Stepping Stones To Becoming A Successful Businessman/Woman

9 stepping stones to becoming a successful businessman or woman

If you are thinking of starting your own business, a major part of it is writing a business plan along with cultivating a mindset that will benefit you in the long run. 

Between dating an entrepreneur, being close friends with his business parter (Bogdan) an entrepreneur, reading books for business success and podcasts from the biggest names in the game, here are some of my takeaways for you. Hopefully you will find value in the hours and years of learning, I've summarized in this brief article.

First: You NEED to have a vision. A goal. A purpose. A passion. 

Mostly vision and passion if I am being honest. The goal needs to be crystal clear in your mind that you know exactly what you want to achieve with your business. 

As time goes on your vision will become hazy as your wants and needs change. That's why it's important to sit down with yourself and evaluate what it is you want.

Writing down your vision, no matter how grand (in fact the grander the better) will help you keep focus. Writing it down will ensure that the decisions you make will be aligned towards your overall vision and suits your passion. 

Second: Go to the moon.

I already touched on this but your vision and goals for your business doesn't need to be small to accommodate your current limitations. Think big, think grand, go to the moon! 

Clearly define your overall goal of going to the moon, then set short-term goals that you want to achieve in 6-12months time. What sort of revenue will you be making at these goal points? How many customers will you have? Employees? Office space? 

Break those down even further. What type of customers do you want? What's their age? Their gender? Your employees, what roles are you going to hire for first? Your office space, what location would be best? How much do you want to spend towards it?

Breaking it down will help you get to the moon faster.

(Hopefully you caught on that the moon was an analogy for your goals...ok. perfect, moving on)

Third: What makes you special?

It's really important to define your unique selling proposition. Why are you different? What makes you special? Why should anyone spend a single dime on what you are trying to sell?

Maybe it's the experience that they get from you. Or if you have a warranty that someone else doesn't have. Highlight these amazing extra benefits your customers will get out of choosing you over anyone else. 

Fourth: Think like the bread aisle.

When you walk down the bread aisle....there is a whole aisle dedicated to bread. Sections to peanut butter alone. Heck, even salt and pepper have varieties! 

You aren't going to be unique in the market place. You're going to have competition, and if you are lucky enough you will have people that copy you. 

Do not let this stop you! 

Stop you from continuing, starting or dreaming bigger. 

What you can do to prepare for this is to 1) realize that the marketplace is huge, it can fit everyone. 2) Do a lot of research on your competitors. How many are there in your niche? What services do they offer? What is their pricing structure? What do you like about them and what do you not like? 3) know your market like the back of your hand 4) Keep a pulse on current trends of your industry.

When you are doing those 4 things you'll be able to manipulate and pivot within your niche with ease.

Fifth: Go on a long road-trip with your customer.

Figuratively speaking. You really need to know your customer. They are the single most important part of any business. Without them, you aren't going to be a business. 

No matter what niche you are in, there is always going to be another choice for them to go to. Customers are spoiled. They can pick and choose and they've gotten used to getting exactly what they want. So if you want them to spend money with you, you need to know the reasons why. You need to define your target audience, habits, wants, needs, pains, demographics. Put yourself in their shoes and help make their life better. 

Sixth: Does your milkshake bring anyone to the yard?

You have to know if there is a demand for your product or service. Study your market's supply curve. One of the basic rules of business that I learned in college is that there should be more demand than there is supply. If you have that, your business will thrive. 

Seventh: Know how to market your product or service.

You need to set out clearly defined marketing goals. What will your product or service look like to your customer? What is the cost going to look like to promote your business? 

Setting up clearly defined and measurable marketing goals will help you get to the moon faster. Just remember that you went on a road-trip with your customer, so keep their wants and needs in mind as you create a marketing strategy for them. 

(p.s. if you need help with a marketing strategy, I wrote a blog about 6 things you absolutely need to be doing in 2019). 

Eighth: What's your profit margin?

Ok, so you made a marketing plan/strategy, but you need to know how you're going to achieve them. How many products do you need to sell to make your desired revenue? What platforms are you going to use to achieve that, how much are those platforms and how much profit will you make after marketing on those platforms? 

Ninth and Final: You just need to start.

Hesitation kills more business than anything else. You can plan all you want, you can crunch numbers, do research...but at the end of the day if you don't actually DO THE THING, then you've lost before you even started. 

These are the biggest takeaways and what I consider to be the true stepping stones to starting a business. However, everyone is different. There is for sure some items that can be added to this list and maybe some people will argue you can take some out of it. 

At the end of the day however, I think that no matter what you do you're going to need a business plan, know your market, know your customer, how you market to them and how to make a profit. 

Just note that if you don't know how to successfully execute one of these, it's best to hire someone. Hire someone that will absolutely kill your marketing game. Or will do an in-depth analysis of your market and customer so you can make crucial business decisions. Don't be scared to delegate! 

Thanks for your time dear reader, I hope to see you again soon! 

xoxo