The 3 Mistakes I Made When I Started my Business & How to Avoid Them
The 3 Mistakes I Made When I Started my Business & How to Avoid Them
- Waiting far too long to DO
- Practicing monkey see, monkey do
- Expecting to sell providing value one time
Everyone and their mother in online business seems to be selling you on their way, their solution, their method.
I know I felt that way when I first started out.
But I felt trapped in my corporate career and wanted a quick fix to get out.
So I started buying ALL the courses and programs.
And ALL the courses told me to do ALL the things.
One swore by Instagram, another taught email marketing, a third around online memberships... and the list goes on and on.
What not one of them mentioned in their ad copy, was that pretty much any method you choose, implement and stick to will work...
But you do need a way to keep the cash flowing into your business.
It’s not as sexy as saying you get paid $x per post on Instagram.
It’s not as sexy as saying your email marketing is making you money while you sleep.
It’s not as sexy as saying your membership website is “passive” income.
...but what’s also not sexy?
Saying you have a “business” when it’s not earning money consistently.
The only thing you actually need for your online business to succeed is a sales system.
A sales system just means you have a consistent way of bringing potential customers into your business, and converting them to paying clients.
Let me spare you the trial and error of buying all the courses promising all the things… #BeenThereDoneThat
And today I’ll share the three mistakes I made when building my business without a sales system, so that you can avoid them.
1. I procrastinated by learning instead of doing.
Every budding entrepreneur in a cushy corporate job makes this one.
I told myself I needed to “learn more” before I did anything.
I didn’t think I knew anything about online business even though I’d listened to podcasts, taken courses, and joined masterminds.
But did I really have to learn as much as I did?
Turns out I learned best by DOING.
I started taking messy and imperfect action.
I hosted my first webinar in a hotel room while I was traveling for my full time job, with 3 registrants and zero attendees.
I created a system that I continued to improve on because HONESTLY, how did I think I was going to get any better without starting somewhere?
You can’t outlearn action.
And it’s everything I learned from taking action that helped me to actually grow my business (instead of learning, thinking and learning some more).
2. I tried to apply someone else’s success method to my own business.
When I was finally ready to start DOING, I looked at what the so-called “experts” were doing and tried to follow in their footsteps.
Why would that be a mistake, you ask?
It seems to make perfect sense why reinvent the wheel?
What worked for them should work for me, right?
Nope.
Because then you’re literally trying to apply the same methods as someone who has been in business for ten years and has a team of six people BY YOURSELF.
So you feel inadequate. You burn out. You suffer from self-doubt and think that obviously, the reason it’s not working is YOU.
It was only when I took what I’d learned and created a system that worked for me… that I started to see results.
Before you go out and try to follow some guru’s method based on what you saw on a perfectly crafted Facebook ad...
Make sure your way of doing business is aligned with who you are trying to serve, your strengths and where you want your business to go.
That’s much more important than the method you choose to get there.
3. I didn’t build my audience first.
When I was in ‘side hustle’ mode and purchasing all the courses that would get me one step closer to creating that perfect online business, I became obsessed with picking the “right” thing.
The best thing.
The thing that would work for me the FIRST TIME.
I didn’t want to wait!
I mean, obviously, people would recognize my brilliance, my passion and my desire to help them... and have them pay me to transform their lives.
Which would mean I’d finally escape my corporate career, right?
Boy, was I wrong!
What I didn’t understand then and what I do now is that you need an audience before you can sell anything.
You don’t have to have thousands of raving fans. But you do need people who know you, like you, trust you enough to buy what you have to offer.
A good sales system incorporates finding, serving and converting clients who have a problem that your offer solves on a consistent basis
And leaves you hearing…
`I've been looking for something just like (insert your program/ service / solution here)!’
So there you have it. The 3 mistakes I made when starting my online business that helped me test, try and tweak the sales system that led me to where I am now.
Ready to get a sales system that feels good for your business in place?
If you’re an online business owner, you know the value of having potential clients reach out to you.
But maybe you’re struggling to narrow your focus.
Or stumbling over the sales piece.
Or stuck on how to determine what tasks can actually move you forward each day.
Not sure what sales system makes sense for YOUR business? Book a free call with me and let me show you exactly what to do and how to do it.