Is it possible for your mom and pop business to be in the million dollar club? Can you build a million dollar business? Many others have and there is no reason you can’t… if you make plans and execute them.
Can You Build A Million Dollar Business?
Here are ways you can make that leap toward the million dollar business echelon.
Have a written business plan. If you don’t write down a plan that you can follow that has measurable goals, you will likely get off track. Write down how you will run your business, your measures of success and your income and expenses.
Get, and stay, organized. If you don’t have a marketing budget in place and if you don’t have your business entity properly set up or if you don’t have a business bank account, you will be floundering financially and this can eat into your potential million dollar earnings.
Surround yourself with a stellar team. Even if you’re a solopreneur, you will still likely need an accounting professional, a legal professional and perhaps even a graphic designer or content creator on your team. You will be busy pursuing your area of expertise and your core competency and it makes good financial sense to hire professionals to take on the tasks at which you don’t excel.
Learn to delegate but don’t forget to supervise. It’s great to delegate, but quality control is your ultimate responsibility. Drop in on your social media pages and see what information is being shared. Check in on the quality of products being manufactured and services being delivered. Your name is on the line with every interaction your staff or contractors have.
Track what is getting done. Track income. Track expenses. Track the number of clients coming through the door. Track those clients with whom you no longer work. If you aren’t measuring successes and failures, you won’t know when it makes sense to course correct, or raise your prices, or drop an underperforming project.
Are you on your way to building a million dollar business? Are you feeling that your progress has stalled? If so, reach out to us, we can help.
Are there secret traits entrepreneurs share? Perhaps, but they certainly don’t have to be, and likely aren’t a secret. If you’re an entrepreneur, I’ll bet you share these traits.
They understand what gets them out of bed in the morning. Being motivated to be an entrepreneur through good times and bad is what motivates entrepreneurs.
They choose an endeavor that is in alignment with their skills and their passions. Trying to fit a square peg in a round hole and running a business around it, is not going to bring joy to you or your employees. Find what you love and then find what people will pay for that aligns with what you love and you are on the road to a business that will inspire you.
They are frugal. Start-ups know that money will be tight and because of that they are willing to “eat Ramen” and cut expenses to help their business succeed. They also know it’s not necessary to operate from a high end store front or to invest in all new equipment, when used will work just fine in the start up phase. You need to be penny-wise in your start up phase.
They are “shameless” in promoting themselves and their business. You can be shameless with self promotion without being obnoxious. Keep front of mind how you can HELP others with your business, not just what you can SELL others.
They interact with like-minded individuals. Getting out of the office and being with like-minded business owners at networking events helps keep you motivated and inspired to move forward. Talking through your struggles with someone outside of your organization may help you find a solution you hadn’t considered.
They are resilient and don’t take failure personally. Sure, it hurts when something you’re trying fails, but if you can bounce back and learn from that “mistake” then you can move forward stronger for having had that failure. I don’t look at anything in business that doesn’t work as planned as a failure; I look at everything I try as an experiment that I learn from.
Do you share any of these entrepreneurial traits? What secrets do you have?
Are you looking for easy ways to grow your small business? Most entrepreneurs that I speak with are. While there are no shortcuts to success, there are some steps you can take that will make your rise to the top of your field quicker and easier.
Easy Ways To Grow Your Small Business
In today’s business world, who you know remains as important as what you know — in some cases the “who” is almost more important than the “what.” How and where can you get to know more people with whom you can partner to help both of your businesses thrive? By attending networking events. The importance of networking events include:
The people you meet may become customers
You may find referral partners
You may find great employees
You may find someone who can provide the goods and services your business needs
You will learn more about the industry in general and your industry in specific
What kinds of networking groups should you seek out?
Those in your specific industry
General networking events
Toastmaster’s groups
General business groups
Industry specific entrepreneur associations or trade groups
Non-business groups — your church group, an organization for which you volunteer.
How can you make the most of your time at these events?
Know your business story
Practice your elevator pitch
Become involved. You’ll get out of a group what you put into it
Shake hands. Introduce yourself to others.
Listen. Listen. Listen.
Do you find value in networking events? How often do you attend?
Are you a “yes” man or woman? When you’re an entrepreneur it’s easy to say “yes” to every opportunity, especially when you’re just starting out. If you’re an over-committed entrepreneur, you need to find a way out so you can begin working smarter, not harder and so you can focus and deliver the highest quality to your clients and prospects.
Are You An Over-Committed Entrepreneur?
How can you get out of your over-commitment? Here are a few ways.
Don’t shun the responsibility of having “brought it on yourself.” You need to look at what you’re saying yes to, why you’re saying it and how you can have better processes in place to know when to say yes, when to say no and how to complete the tasks you’ve committed to. No one can force you to do more than you have time for — it’s your over-commitment. Own it.
Do you have a fear of missing out? Generally called FOMO, it is something that faces everyone — entrepreneurs are not the only ones who want to be involved in everything and worry if they say no they will miss out. The fear of missing out is a powerful “motivator” for many entrepreneurs to become over-committed.
You don’t look closely enough at your calendar. In order to not be over-committed, you need to know what time you have available in your schedule. Block out time for necessary tasks, block out time for personal and family time, block out time for new opportunities.
Know what your goals are and what the most important tasks to complete first. Complete them. Move onto the next task. If you don’t know what the important things are you may let items fall through the cracks. For many, the important, may be the most time-consuming and require the most effort, but you need to complete them to move forward. Block time in your calendar to complete these items.
Practice self care. Even though you may be thinking, “I’ve over-committed. I don’t have time to take time off or get a good night’s sleep.” I am here to tell you, you don’t have the luxury of not practicing self care. If you get ill, who will run the show? If you’re a solopreneur, all tasks fall to you. You need to be healthy enough to perform them.
What do you find yourself over-committing to? Do those items fall into the same categories? Are you clear enough on your goals and business vision to know what you should be saying no to? Take a step back. Regain your perspective. Start anew.
Have you ever wondered how to build your email list? Have you ever wondered, why do I even need an email list? If these questions have come up, and chances are if you are anywhere online you will have heard the conversations around “list building” and you may wonder how it will help your business grow.
If you have a website and if you are driving traffic to your website and if you are not capturing the emails of those who visit your site, you are missing out on potential new clients. Visitors to your site could potentially convert into customers and one way to do that is to get them on your list. To do that, you need to offer an “ethical bribe” to get them to give up their email address and take the chance on being on your mailing list.
Offer great value. Rather than having your sign up box say, “Sign up to receive my weekly XYZ Newsletter” make it a value-add. Tell them why they should sign up. Offer great value. For example, “Do you want to save time and make more money? Our weekly tips offer actionable ways to do just that. Sign up to get started.” You’ve offered value and incentive.
Be clear. Don’t offer “time and money saving tips” but talk about “50 ways to jump start your business idea.” The ethical bribe and the sign up information should be cohesive.
Offer a discount to subscribers. If you have a course or a webinar or an inperson seminar on the horizon, offer “money off” to those who sign up for your newsletter. Money savings is a great incentive.
Include a call to action. Once your email or auto responder message reaches the new subscriber, have a call to action (other than the “confirm you wanted this message”). They have just signed up. They are invested in what you have to offer. Strike while the iron is hot.
Offer a money back guarantee. If you’re selling a product or service, offer a bullet proof money back guarantee. This gives the subscriber and individual paying for your course a way to feel good about the purchase and it also pushes you to provide the highest quality goods or services.
Do you have a way to capture emails? Once you have them on your list are you offering newsletter content that is of value? If you’re struggling with this, reach out to us, we can help!
