Every Saturday morning, as I'm going about my weekend "chores," you can catch me watching A&E's line up of Sell This House, Flip This House and, my favorite, We Mean Business. The last show follows company guru Bill Rancic, technology wiz Katie Linendoll, and branding specialist Peter Gurski as they lend their pro savvy to a struggling entrepreneur in need of a small company makeover.
I think what I love most about the show is seeing small company owners who have sunk their blood, sweat and tears-not to mention their lowest dollars-into their life's passion get a second opening at success.
But aside from the program's feel-good vibe, each episode is also loaded with real-world company lessons that all solopreneurs can learn from. And who's going to turn down free advice from top experts?
Here are the top lessons that come up again and again...
1. It's not personal. It's business. This might be the hardest pill for any passion-driven entrepreneur to swallow. You start your company because you want to make a living doing what you love. You put your entire self into the business. You sacrifice. You sweat. You cry. You give your all. And while that dedication is commendable, when it comes to production tough company decisions, it's often difficult to put your personal feelings aside. Yet that's exactly what entrepreneurs must often do if they want to have a profitable company as opposed to a positively costly hobby.
2. You have to proactively and continuously shop your business. As my company partner, Toni, likes to say: "Just because you build it, doesn't mean they'll come!" Yet practically every company owner that's been featured on the show has two things in common: The products or services they sell are fabulous. And they think that's sufficient to attract paying customers.
The reality is however, that you have to be relentless when it comes to marketing your business. At any given time, you should have multiple marketing strategies in place that are working to attract customers to your company even while you're sleeping. Having a website is just the beginning point. Do you have a Facebook fan page? Ads running in ezines or magazines? A calendar of trade shows at which you'll be exhibiting? A referral program? A blog? At a Minimum, you should have five strategies actively working to attract customers at any given time.
3. Be willing to take input from others. It all the time amuses me when the featured company owner (who, by the way, is typically the one who contacted the show in the first place) decides to dig their heels in and refuses to make the changes that Rancic and his team are recommending. What these owners don't understand is not only that they are too close to the problems in their company to see things clearly, but also that accepting specialist advice is not admitting failure or showing weakness. In fact, it's far from it! The smartest Ceos in the world surround themselves with and seek out advice from people who are smarter than they are.
4. If what you're doing isn't working, make a change. Have you ever heard how Albert Einstein defined insanity? He said it's "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting dissimilar results." And how right he was! If you're not getting the results you want in your business, then you need to do something different! Yes, it might be uncomfortable. Yes, it might not work. But if what you're doing now isn't working anyway, what's the harm in trying something new?
5. Invest in your business. I don't care what the so-called "internet marketing experts" say about production millions overnight without investing a dime (other than of course the ,000 you need to spend on their program to find out how to do it!) J
As far as I'm concerned, you have to spend money to make money. Granted, ideally you want to be production a heck of a lot more money than you're spending. But just like love and marriage, you can't have one without the other. And if you spend money on only one thing, it should be on marketing. Don't wait until the end of the month to see what petite is left over and think that's your marketing budget. Your marketing spending needs to be a set whole that you commit to growing your company every singular month. Treat it just like your internet or cell phone bill. You wouldn't dream of doing company without those tools, and neither should you do company without an active marketing campaign.
6. Appearance matters. I don't know if the show's producers intentionally seek out the shabbiest seeing businesses they can find, or if it just comes with the territory that entrepreneurs who don't care about the appearance of their company have terrible results. Either way, it's inviting to see that none of the company owners featured on the show "get" the fact that the appearance of all from company cards to storefronts to stock packaging play a major role in Either or not people want to buy and even how much they're willing to spend.
Even if you don't have a store or an office space, people will still get an impression of you from your website, your logo, the way you talk your phone, the look of your email messages and your company cards. Having a polished, pro appearance sends the message that you take your company seriously-and that means potential customers will take it seriously, too.
7. Mind your business. Many heart-centered solopreneurs have a misguided impression that they're going to spend virtually all their time creating fabulous hand-crafted jewelry or working one-on-one with personal training clients. What they fail to take into consideration is that you positively have to conduct your business. You have to keep precise records of all financials. You have to know how much you're spending on expenses and continuously look for ways to spend less. You have to know what products or services are selling and which ones are not. And you have to know what your net earnings (your profit) is each month. If you need help, it's easy to find a part-time bookkeeper who can help you for a few hours each month. The cost will more than pay for itself when you start to make decisions that are based on financial fact, rather than on your "gut instinct" or personal feelings.
If you haven't had a opening to catch an episode of We Mean Business, I very suggest it. (You can even watch the episodes right online.) I certify you'll learn something new you can use to be more victorious in your own business!
a fantastic read 7 Things Solopreneurs Can Learn From My favorite Weekend Show a fantastic read
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