Sunday, September 27, 2015
Takin' Care of Business
This song by Bachman Turner Overdrive is the definitive song about entrepreneurship. It's about the lure of owning your own business, where you can “work at nothing all day.” For many, that lure means setting your own hours, only doing the things you enjoy doing and leaving the rest of the work behind.
How realistic is that though? If you're in business for yourself, you know (or should know) that the work involved in the daily ventures is harder than it ever was when you worked for "the man". Not only are you in charge of the creative processes, but the bookkeeping, the sales, the marketing, the admin work -- you truly are the Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.
I think this is one of the reasons why small businesses don't grow like we hope they will. We don't take them seriously enough. We didn't get into business to work; we got into it to have more time, more money and more freedom. Yet, we find ourselves working harder and longer than we ever did when we had a J.O.B.
One of the most important things I believe that you can do for your business is something that I talk about all the time -- and that is to have a plan, a goal, a mission. When you work ON your business, not just IN your business, you give yourself a target -- something to work towards and actually helps you figure out who and what you're doing. So often, when I ask someone who their ideal client is, they tell me "Well, anyone can buy my product or service." Yet, that's not really true.
If you take the time to figure out who you enjoy working with -- their demographics of age, gender, financial levels -- along with what you actually are selling that they want to buy -- then you have the mix that will get you to where you want to be. As an example, you sell expensive cars like Mercedes, Lamborghinis, and Jaguars. Who buys those? the factory worker who just needs something to get him to and from work? The teenager who is buying his first car so that he can take his date out after the football game? Or, are you selling to someone that has lots of money, owns multimillion dollar businesses, and wants to show off all his wealth? You have to figure out your market. Then, what exactly are you selling them? Are you selling a car? Yes, but ... actually you're selling prestige, speed and the ability to "show off" to others. See what I'm getting at?
Then, you have to figure out what you need to do to get that type of person in the door. What do you have to do to get that person to buy from you and thus build your business to the next level. See how all of this is important and much more than just selling a car. If you go in to work every day to sell a car, then you might as well be working for someone else who has the vision and mission. Take the time to figure this stuff out. It really is important.
I believe, depending on your goals, that by joining me, I can help you reach your targets. Once you have those goals in mind, your next step should be to become part of the Success Happens Peer Advisory Mastermind Group that is starting in October. I'll be sharing info on that exciting program in the next few days. Stick around or if you want to know NOW, send me a message atnancy@success4biz.biz.
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