gotta sell your stuff. Whatever it is. Products or services, you need sales.
Selling. Yucky stuff! Right? I mean, who REALLY likes to sell stuff? I’d rather be creating content or working on the next new product. I’ve got better things to do than sell stuff.
Well, let’s think about something for a second. Sales is what keeps businesses alive. So what do we do when we need to sell but we don’t like to sell?
We help people.

For far too long, people have been creating websites that just end up being another expense. Another black hole for the budget. But done correctly, and with some proper planning, your website can be built with the theme of: ‘make me money’.

To have a basic but professional design that doesn’t distract but enhance the copy that will encourage and entice the person to ultimately buy your product or services. Or at the very least again, work through the know/like/trust/try/buy process.