This is a follow up to my post "5 Mistakes New Biz Owners Should Avoid"
As some of you know, my most profitable biz to date has been in the fitness genre, with my personal training company landing a huge hit with Sorority Boot Camps.
I'm currently building new business models based more on Fastlane principals; leveraging the net, while spending less face-to-face time with clients.
That said, I've learned many valuable lessons that work GREAT for B&Ms, and some that can translate to internet-only companies.
1. Get Referrals and then Get Some More Referrals!
Happy customers are worth their weight in gold. One of the smartest things you can do is reward customers for referrals. If acquiring a new customer costs say $200 in advertising, then how valuable is it when a happy client refers 5 friends? That individual just gave you a thousand dollars of value!
If any of those referred customer continues to refer, you are now growing exponentially!
Getting referrals is cheap compared to advertising cost related to acquiring new leads and usually all it costs is a little bit of time. I can't stress this enough--get referrals, in fact...
2. Build Systems
If referrals are pure gold, how valuable is building a referral system? Make it simple as possible. Customer refers 1 person, customer gets X.
Build systems for other aspects of your business as well. Something that works well for goodwill is sending birthday cards. Have a system in place that reminds you. Do it the same way, day in and day out. Build systems for marketing, for sales...everything. This will allow you to bring in employees and take yourself out of the business if you're a sole proprietor.
3. Think in Big Numbers
I don't mean this in just monetary terms, but in delivery. How can you serve more people? How can you deliver bigger value? How can you get in front of a bigger number of people? How can you serve 10 more customers per hour? How about 100?
In theory, if you business systems are in place, plugging in bigger numbers should generate you more wealth.
4. Don't Waste Money--Save Some!
Just because you get tax breaks now, doesn't mean you should overspend. Do you really need a $12 broom, if you can get one for $5 that's just as good?
Always save some money, especially if things are doing well. The thing about business is you could follow up your best month with your worst month ever, so be prepared.
5. Occasionally Treat People in Power
I don't generally like to give people special treatment, but consider this: association can make you or break you. One thing I did was work with models in exchange for permission to use them in advertising. This saved me money, while also getting my company recognized for working with the best. This also allowed me to position my business as upscale, instead of having to compete based on price.
Another way this works is by treating a business owner. Their business and/or all their employees could use your service. So he or she employees 200 people, you just got 200 clients for the price of 1.
As some of you know, my most profitable biz to date has been in the fitness genre, with my personal training company landing a huge hit with Sorority Boot Camps.
I'm currently building new business models based more on Fastlane principals; leveraging the net, while spending less face-to-face time with clients.
That said, I've learned many valuable lessons that work GREAT for B&Ms, and some that can translate to internet-only companies.
1. Get Referrals and then Get Some More Referrals!
Happy customers are worth their weight in gold. One of the smartest things you can do is reward customers for referrals. If acquiring a new customer costs say $200 in advertising, then how valuable is it when a happy client refers 5 friends? That individual just gave you a thousand dollars of value!
If any of those referred customer continues to refer, you are now growing exponentially!
Getting referrals is cheap compared to advertising cost related to acquiring new leads and usually all it costs is a little bit of time. I can't stress this enough--get referrals, in fact...
2. Build Systems
If referrals are pure gold, how valuable is building a referral system? Make it simple as possible. Customer refers 1 person, customer gets X.
Build systems for other aspects of your business as well. Something that works well for goodwill is sending birthday cards. Have a system in place that reminds you. Do it the same way, day in and day out. Build systems for marketing, for sales...everything. This will allow you to bring in employees and take yourself out of the business if you're a sole proprietor.
3. Think in Big Numbers
I don't mean this in just monetary terms, but in delivery. How can you serve more people? How can you deliver bigger value? How can you get in front of a bigger number of people? How can you serve 10 more customers per hour? How about 100?
In theory, if you business systems are in place, plugging in bigger numbers should generate you more wealth.
4. Don't Waste Money--Save Some!
Just because you get tax breaks now, doesn't mean you should overspend. Do you really need a $12 broom, if you can get one for $5 that's just as good?
Always save some money, especially if things are doing well. The thing about business is you could follow up your best month with your worst month ever, so be prepared.
5. Occasionally Treat People in Power
I don't generally like to give people special treatment, but consider this: association can make you or break you. One thing I did was work with models in exchange for permission to use them in advertising. This saved me money, while also getting my company recognized for working with the best. This also allowed me to position my business as upscale, instead of having to compete based on price.
Another way this works is by treating a business owner. Their business and/or all their employees could use your service. So he or she employees 200 people, you just got 200 clients for the price of 1.
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