How I Built My Business From $0 to 6-Figures

Did you know that 74% of the time, people buy from the first person who gives them real insight or a significant shift in perspective?

I didn’t know when I started in business, which led me to make many mistakes as I tried to attract new customers and scale.

Like many new entrepreneurs, when I started in business, I was sure that I had a great concept that people would be falling all over themselves to buy as soon as I offered it to them.

“Build it, and they will come,” seems to be a fairly common mindset for new business owners (I had it). Unfortunately, in a crowded marketplace, this isn’t the case for most of us.

After the first few months of struggling to attract clients and get sales, I realized a few simple rules that a business had to follow to be successful. Once I did, my business increased…and yours can too.

To learn what made some businesses grow and others falter, I spent time researching what was different about the successful ventures. It turns out that there are a few simple rules that all of the fastest growing and most sustainable businesses followed. They were surprisingly simple.

Here are the rules that I learned by watching the most successful small businesses around me:

1. Understand your ideal customer. This is a hard one for many new business owners (and for some long-time entrepreneurs), and the truth is that you can’t be everything to everyone. Marketing guru Seth Godin says, “If you are talking to everyone, you’re talking to no one.” Knowing who it is that you are creating your product/offering for is vital for success.
2. It’s not about you. This is pretty similar to the first rule for success, though I have found that many early-stage entrepreneurs forget that it’s always about the customer. As you write marketing materials or develop new offerings, try to put yourself in your ideal client’s shoes.
3. Don’t spend time and money everywhere. In business, especially as you get started, it is easy to spend your time and money around with little to show for it in the end. Networking opportunities, advertising, investor pitches, software…the list of places to spend time and money is never-ending. Taking a strategic approach will make your business financially sound more quickly. Audit where and how you spend your time and money. It matters because both are limited resources.
4. Be authentic. Ok, by this point in the pandemic, you have heard this message a thousand times. “Be authentic” sounds like something that would be easy for a small business owner to do. After all, you are in your business because you love it. But we have been conditioned to create marketing that “sells,” not marketing that inspires. Now, selling doesn’t work anymore. Gone are cold calls and in-your-face ads. Your customers want to know you and your business; they want to feel that your brand cares about them. When they do, they will buy from you. It’s the best way to create raving fans and a loyal following.
5. Hang in there. Resiliency is a skill that the best small business owners build throughout running their ventures. The truth is that being a business owner can be challenging. It takes time, money, and includes much stress to go from $0 to 6-figures. Some have described the entrepreneurial journey as a rollercoaster, and I agree. Somedays you are on top of the world, and others, you aren’t sure that you will make it. My best advice? Try to relax and enjoy the crazy ride!

Being in business isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be hard either. Following these simple steps will make your work less stressful and more fun. This is especially true now as we go through a pandemic (the first in our lifetimes), ride out an upcoming recession that comes out of it, and navigate the changes happening in the world around us.

There has never been a better time to start and grow a business.