She said, “I’m not chasing people for business.”
Translate that into, “I’m not prepared to follow up and take an active interest in the people who are potentially interested in working with me. My ego is so big that I expect customers will rain from the sky and I’ll never have to put any effort into selling and my life will be perfect.”
I hate to be the one to tell you, but this is not how you build a business.
Do you ever find it hard to take advice?
Even though you believe that you’ve got an open mind, is there an itty-bitty voice in your head that whispers, “What? No! THAT won’t work!” when being offered a suggestion or a different way of doing things?
That little voice is your ego.
She asked me, “How do you stop commingling your money and start operating your business the right way?”
I did a Shop Talk on one of the biggest mistakes that you can make in your business. It was all about commingling your money – that’s when you start a business and you mix your personal and business finances.
Not long after that post, I received an email from someone who said to me:
“I really, really liked your Shop Talk video blog on commingling your money. My question is, if you are someone who is doing that, what is the first step to fix it? How do you stop co-mingling your money and start operating your business the right way?”
One of the biggest objections people have when it comes to social media is that it takes way too much time. Although this can be a valid objection, there are usually underlying reasons as to why social media becomes time consuming for users.
Here are some of the reasons why social media may be eating up all of your time:
• You don’t really know how to use the different sites and because you don’t know how to use them, it takes you longer to figure out what to do.
• You don’t really have a plan and because you don’t have a plan you are always on the spot looking for the right thing to say and when that isn’t easy to do you get sucked in.
• You consume everyone else’s content and posts, you click on links, look at pictures and watch videos… because you are not clear on what you are there to do.
She invested $10,000 in a group-coaching program and has not received what she expected in terms of how to build her business. The contract she signed is iron clad and she has no choice but to pay for the program in full, regardless of how she feels.
Another woman invested $3,000 and she is embarrassed to ask for her money back, even though the coaching program is stressing her to the max. The coach has given her a massive list of things that must be done with no clear direction on what the strategy is, leaving this woman feeling overwhelmed and with a bad case of buyers remorse.
It is your responsibility to do your due diligence when hiring a coach.
You may be thinking this article might not apply to you but the truth is, selling your business or having it go belly up is a reality for many business owners.
Why is it that some people are successful in selling their businesses while others just close up shop and walk away leaving their equity and goodwill on the table?
When you start a business, usually the last thing you think about is an exit strategy. You think you are in it for the long run and sometimes you have huge visions of growth.
But the truth is, you work really hard to build your business and when the time comes to move on, if you have something of value, you should be able to pass it on to someone else and pocket some cash at the same time.
When I started The Organic Basket Company back in 2001, it was a home based business. I aspired to be able to grow this business into a coffee shop model, to maybe franchise and have stores all over the place and to retail gift baskets in many locations.
Then the grind settled in and although the business was generating about $30,000.00 a year (with me only working one weekend a month), after a while, the work became boring and did not challenge me intellectually.
I tried to bring someone else in to help me with the business but my profit margins were not really big enough for me to pay someone to do the work and keep some money for myself.
Then in 2006, I opened Parlez Wireless, an Authorized TELUS Dealership. The basket business continued to exist but my focus was completely moved to the new endeavour.
Over the next year, the basket business pretty much dried up and I sold it for a very small amount of money, basically enough to cover the cost of the products I had on hand.
In 2012, I sold Parlez Wireless. This time things were different.
The most important lesson from The Organic Basket Company was this:
Two years before Parlez Wireless sold, I had begun my consulting business. This time, there was a team who could operate the business without me and the business did not decline the way the basket business did.
Inside though, I knew this was not what I aspired to do long term so I started making plans to exit. The difference this time was I sold my on hand inventory and walked away with actual money for the equity I had built in the business.
In addition, the business had solid operating systems, sales tracking, cash-flow tools etc, all the things you learn in The Pilot Project. It was a profitable business ready to go without a new owner having to put a lot of time and money into it. This made it more appealing to buyers and allowed me to sell it at a price I was comfortable with.
Just because you may not feel the interest anymore does not mean that someone else wouldn’t be thrilled to continue to build up momentum from where you left off. Build something really great and sell it when the value is still there.
Check out this Shop Talk Video on When to Pull the Chute and Sell Your Business for more tips and share in the comments – Have you ever sold a business?
Competition in business is fierce!
The Internet has made it easy for anyone to hang a shingle, open for business, and begin selling products and services. Your barrier to entry is much easier and affordable than opening a traditional bricks and mortar business and, because of this, there are WAY more people starting businesses than ever before.
This means that your ability to be unique and clear in your why is more important then ever if you really want to stand out.
When I first started my consulting business and decided to help people with Social Media, I knew I couldn’t be the same as everyone else if I wanted my business to thrive.
There had to be a way to be uniquely different and positioned from the competition.
When you are trying to be unique and different you can’t do business the exact same way as everyone else or you won’t stand out. You will be the same, just like them, and that doesn’t give your customer a compelling reason to choose you.
What makes you different is what sells.
Stop trying to be the same as other successful people and start looking at it this way: What is that thing that makes you different from the rest?
Let’s look at my business as an example for you to follow:
Social Media Experts are a dime a dozen so why even bother, right?
Anyone can say they are an expert. I see people with 300 Twitter followers boasting they are the “best” at Social Media.
So what set me apart?
When I started teaching Social Media to business owners it wasn’t just about Social Media. That’s what made me different.
I am NOT an expert at Social Media. I don’t know EVERYTHING when it comes to Social Media but I do know this:
I have incredible retail subject matter expertise when it comes to building a business, measuring what matters, attracting customers, and closing sales.
I also understand how people use their mobile device and how to leverage that device addiction so that you can stay connected to your customer and prospect.
I innately understand how Social Media bridges it all together creating as secret sauce for success in business.
And, I know that teaching you how to install a fancy app on your Facebook page is NOT the key to helping you create sustainable success in your business. But, teaching you how to build relationships and get clarity and confidence in what you do can.
This video talks about why I got started, how to create your own category and really stand out.
You can do this too whether you’re in start up or already have a successful business.
Start by asking yourself these three questions:
1. What am I really good at?
2. How am I different from my competition?
3. Why do your customers love doing business with you?
If you understand these three questions, you are on your way to creating your own category and standing out amongst the competition.
Share your answer to one of these questions in the comments below!
One of the top obstacles for entrepreneurs is trying to figure out how to market their business online and share on Social Media.
If you are stuck in this rut where you feel like you’re saying the same thing over and over again and no one is really listening, you need to know that it can be easier.
Content is key — it is the reason why people want to visit your website and pay attention to what you do. They are seeking out your expertise and want information that can help them.
Your expertise and knowledge can make a huge difference for someone else when you share and can assist with building a strong and connected platform for your business via Social Media.
In this video I share some of my best kept secrets for taking content creation from overwhelm to systematized.
And this only scratches the surface of what the members of the Content Pilot will learn! (find out more here: http://www.lisalarter.com/contentpilot)
So, check out these secrets then let me know – What is the one thing you are going to do today to make content creation easier for your business? Share in the comments!
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Shop Talk – Get Your Gravatar On! 27 Aug , 2012
