What to Focus on First (and Next) When Starting a Business
Skipping steps or proceeding in the wrong order delay success.
I understand your desire to focus on getting clients and making money as fast as possible when you start a business. But focusing on your strategies for learning and building relationships first increases your chances for both.
Many people make the mistake of jumping into business activities without putting a solid foundation in place and having a strategy in place for building their business.
Others work on the right things, but at the wrong time. For example, they often spend money on marketing without having a clear message or they invest a lot of time building things no one wants to buy.
To succeed in business, you must have three things: a market, a message, and a compelling offer.
And, as a business owner, you need to address four areas of strategic focus: financial growth, customer growth, operational growth, and learning and development.
To reach your target market and attract potential buyers, learn everything you can about them before creating a product or service. This can spare you a lot of disappointment, frustration and wasted time.
Then, define and communicate your marketing message effectively to attract the right clients to you.
Next, create irresistible offers to present to your target market and present them in a way that helps you stand out from the competition. You can’t do this until you spend time learning more about what other choices they have that you’re competing against.
Using what you’ve learned, decide how to best serve your ideal customer in a way that differentiates you from everyone else selling in that same market.
From there, learn how to set up the operational aspects of your business in a way that delivers a friction-free customer experience before, during, and after someone buys anything from you.
Selling things does not mean you’re in business. Making money selling things means you are in business.
