1. Be careful whom you take career advice from. There are many armchair career coaches that I believe fall into two categories:
a. Those who truly love you but are afraid you might fail.
b. Those who have hidden agendas and are afraid you will succeed.
Experienced business professionals, who have conquered the path you wish to take and have succeeded in their dreams, are the people you should listen too.
2. Trusting your instincts is good, but it will only get you so far. Mind power, business acumen and marketing will help you ride out the rest of the journey (especially in these hard hit economic times). Seek out experts in your field by making an appointment with your local chapter of S.C.O.R.E. They call themselves the “Counselors to the American Small Business” and they really are. This mentorship program is free. The mentors from S.C.O.R.E. are professional business people who have retired and their passion is to help other small-business people succeed. To find a chapter near you go to, http://www.score.org.
3. If your heart believes in it, let your body and mind follow your dream. The hardest step most entrepreneurs take is to follow their dream. While it is important to practical, you have to dare a bit to be able to dream. Step outside of the box society has put you into, and dare to do, not just dream.
4. Pay attention to the bottom line. Learn how accounting works. If you don’t know how to bill and collect the funds owed to you, keep track of your receipts, or have a fundamental knowledge about accounting procedures, find a qualified accounting firm. It is of the utmost importance that you keep accurate and detailed records of all transactions (sales and purchases). If you have time, and the extra money, take a few accounting and business courses at your local community college to further your knowledge of how to run your business. If you can do it yourself, you will be able to save money and keep afloat during hard economic times.
5. Measure your success not just in sales, but also in the reaction from the customers who utilize your services or purchase your products. Too many companies have forgotten about customer support. Customer support is the key to your ultimate success. When the customers are happy they talk about your product and services. When a customer is unhappy, they really talk about your product and services. Bad news tends to travel faster than good deeds done.
6. Market your product or services in unique ways. In an ocean of marketing campaigns how can you become the drop of water that gets attention? The Internet is an obvious marketing tool, but what about unsolicited spam snail mail? Use the pre-paid return envelopes received in junk snail mail, to enclose a note about your product or services. Another example is to offer your product or services in under utilized outlets. For example, I have a book titled 5 meals for $5. We contacted local grocery stores and it turned out to be a perfect fit.
7. Stage product giveaways. Create a sample of your product or services to giveaway. Contact radio and television stations and local charity events to find out if you can donate your product or service. If the answer is yes, list these events on your website to provide advertising to them (make sure to tell them you will be doing this. It’s an added bonus for them).
8. It’s all about the hook when you reel them in. A hook is a clever phrase that will make people curious. You don’t want to over use hooks, but a funny hook is worth its weight in reading. An example of a hook we used for a free money-saving seminar I gave is “Cash Crunch Got You Crying?” This hook hit people right where they were feeling it most, their pocket books. According to the store manager, we sold more books than at any other author event they had hosted!
9. Have patience and perseverance. Most “overnight successes” have actually been working hard for years. “Overnight” just means it’s the first time you’ve heard of them.
10. Create a map in your mind as well as on paper about your future goals. Much has been said about what I call Mind Mapping. Most people write this step off as fairy tales and hokum (this is not the same as the “name it and claim it” theory). However, there is a lot of truth to the reality of Mind Mapping. How does it work? By making a Mind Map, you are practicing your future steps and how they will play out. Let me use the Olympic record holder Michael Phelps as an example. To get to the Olympics he spent years training his body and his mind. Much of his success is a result of his mental training as well as his physical training. He didn’t just jump into the pool and land at the Olympics. Lay out your plans for your future and practice how you will handle each hurdle in each step so that you will come prepared for success.
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