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Small Things Matter

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Have you ever noticed that newer computers don’t even have the”cents” sign on it anymore? You have to actually write the word out,like a penny isn’t money.

It says a lot about our society, we’re constantly over looking the small things to go after the big ones. Did you know if you could double a penny everyday for 30 days you would have over 5 Million Dollars?!

The Little things count especially when it comes to building a business; Things like outstanding customer service, quality products, and standing behind your product lead to big money results faster & more reliability than any get rich scheme ever will.

 

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Learn more about build a successful business you love. Register FREE for the Business Profit Equation October 8th-10th 2o2o. Or grab the replays here

A Simple Intro To Legal Entities

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When Kelly McCausey asked me to write a guest post about legal entities for businesses. I was happy to. Of course, then she asked me to make it simple!

Well simple, and business structures are two totally different balls of wax. But then, I’m always up for a challenge.  And just liked that, I remembered trying to help my son pick out an acceptable version of the “baby dragon” he wanted for a pet.

We were off to the races.

Trying to figure what baby dragons have to do with business entities . . .?
Read the article here.

Want to learn more about business structures? I have a whole workshop for that.

Is This the Right Time to Start Your Own Online Business?

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Are you wondering if online business ownership is for you?  We are living in truly interesting times right now. And, many of us find ourselves working from home, perhaps for the first time ever.

According to the New York Post, almost 62 percent of the U.S. population said they dreamed of having their own business. That was back in 2018. But most, keep putting it off, waiting for  that right time, or sweet opportunity. Life has a way of getting in the way like that. But, maybe you’re stuck at home now or working remotely. Or maybe, you’ve been laid off.

Could now be the moment to finally give in to those entrepreneurial cravings. Could now be the time to launch that business you’ve been dreaming of?

If you decide to start an online business, you would be joining the ranks of hundreds of thousands of others. And, there are a lot of moving parts to an online business. Figuring out how to make yourself stand out from the crowd. And getting those parts done correctly, and in the right order will go a long way to helping you be successful. But is that enough?

There is a huge learning curve to starting a business. And, an online business, is after all, still a business. So, there is marketing and websites. There are technical hurdles, and learning to attract leads.  And of course, how to convert those leads to customers. Plus product development and affiliate sales.  And that’s just at the tip of the iceberg.  After you get all of that in place there’s scaling the business to build sustainable growth . . . and whew!

I’m not trying to scare you though.

The list could go on and on because there’s always something new to learn. Even online business owners and marketers at the top of their game are still learning. But, here’s the thing . . . ALL of that can be learned.

You can even hire other folks to do some of it for you. That is not the real key to determining if you should start your own business on or offline. The real determining factor is you!

Do you have the right mindset for running your own business? Can you think like a CEO, rather than an employee?

Are you open to figuring out how to adapt your business to new realities as they present themselves. There will be times when you have to find new avenues and opportunities to serve your clients. Or even meet their changing needs. Can you do that? Can you stay calm in the midst of the storm, when everyone else is losing their heads? Can you find the opportunity to serve your potential clients now, and into the future?

Starting, running and growing a business doesn’t have to be hard. But it does take stamina and courage to go the distance; to persevere against the odds. And a willingness to take consistent, focused action in the direction you want to go.

If you’re willing to do that, and you’ve figured out how you can serve the needs of your potential customer . . . right now might be the very best time to start your new business.

And, you don’t have to do it alone.

A Few Critical Components of Building a Small or Online Business – PART 2

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In our previous post we talked about planning and budgeting and how critical it was to your business success. Today we will be discussing another two elements you’ll need to have in order to grow your business.

Step Two – Taking Action

This is critical.  In fact, I can’t stress it enough. No matter how much planning you do, no matter how great your plans are, you won’t be making any money from your business unless you take the necessary action to implement.

One of the greatest tragedies of all the hype about making money online and business opportunities, is it sells people on the idea that starting a busy is quick and easy. It says it won’t take a lot of effort on their part. The problem is, that’s just not true. Period. Starting and building a business takes time and effort.

People get sold on this idea that “work” is not needed. Or, that they can be making money overnight. And, they miss that critical element of success. Their business is more likely to fail than it is to succeed because they often give-up, or move to the next “shiny-thing,” when they haven’t achieved success 15-30-days later.

When anyone says you can build a successful money-making business without doing any work, or any “just 30-days,” they’re just plain out lying to you and you should run, not walk in the other direction as fast as you can.

The Other Extreme

Of course, not everyone gets the wool pulled over their eyes.  Many folks know that they need to work to grow their business. Some, even know they need a plan. But, there is another beast to be tamed. Ever heard of “paralysis analysis.”  A lot of people get stuck in the planning stage . . . for years. I knew someone once who was “preplanning” to get ready to plan. Others try to plan their business out for a year, or even 3-years. That’s why I love the book “Getting to Plan B: Breaking Through to a Better Business Model ” by John Mullins and Randy Komisar.

There’s such a thing as too much planning.  That’s especially when you’re just starting out.  I blame traditional lenders for this ludacris idea of creating a 3-year plan for your start-up. If you’ve never built a business before there is no way for you to realistically create a 3-year plan. Even creating a one year plan is usually a waste of time, if you’re just starting out.

If you are continually planning, you still won’t build a business. You have to take action to get started, and to grow. Even taking imperfect action is better than taking none. And, the truth is, you’re going to take lots of imperfect actions no matter how much you plan. Because, you don’t know what you’re doing yet.

I have a martial arts instructor who likes to say when you think in martial arts, you stink. It’s like dance, you have to feel it.  But, he goes on, when you first start out, you stink anyway, so it’s okay to think. Business is the same thing. You’re learning. You’re going to make mistakes. It’s okay. Plan out 3-months. And, then take massive imperfect action. Then you can course correct as you you learn and grow.  And that’s not just advice for little companies. Think about it . . . how many patches and fixes have you had on Windows 10 since it was first released?

Even, if you’re an experienced business owner, things change and you have to adjust.  Which brings us to the last thing I want to talk about.

Step Three – Re-access And Adjust

Remember when I said “don’t worry your plans are not written in stone?” I meant that literally. It’s very important to plan and budget for the success of your business. It helps you put yourself in your best position for success.  But, life is not static, things change, stuff happens; your competition changes the game. . .

The point is you have to be testing, tracking and following what works and adjusting your position to remain in a place that gives you the best opportunity for success. That’s another reason for quarterly plans.

Let me give you a great example of this in real life –

Back in the day, when I was a young adult, the home movie rental industry had three primary players:

1. Blockbuster Video
2. Netflix
3. Cable Television Pay Per View

At one time cable TV’s pay per view was the only game in town. Then the local video store came into being and offered the ability to go get a movie and see it when you wanted too, rather than when the cable network scheduled. Plus, you could pause, fast forward and rewind. It gave the consumer complete control.

Suddenly, the video stores, like Blockbuster begin to take over the home movie business. Then enter Netflix, they position themselves to compete by offering movies delivered to your door so you get all the control and benefits of the video store product without having to leave your home offering the convenience of the cable network and they begin to take over.

Many smaller video stores had been forced out of business by Blockbuster. Now Netflix threatened to do the same to Blockbuster. But, they adjusted their business model offering videos by mail and the store in one membership. Netflix is stuck only delivering by mail, a distinct disadvantage. It adjusts its business model by offering videos by mail and streaming video over the internet.

Cable TV not to be left out, introduces the DVR through licensing with TIVO, which allows users to pause, forward and rewind movies along with “movies on demand,” so users can watch movies on their own schedule and more importantly, they began showing new movies before they were available for rental by any other outlet including Netflix and Blockbuster.

The point I’m making here, is that, in each instance, the companies that survived and grew their business consistently were aware of the changes happening around them, and the effect it had on their ability to compete. Then they took action to adjust their business model to reposition themselves so they could successfully answer the challenge.

Now there’s Redbox at the grocery store and gas station with $1 rentals and all kinds of streaming services creating totally new threats to the industry players.

So, there it is,  a few critical components of building a successful business online or off.  Every important aspect of starting, managing and growing a success business you love, can be summed up by the Business Profit Equation. The three components I covered in this article are no exception.

And now, The Business Profit Equation Virtual Summit can help you discover ways to not just understand them. It can help you  implement them too. The Summit is from October 8th -10th 2020. You can register for the live summit FREE.  If you missed you can buy the replays here

 

A Few Critical Components of Building a Small or Online Business – Part 1

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Now-a-days, there is a ton of information available online and off about small solo businesses.  And, even more about having an online business. But, the truth is building a successful business really requires a few critical elements, that aren’t talked about all that often. They’re all covered in the Business Profit Equation though.

Step One – Planning & Budgeting

Okay, I know that sounds boring and probably isn’t what you’re interested in hearing.  The problem is,  while there’s plenty of info about “making money online,”  that’s not really the same as building a sustainable business.  The bottom line is without actual planning for the key elements of your business, it’s unlikely you’ll ever have a successful one.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you have to create a traditional full blown business plan. You only need that if you are going after traditional funding for your business. However, you do need a plan. It will help you stay focused and on track. Otherwise it’s way to easy to easy to get distracted. And, distraction, is a very good way to fail.

So What Do You Need To Include In Your Plan And Why?

The very first question you need to ask yourself is, if there’s a market for the kind of business you want to start.  And, do you actually have an interest in that kind of business.

These two elements are crucial – look, let’s be honest . . . starting an online, or a small business is a LOT different than starting most traditional business. One of the key differences is that you can start many of these types of businesses part-time. And, often with minimal financial or other resources and still be successful. However, this is only true – if you are working within restraints that let that happen.

What this means is you need to use proven budget friendly strategies that let you have the greatest chance at starting a successful business. If you decide to sell a product that doesn’t have a proven market, you then need to find or create a market to buy it and that costs money. And after all that, you may still find out there’s really is no market for your product. Find a market first . Then discover what their needs are . . . where their pain is. And only then create or better yet find a product or service that addresses that need is the best, most cost-effective way to start a new business and have a chance at actual success.

That’s the first part of the question. The second part is do you have an interest in the business you’re getting ready to start. Wondering  why that’s important?

Despite all the hype offered on and offline about starting a new business about how easy it is . . . starting a business, any business and building it to success takes time and effort. It will not happen overnight, or in 30-days.  And, it certainly won’t happen without serious effort on your part. If you don’t have any real interest in what you’re doing it’s going to be very difficult for you to last over the long haul of building your business. Even online, despite the constant barrage of “you could be making money tomorrow”  type of hype, it takes at least a year to really build a solid business and often it takes a lot longer.

Look we’re all interested in the idea of a 4-hour work week. We’d all love to make tens of thousands of dollars by sending an email to our list.  It would be so lovely to push a button and then get dozens of PayPal and Clickbank notifications that “You’ve got money” daily as we relax on the beach with our families. But, we also need to understand that getting to that point takes time, effort and planning. We have to put the structures and systems in place.  And  we have to create the visibility for our business that will allow that to happen.

You Have A Market And You’re Interested . . .What’s Next?

You’ve made a good start. If you know who your market is, what your prospect’s needs are and you’ve found a solution to offer you’re ahead of the game. Kudos to you.

The next set of questions you need to answer are just as important. How will you promote your solution to your prospect? What will you do to distinguish yourself from your competitors? How will you deliver it? What will it cost you to buy or create it, market and deliver the product? How much will you sell it for? What is your profit margin? How much will you reinvest in your business?

Often people like to ignore these questions. The idea of money coming in is enough. But without this information you have no way to gather the data you’ll need later to automate. You won’t know how much you can spend to attract your ideal prospects. And most importantly, you’ll have no idea whether you’re even breaking even, let alone making a profit with your business.

And there are still the issues of where you’ll be getting your start-up and operating capital from, how you will use those funds, and how you will manage your business and personal cash flow.

Lastly, you’ll want to deal with your business structure because it determines a number of tax and asset protection issues. Answering all of these questions will give you a good head start toward building a successful business.

Leveling Up . . .

The next level of planning will put you head and shoulders above most start-ups. You need to lay out your goals and objectives for the quarter ahead.  Don’t worry this is not written in stone. But in will go a really long way to ensuring a successful business.

When I say plan out the quarter, here’s what I mean.  What is the strategic message you’ll share that’ll attract your ideal prospects? Where will you find them at, and how will you share the message? What is the thing you’re going to offer that gets them interested?
How are you going to follow-up to convert them into customers?  How will you keep them engaged so they become a repeat customer? What will you do to separate yourself from your competition? What will you offer next?

Here’s Why It’ll Make A Difference

Many people thinking about starting a business for the first time have very similar experiences. This is especially true of online business startups. You do a Google search about starting an online, home-based  or small business. Or maybe you join some “guru’s” list. Then one day you get an email. The email promises some “wonderfully magical” business model. It guarantees you can make thousands of dollars overnight with just a PayPal account and a computer. And, there’s little or no effort required on your part.

Okay, probably not that blatantly. But they certainly make it seem like it’ll be quick. And easy.  And like anybody can do it. So you buy into the program so you can start making money online and hop right in. Forward thirty days later. Maybe you’ve made a little money. More likely you haven’t.

But the “guru” sends you another program that’s even better.  Or a tool that’s going to do all the hard stuff for you. A tool that you simply can’t live without. So you buy that program or tool too. Now rinse and repeat again and again. Eventually, you’re broke, disillusioned and you still haven’t achieved that dream of making money online. Or at home.  And, you certainly haven’t built a business.

Others, dig deeper. They buy and read some books. Maybe they even take a class. They do everything except figure out a plan. Because somewhere along the way, they were sold on the ideal it wasn’t really necessary. Take my word for it, it’s necessary. It helps you focus in and figure out the details of starting and growing your business.  AND, it saves you from making as many costly mistakes as you will make without a plan.

Deciding to build a business from the beginning. Then creating a plan for how to do that. And, then sticking to it. Will help you stay focused. It will help you save money by limiting purchases to the tools and resources you actually need.  And it’ll give you a much better chance at building a successful business.

In the next post we will discuss two additional components that are critical to your business.  So be sure to come back soon. Or better yet subscribe to my email list and you’ll be the first to know when it’s ready!

Feeling Afraid & Unworthy: Seven Brave Business Women Show Up Anyway/

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I originally did this collaborative blog as a guest post for Kelly McCausey over on Love People and Make Money. 

I had just recently appeared as a guest on a podcast called “Your Shining Self”.  And, I had a really great time chatting with the host Tish Lee.  The whole conversation had me thinking about the issue of visibility, or the lack of visibility. Well, actually, that’s something I think about a lot because I’m usually helping clients with that exact issue.

Anyway, the host Tish, and I were talking about visibility and something Tish said stuck with me.  She said, and I’m paraphrasing a little here, that usually when people want to talk about building a successful business they want to talk about getting from point A to point B. But none of that matters if we don’t deal with the in between.

I couldn’t have agreed more. The A to B stuff is important. People just don’t usually think about the fact that there’s SPACE in between point A and point B.  But, that in between, is the part where the person, hasn’t yet become the person that can own the business, they want to have. That’s the part where they need to first deal with their stuff. You know, the stuff I’m talking about. It’s self-doubt and the feelings of unworthiness. It’s  the stories they tell themselves that keep them afraid and playing small.

In the article I look back a little on my own journey.  And, I ask six other brave women if they would share how they deal with it, or what advice they would give to someone else dealing with it.

You can read the full article here.

And, if you haven’t already, check out my talk on how I got visible. You’ll also get 3 exercises that you can use. These exercises will help you get started on your own journey to greater visibility.

 

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