Business Models

How Do You Know If Your New Business Idea Will Actually Work?

August 24, 2020 by Dan Lok

So you’ve got a big business idea. It could be something you’ve been stewing over for several years. Or it’s a spur-of-the-moment idea you feel you could actually commit to.

Regardless of the stage of your idea, you may be asking:

Am I willing to quit my job to pursue this?
Do I have to sacrifice any money to make this work?
Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

Many times, these fears can be summed up in one question:

How do I know my new business idea will actually work?

Life isn’t built on certainty, and the variables of success are too many to count. If you could ensure your ultimate success early in your entrepreneurial journey, wouldn’t you?

Of course you would.

These steps aren’t part of a mindless checklist. They require intensive research and effort. They’ll also call for a dose of introspection and plenty of thinking time. So if you’re looking for an easy checklist, you’ve come to the wrong place.

But if you’re willing to put in the work to follow through on your business idea, these action items are for you.

The first step is asking the right questions. If you can channel the questions you have in an effective way, you’ll learn to better understand yourself and get a stronger grasp on your business idea.

The second step is putting your business idea to the test. Technology enables you to test the concept behind your business before you go all-in. Using social media and other channels to test your business plan will let you know if you can succeed in the “real” world.

In this article, we’ll hand you the keys to both of these action items. First, we’ll cover some questions you should ask yourself as you think through your business idea. Second, we’ll share some of the best ways we’ve seen entrepreneurs put their ideas to the test.

5 Questions to Ask About Your New Business Idea

1. Why do I want to start this business?

We’re not talking about your business plan here. We’re talking about your why.

The biggest success factor for your new business idea is you. - Dan Lok Share on X

Now is the time to realize if you care about the business or if you’re chasing something else – fame, money, or approval. Fame, money, and approval aren’t bad in themselves. But if you make them your focus, you’re digging a hole for yourself and the business.

Uncovering your “why” —your core business motivation —will be an advantage when you hit tough times. Your “why” will guide you through the challenges every entrepreneur is bound to face.

Take a look at the mission statement for the Disney company:

The mission of The Walt Disney Company is to entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling, reflecting the iconic brands, creative minds, and innovative technologies that make ours the world’s premier entertainment company.

Everyone surrounding Walt Disney knew that he was an incredible optimist and a master storyteller. These core motivations haven’t changed since the company’s early days. They impact every movie Disney releases and add the spark of magic people experience at Disney World.

As the founder of your company, this is the same kind of impact that you can have on the lasting legacy of your business.

2. Am I willing to do whatever it takes to make this happen?

Successful businesses rely on a leadership team with total commitment to the company vision.

If you’re not willing to sacrifice a great job, free time, social life, or other things that are important, you may not be ready to launch your business.

There was once a man passionate about duck hunting. He was so passionate that he actually turned down a career in the NFL to follow his vision. He ended up inventing several duck calls, and that’s the beginning of the story of the Duck Dynasty. That man was Phil Robertson, and he and his sons still run this hugely successful company.

Does your business idea have to be your biggest passion? No.

But do you need the inner resolve to push through the hurdles that are sure to come your way? Unquestionably, yes.

Where there’s a will there’s a way, and this resolve increases the chances of your business succeeding.

3. What is the problem my business idea solves?

Let’s face it: not having a problem you can solve with your new business makes success less attainable. We call these pain points. Unless your customers see a way your product can improve their lives, they won’t buy it. Simple as that.

If you don’t know the problem you’re trying to solve or the way your company is making the world a better place, you’ll have no selling point for your product.

If your company is groundbreaking, there’s a chance you’ll have to show people a problem they didn’t know they have. Take Ford Motor company, for example. Henry Ford is famously known for saying

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

Another example of a company that solves a huge problem is GrubHub. The company was started by two developers working for Apartments.com. Working late, they were frustrated with the lack of food options and the constant issue of having to give credit card numbers over the phone.

So they built Grubhub—a directory for restaurants plus a service that allowed people to order food from the comfort of their homes.

This is a problem most busy people had, but everyone just dealt with it. Grubhub posed a solution to a previously unsolved problem for many Americans.

4. How big is the market my business could reach?

Ask questions about the market you want to reach. This approach is simply an extension of the question “What is the problem my business idea solves?”

Let’s take it a little further:

Is this problem something only a certain group of people have?
Is this problem affected by where my customers live?
How many people have this problem?
Will my product be something anybody can access, or does the amount of money they make come into play?

Simply asking these questions means doing substantial market research.

Wouldn’t you want to dive into the research if it meant more money?

There are two ways to make a lot of money:

Sell a high volume of products at a reasonable price.
Sell fewer products at a higher price.

If your target market is small (i.e. entrepreneurs in Chicago with a net worth of over $2M) then your product needs to be worthy of and sell for a higher price point.

On the flip side, if the potential market for your company is large, you’ll need to find some way to convince that market of the value of your product.

5. What strengths and weaknesses do I bring to the table?

What do you think is the most important factor of success in your business?

YOU.

Start now and do some serious self-assessment. You won’t want a personal downfall to mean the demise of your business later on.

When it comes to entrepreneurship, many founders are really good at one or two things. Yet they lack ability in several others.

For example, some entrepreneurs are great at marketing and sales but are chronically disorganized. It pays for them to recognize this and to hire other people to manage the company operations.

Others may be technically skilled but have no concept of how to pitch their product.

If you correctly analyze your business strengths and weaknesses now, you'll do yourself a favor in the long run. - Dan Lok Share on X

The success of Apple had to do with partners who complimented each others’ strengths and weaknesses. Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs met while working a summer job.

At the time, Wozniak was building a computer. Jobs, on the other hand, saw its potential to solve a global problem.

Without the insight and business sense Jobs brought to the table, Wozniak probably would never have put the computer on the market. And of course, Jobs would never have had a product without Wozniak’s analytical and technical abilities.

6 Ways to test your New Business Idea

Now that you have gone through the big questions, it’s time to put your big idea to a potential test.

1. Use social media to test your ideas.

Isn’t it funny how one simple post asking a question on Facebook can get hundreds of comments? How quick are people to share their opinion on Twitter?

These are opportunities.

Start sharing the problem you’re solving with your friends. Ask them directly if they would buy the product you’re trying to sell. See if they’re willing to share details about the company you’re trying to build. Ask for their feedback on potential business models or marketing ideas.

If you’re extra adventurous, try starting a Facebook page and running some simple ads to a landing page that explains the product you want to develop.

Chances are if you can get engagement on social media around the idea you’re building a product around, there will also be people who want to invest money in it.

Social media is also a great way to get an idea of other perspectives as you build out your business plan. Just remember to take everything with a grain of salt: not everything people say on social media should be taken to heart.

2. Start a newsletter.

A newsletter about your business idea will have so many benefits. First, you’ll be able to test whether people are willing to make a commitment to your business.

An email is one of the most valuable things you can have when it actually comes time to launch your business. Email gives you direct access to a potential customer who is already invested enough in your idea to give you personal information.

Finally, it’s going to be incredibly valuable to you to regularly share the progress you’re making on your business as you figure out how to build it. You’ll be able to stay accountable to potential customers and get continual feedback as you test and implement your product.

3. Get yourself in front of investors.

What’s one of the best indicators of success? When someone is willing to commit to and invest in whatever you’re building.

You can look for potential investors by networking. You may have already been keeping your eyes open for potential partners in this business venture. If so, offer to take these people out for coffee or pay for their lunch and ask for their advice and ideas.

Use LinkedIn to pitch investors who have been involved in companies similar to yours. Make a point to connect to these people. This way, when you’re ready to ask for investments, you will have a network of people who already know and trust you.

If you don’t want to go the route of traditional investors, you could try crowdfunding. Kickstarter, SeedInvest, and Patreon are several options if you’re going for smaller investors.

Finally, maybe the best option for you will be to create an MVP (a minimum viable product) that you can test on the market for a lesser price than what you eventually want to charge.

This way, you’re already accountable to the market while you’re bringing in the first bit of money you’ll need to grow your business.

Regardless of how you choose to get your initial funding, the basic idea still stands: you won’t know your business can be successful until someone can put their money where their mouth is.

4. Create a survey.

Are you looking to do more market research and understand a bit more about your potential customers before you raise money? No problem.

You can create a quick survey using SurveyMonkey, Typeform, Google Forms, or FormAssembly where people can give you their true opinions about what you’re building.

Ask family and friends to complete the form as a favor to you. You’d be surprised how much they know about you! Then market your survey to a broader group of people.

5. Get an understanding of the financial side.

Do you have any idea how much it’s going to cost to create your product? Or if it’s even reasonable to think you can make money off of it?

How much of the work will you need to outsource? How many employees will you need st a minimum and how experienced do they have to be?

If you don’t feel equipped to do the research on this yourself, flesh out the idea with someone who can give you good advice.

If you can’t make money, your business will ultimately fail.

And it’s better to find that out now rather than to run into a hiccup you could have avoided by doing the proper legwork in advance.

6. Do some background research.

Most people like to call this “researching the competition.”

Know your competition and their successes. The time you invest in this research will be valuable when you’re assessing how to build your business.

Besides, it will let you know if your potential market is saturated or if you have the potential to create a true win.

Here are several tools you can use to research your competition:

Social media profiles. What does a product similar to yours do for an Instagram page? How active are the founding members and C-level employees on social media? Do they run ads on Facebook or Twitter?

Google. Search “Products for (Problem You’re Trying To Solve)” or “(Industry Name) Companies”. Take some time to assess the top pages that come up during your searches. Is your competition spending time creating content around the problem you’re solving? What are they doing to get noticed?

Keyword Tools. Want to know how your business can succeed? Study what people are searching for in your target industry. Keyword tools like Ubersuggest or Ahrefs allow you to study the analytics of certain search terms in your target industry. With these tools, you can see who consistently ranks for keywords in the space you’re targeting. The companies who are ranking for your target keywords are the ones you should begin to study.

If you’re interested in diving deeper, Dan goes into more detail about the idea in this video.

Wrapping it all up

In the end, you can’t determine the profit of your business by doing the same thing as another entrepreneur. You won’t have a guaranteed path to success by following a set of rules.

Your business will succeed because of your hustle. It’s going to make money because of your determination to keep going.

Finally, your business will power through difficulty with your ability to research, test, and adapt. You can start the process while your business is still in the idea phase.

If you start the process of research today, you’ll set your business up for long-lasting success.

How To Start A Successful Consulting Business

August 5, 2020 by Dan Lok

Thinking about how to start a successful consulting business? You’re not alone. The consulting business industry has been growing for the past several years. In 2017, the global consulting market was forecasted at around 262 billion U.S. dollars. The number of management consultants in the U.S. reached 709,750 in 2019. But how do you start a successful consulting business that stands out from the crowd?

There’s a secret to going from zero to $100,000 to making a million dollars a year. Dan Lok shares these strategies with his students in the High Ticket Closer® Certification Program. In this program, Dan shares all of his lessons learned over the past twenty years. To help you start off in the right direction, we will share one of the most important secrets with you in this article.

Watch this video about successful coaching and consulting secrets.

Relationships, Not Transactions

When thinking about how to start a successful consulting business, you first have to be clear about what it actually takes. What do you think consulting is? You see, consulting is not about transactions and your sales of services. One thing far more important than selling a service is relationship management. Your relationship with the client and how you make them feel is as important as what you sell.

Dan Lok always tells his students – people buy because of what you sell, but they stay with you because of who you are. This means that you need to nurture and strengthen your relationships with clients. This is what distinguishes you from your competition. It’s all about how you made them feel. Often it has way less to do with the quality of your work and much more with the quality of the relationship you built.

If you base your relationship with the clients on the transaction only, you will have a hard time generating consistent income. Money exchanged for service should not be the only thing connecting you with your client. You have to make your clients feel good to make sure they return and recommend you to others. If you only exchange your service for money, how will they get to know you? How will they connect with you?

How to Connect

If you want to know how to start a successful consulting business, you must cultivate transformative relationships. What does that mean? It means that you’re not being seen as a commodity where the client leaves the money and you do the work. Having a transformative relationship means enhancing the business in some meaningful way.

People buy because of what you sell, and they stay because of who you are. -Dan Lok Share on X

But what if you provide technical support and your relationship is mostly transactional? Well, let’s imagine that you help people set up their automated webinars in their funnels. You provide the service and help them with the webinars. All of your interactions are business-related and online or over the phone. But how do you know if the relationship is transactional or transformational?

The tricky part is that you can’t communicate this difference. You can’t ask your client if they experienced a transactional or a transformational relationship. But let’s say you do a good job, and they pay you because they’re satisfied with the service. It’s a pretty good transactional relationship. But what would make this relationship transformational?

Well, as we already said, it’s how you make the client feel that changes the relationship. And how do you affect your client’s feelings? Create an important positive change in their business. If you transform their business in some significant way, you will transform their life and make them feel good.

Transforming A Man Using A Suit

A transformational relationship starts from day one. The first step is figuring out how you view what you do. What does this mean? Well, let’s take a look at a custom suit business.

Let’s imagine a customer comes into your store to get a custom made suit. You take measurements, choose the fabric, and make a suit. This is a very transactional process. However, you could do the same amount of work and get a different result.

Observe your client. Does your client show confidence? Or is there a strong sense of low self-esteem? If a man comes in with low self-confidence and low self-esteem, imagine what a good suit could do for him. You measure him, understand his personality, find out what he does and who he really is. If you do this, you can help bring out his best qualities through your suit.

If you know your client, you can choose the right shade of colors that match his skin tone to give him confidence. You could find the best fit for his form that makes him look confident. Ask him what occasion is the suit for. Is it for a meeting? Paint a picture of a successful meeting for him, and help him see himself differently. Use your experience and expertise to show him an image of his success and confidence in a new suit.

Now, think about what a good suit that makes him feel good could do. Maybe it will help him get promoted in his company? His confidence changes his performance. Your suit could change that man’s life in many other ways, too.

Attract People You Resonate With

It’s the same suit as the one you just measured and made, but this time, you changed someone’s life. You did not just give him a suit – you gave him an opportunity.

Do you see the difference? You don’t want to just make a suit and take the money. What you want to do is change your client’s life or business in some way. If you do this, you will also get a very different type of client. You will attract the people with whom you can resonate.

When thinking about how to start a successful consulting business, think about how you position yourself: are you a commodity or someone who can change a life and transform a business?

Changing Your Mindset

Let’s go back to setting up a webinar for a moment. If you’re setting it up for your client, it is likely transactional. But say that you don’t just set up a webinar. By making it automated, you are saving the client’s time. By saving time and helping the client to make more money, you also give them more time to spend with family or doing something else. This is likely life-changing.

It’s the same if you’re a realtor. You could sell a client a two-bedroom condo near parks and a school and hand over the keys to the new owner. Or you can sell a home – a place where the new owner can watch their kids grow up. It’s a different kind of responsibility to your client.

You see, you don’t even have to do anything different to create a transformational relationship. Your service can stay the same. But your attitude is different. You change your mindset and your belief about your own work.

When you’re still figuring out how to start a successful consulting business, your mindset is the key. In his High Ticket Closer® Certification Program Dan Lok dedicates the first few classes exclusively to mindset. This is because he knows that a person without the right mindset always stays a salesperson and never evolves into a powerful closer. If you don’t have the right mindset, you will not create the success you desire.

How Do You View What You Do?

So what you really need to do is to take a closer look at how you view your own work. How do you feel about what you do? Are you bored with making one suit after the other because it doesn’t make a difference? You might be tired of showing houses to endless potential customers. You could also just be bored with your daily routine and the type of client you work with.

If you feel uninspired, you are most likely forming exclusively transactional relationships. But when you have a different mindset, your client will sense the difference. As a service-based business, you want a long-term relationship, and your clients will sense that. They will feel that you care, and it will shift their attitude towards your business as well.

If you are a lawyer, for example, you’re aware that you don’t just offer trademarking services while filling out a bunch of paperwork. You’re actually protecting the client’s brand. As a realtor, you’re not just helping a client buy a house, you’re helping them find a future for their family. This is the mindset we talk about.

Painting The Picture

So as a transformational consultant, you demonstrate to your client that you care about them more than about money. Your focus is not profit alone. You’re interested in a lifelong relationship. You are interested in positive transformation and making a difference.

As a transformational consultant, you want to impart knowledge to your client, so they get the results they desire. This demonstrates that you care while being unattached to the transactional outcome of your relationship. This will also allow you to set healthy boundaries and not to take it personally if the client doesn’t respond as you imagined.

But how do you actually do this? One simple way that Dan teaches his closers to do this is by painting a picture. This would be the picture of improvements in their business and life after a certain solution is implemented. To figure out what picture to paint, you have to talk less and listen more. Listen to their needs and pain points. Help them imagine what their business will be like if you do something for them.

As you do this, make sure you distinguish between caring about your client’s progress and being attached to the outcome. There are many factors that contribute to their success or failure, and you cannot control that.

Many people can learn from the same mentor, yet each person will have different results. Everyone progresses at different speeds and different levels even if they are learning the same lessons from the same person.

Final Thoughts On How To Start a Successful Consulting Business

It’s easy to charge money for a product or service. That’s what most people do. But to make a high income from consulting, you need to build relationships and offer transformations.

Your client won’t have a transformation if you measure him and then bill him for the custom suit you just made. But if you take the time to make a suit that changes his confidence and changes his life, then you’ve opened the door to a lifelong relationship. You didn’t just create a suit, you created a feeling.

Start by changing your mindset. Show that you care about your client more than the product or service you are selling. When you can offer a transformation, the ripple effect will go beyond your service – it will impact your client’s personal and professional life.

To learn more about starting a successful consulting business, you should consider Dan Lok’s High Ticket Closer® Certification Program. This program is for people interested in evolving into transformational closers and leaders in their field. If you’re serious about creating change in your client’s lives and starting a successful business of your own, click here now.

What You Need To Know Before Starting A Franchise

April 26, 2020 by Dan Lok

Starting a franchise can be a good alternative to starting your own business. Given that most small businesses fail within their first 5 years, starting a franchise comes with a lot less risk. You don’t have to wonder whether or not your business will become successful when starting a franchise, because a well established franchise will already have a history of success. This means you can focus on running the operations of the business, instead of fighting to prevent it from going bankrupt.

However, not everyone is cut out to become a franchisee. Starting a franchise means owning a business that operates within certain boundaries and follows a set system. These guidelines restrict how much freedom and control you have in the business, and in certain cases, may actually harm how successful it will become. If you are the type of person that is more creative, wants to set their own prices or have a voice as to how things should be operated, starting a franchise may not be the best option.

As with all things, there are pros and cons when it comes to starting a franchise or starting your own business. To increase the odds that you will succeed, you need to understand what type of environment allows you to thrive in business. If you’re thinking about starting a franchise, here’s what you need to know before you make a commitment.

Starting a Franchise Allows You To Reduce Your Risk Dramatically

For many business owners, the idea of starting a franchise is an attractive option. Statistics show that 50% of small businesses fail in the first 2 years, with 95% of them failing in their first 5 years. This means that 9/10 businesses will fail in their first 5 years of doing business. As a result, starting a business from scratch is very risky and prone to failure.

This is why most entrepreneurs buy into a franchise and become franchisees. They are buying into an existing system that has a track record of success and is proven to work. And that is why it is so valuable. Because the franchise has already made it past those first few critical years, they’ve already established themselves as a company or brand with a proven reputation. There’s no need to guess whether or not the marketplace will be receptive to what you have to offer – the demand is already there.

On top of using an established company’s reputation as leverage, you’re also able to tap into the resources of the franchising company. Most franchisers have a team of highly trained experts that know what they’re doing and can offer you advice. If you’re new to the world of business or there are certain aspects of the business you’d rather not deal with, the franchise company has a team of people that will handle those tasks for you.

Starting A Franchise Means Buying Into A Proven System

Starting a franchise means buying into the systems that are in place and provided to you. Many entrepreneurs that become franchisers do so because they lack experience on how to operate the business. The offer of becoming a franchisee is enticing, because it allows them to bypass most of their shortcomings and get into what they love to do most – own a profitable business.

Another reason why starting a franchise is so beneficial, is because everything is already laid out for you. The franchise company has already made all the decisions for you ahead of time. These are decisions such as what prices to set your products at, how to run your marketing, and how to operate the business. All you need to do as a franchise business owner, is to follow the plan that’s already laid out for you.

Of course, this means that if you are someone who prefers to have more control over the business, starting a franchise isn’t the best option. You’re better off starting a business from scratch and building it from the ground up.

The Pros and Cons Of Starting a Franchise vs. Starting Your Own Business

For many business owners, the idea of starting a franchise is an attractive option. You dramatically reduce your failure rate, receive a proven system on how to run the business successfully and assistance to help you manage the operations. However, the benefits that make a franchise such an attractive choice are also some of it’s biggest downsides. Many franchises operate under a strict set of guidelines and regulations that do not give their franchisees any leeway. Business owners that want the freedom to run their business the way they want, will find these guidelines suffocating and difficult to follow.

If following rules and guidelines isn’t the type of environment that allows you to thrive, starting your own business is a much better choice. While you may not have access to all of the perks starting a franchise has, it provides you with complete control. This means you have the freedom to set your own prices, offer your own products and change things whenever you feel like it. It also provides you with the option to create your own franchise brand in the future, if your business becomes successful.

If you’re an entrepreneur who wants to minimize their risk, starting a franchise is a more attractive option. It means taking the role of an operator that focuses on executing a system that has been proven to work. However, if following a strict system isn’t what you resonate with, you’re better off starting your own business and being the business owner. Each side has its own pros and cons, which will affect how the business is run.

The Power and Influence Of A Reputable Franchise Brand

When you buy into a franchise and become a franchisee, you are immediately granted a lot of power and influence. A reputable franchise brand has a history of building their reputation and brand, and knows exactly who their audience is. By becoming a franchisee, it means you’re able to leverage the resources of the franchise company to your advantage.

For example, a McDonald’s franchise requires a fee of a million dollars to get started. This is because McDonald’s is literally a money making machine. There’s never a shortage of customers, because it’s a franchise brand that’s well known across the entire world. In fact, it’s so popular that in almost any country you go to, you’re almost guaranteed to find a McDonald’s.

The reason a McDonald’s franchise is so costly, is is because they possess the best system in the world when it comes to selling fast food. Buying into a McDonald’s franchise means buying their reputation, brand name, track record and using it for yourself. They may not serve the tastiest burgers in the world, but they do have some of the best marketing and business operations worldwide.

Starting A Franchise Is A Good Way To Quickly Get Started In Business

A franchise isn’t just a business to help you generate money – it’s a brand that has a number of loyal followers. Becoming a franchisee means tapping into all of the resources that brand or company has to offer. That means you can use their customers, their marketing, their discounts, their coupons and advertisements. And you get access to it all for a monthly royalty. In reality, hiring your own marketing team, running advertisements and coming up with creative marketing campaigns would cost you much more than what you’re paying for.

This is why many entrepreneurs opt into starting a franchise. They understand that becoming a franchisee comes with many perks that they wouldn’t be able to leverage if they started their own business. Instead of waiting 2, 5 or even 10 years before the business picks up, they’re able to immediately tap into these resources and begin profiting as early as day one.

Starting a Franchise Can Come With Many Hidden Fees

Most franchise companies charge their franchisees a monthly royalty fee. This fee can either be a percentage of the profits on a monthly basis, or a flat fee. If you’re thinking about starting a franchise, you should take these fees into consideration as additional expenses.

For some entrepreneurs, the idea of paying a monthly fee is not worth the additional cost in their business. If they possess the skills and knowledge to run their own marketing campaigns and are aware of their market’s needs, there’s no reason for them to buy into a franchise. Most entrepreneurs that become franchisees do so because they want to reduce their risk and leverage the resources of the franchise company. They may not know how to run successful marketing campaigns to attract customers, or simply don’t want to deal with that side of the business. As a result, they don’t mind paying a monthly fee to have someone take care of all of that for them – which is why starting a franchise is an attractive option for them.

On top of a monthly royalty fee, some franchisers also require their franchisees to purchase certain goods or services from the franchiser or affiliated entities. This means that an entrepreneur who does not have a lot of starting capital, may quickly find themselves broke before they’ve even begun to generate profit from the business franchise.

Be aware of all the terms and conditions outlined in the contract when starting a franchise. If you are an entrepreneur who does not possess a lot of business experience, you may find yourself being taken advantage or even exploited by the members of a larger, more powerful corporation. Read the fine print and ensure you understand all of your responsibilities before making a commitment.

A Franchise Is Not Guaranteed To Be Successful

Even though becoming a franchisee comes with many perks, it doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to succeed. Contrary to what many people believe, even a wildly popular franchise like McDonald’s can fail. In fact, as a franchisee you could do everything by the book perfectly and still fail. This is because there are other variables that are outside of your control.

One of the main reasons why franchises fail is because of location. Just because a franchise is wildly successful in one city, does not necessarily mean it will generate the same results in another. The neighbourhood, the city, what their target audience is and the needs of the marketplace, are all factors you need to account for.

For example, a Chinese take-out franchise may do extremely well in an Eastern country, but do very poorly in a Western one. This is because the needs of the marketplace are different. There may not be that many people that like eating Chinese food in that geographic region. Or maybe Westerners aren’t able to read the menu because it’s all in Chinese – which is a guideline you are forced to follow. All of these factors impact the number of customers you’ll get, which ultimately affect how much revenue you’ll generate.

As with any sort of business opportunity out there, there will always be risks. This is why it’s important to do your research beforehand, and understand how things work before you go in. Don’t make the mistake of assuming a franchise is guaranteed to succeed, because it’s not. A franchise provides you with a proven system that you can leverage to operate your business. However, how successful you will ultimately become, depends on how well you can manage the business and account for the other variables that come into play.

Get Clear On Your Strengths, Weaknesses and Goals

If you’re struggling to decide between starting a franchise or starting your own business, analyze your own strengths and weaknesses. What kind of person are you? What type of environment allows you to thrive? When you are clear on what your strengths and weaknesses are, you’ll be much more likely to succeed. Even if the opportunity to own a McDonald’s franchise is presented to you, if you know that following rules and guidelines isn’t something you can tolerate, there’s no point buying into a franchise brand. Your heart isn’t in the business, which means you’ll start cutting corners and slacking off. And eventually, that’ll lead to your business failing.

Analyzing your own needs and desires is the first step when it comes to succeeding in business. Successful businesses know a business is only as successful as the person who is managing it, which is why billion dollar companies like Microsoft and Apple have competent CEO’s running the company. The founder may not have the skills to run the business, which is why they hire someone who is capable and possesses the skills to do so. Think about your business from the same perspective – whether it’s starting your own business or starting a franchise.

As well, you will also want to think about how your decisions will impact the future. If you have hopes of one day starting a family and passing your business down to your children, starting your own business is the better option. Instead of forcing your children to follow a set structure and guidelines in place, you can provide them with the freedom to run the business the way they want to, in place of your leadership.

Get clear on your strengths, weaknesses and goals, and you’ll dramatically increase your success rate in any business venture.

Your Invitation To The World’s Most Exclusive Advisory Board For Distinguished Entrepreneurs

Starting a business vs. starting a franchise has their own pros and cons. If you’re an entrepreneur who has capital and doesn’t mind following a system, starting a franchise can be very beneficial. Becoming a franchisee allows you to leverage the brand name, reputation and business systems that are provided to you. You’ll dramatically reduce your risk of failure, and do very little management in terms of how to run the business. All the decisions on how to run the franchise will be provided to you by the franchising company. You just need to listen and execute whatever they tell you to do.

However, if you’re the kind of person that doesn’t like being told what to do, you’re better off starting your own business from scratch. You won’t be able to leverage the resources and perks you would get by starting a franchise, but you will have control of the business. You can run it the way you want, set your own prices, and even take days off whenever you feel like it. If you do choose to become a business owner, be aware that the odds are against you.

This is why many entrepreneurs seek out coaches and mentors who have experience running a successful business. By tapping into the knowledge and experience of someone who’s been there and done it, they’re able to dramatically increase their chances of success and achieve results faster than if they did it alone.

Dragon 100 is the world’s most exclusive advisory board for entrepreneurs committed to their business success. Members receive personal mentoring and private lessons from Sifu Dan himself on how they can add 6 or 7 figures to their business in as little as 12 months. Click here to learn more about becoming a Dragon 100 founder today.

6 Things You Need To Know Before Starting A Personal Training Business

March 12, 2020 by Dan Lok

Are you thinking about starting a personal training business? Perhaps you have a passion for fitness. Everyone who knows you bumped into you at least once at your local gym. People trust you when it comes to working out. You’re an authority on the physical transformation process and health. You might find it rewarding to see people transform their bodies. But, is that really what it takes to be a personal trainer?

When thinking about personal training, most people think about fitness. Right? But personal training is a lot more than fitness. It’s about setting goals, providing motivation, giving feedback, and most of all, it’s about accountability. And without any of these, it may be hard to achieve practically anything, not just fitness. This is what you probably already know. Now, what does it take to start a personal training business?

To ensure that you’ll succeed in starting a personal training business, here are 6 things you need to know:

1. Starting Your Personal Training Business With A Plan Is a Must

Before you go ahead and jump right into telling people they should work with you; you need to have a business plan. There are a lot of people starting a personal training business. There’s a lot of competition in this industry. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts fitness training will grow to 8% by 2024. So what makes you different? Why should people pick you out of so many options?

You need to do your research–tons of it. You have to be as detailed as possible because having a good business plan is going to be the backbone of everything you do. It will give you competitive advantages if you do it right. To get you started, it might help to come up with a vision and mission statement. Think about the core values your business believes in. Identify your personal brand.

Some people might not think these are important when it comes to generating revenue. But others must know how you’re running your business. They want to see what you care about and if you align with their values. Maybe you have an emotional story on why personal fitness is important to you? You’ll gain more clients by sharing more about you and your brand.

“People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe” – Simon Sinek Share on X

Why do you do what you do? What’s in it for them?

The most important topic you need to focus on when starting a personal training business is your clients. They’re going to be the reason you keep running.

You need to always have clients in your mind. Ask yourself:

What niche should you specialize in?
What services do you offer?
Who do you serve specifically?

You need to find out who your ideal clients are and why they would be the right fit for your business. You wouldn’t want to take in anyone (even if they can pay for your services). If you work with the wrong people, you might not meet their expectations. I’m sure you want to avoid complaints as much as possible.

When you find out who your target market is, you’ll know exactly who wants your services. You can refine your services to appeal to them more. It’ll be easier for you to get in front of the people looking for what you have to offer.

Your ideal clients should be people who you know best. You should know all their pain points and the real reason behind why they’re not satisfied with the way they look. When you understand a person well, they will immediately trust you and keep coming back for more.

The Specialties Your Clients Will Come Back For

It’s better if you specialize in some services instead of all things fitness. You can focus on getting great at specific skills so people will see you more as an expert.

When you’re dealing with older clients, there may be some workouts they can’t do that a younger client can. This is where you come in and educate them on what’s best for them. Here is where your specialties will shine. example, maybe you’d like to serve older clients? There are a lot of personal training businesses serving young clients already.

Or perhaps you can focus on helping adults who can’t find the time of the day to squeeze in a workout? This would be an advantage for you. You can learn more about what it’s like in the shoes of a professional athlete, a new mother who wants to stay in shape, or a divorced man who wants to get back into dating.

Another example of specialties could be a skill you’re good at. Maybe you want to teach people how to get the best out of a workout without any equipment–only pure body strength? This would help a lot of people who don’t have a gym membership or any equipment at home. And because of you, they’ll know how to get the most out of a workout with only their body.

Do you see why it’s crucial to specialize in a niche? You’ll be seen as an authority, and you will be able to demand higher rates down the road.

2. Plan on How to Prove Your Clients They Can Trust You

Have you ever had your middle school physical education teacher boss you around on the track field? He yells, “Give me a 1-mile run!” as he starts to blow his dollar store-bought whistle. It’s 8:30 AM on a Monday, and you are not in the mood. You’re only half awake, and it’s too cold to be outside. The sun barely got up, so why should you? You then think to yourself, Who is he to tell me to run? Has he seen himself? I’ve never seen him run. He’s not even in good shape.

This is exactly what goes through people’s minds when they see personal trainers who don’t follow their own advice. It’s harder for clients to trust you if you don’t physically look the part. I don’t mean you have to be the world’s strongest looking person. But if you at least know how to demonstrate the things you’re teaching, you’ll be trustworthy.

You can think of it as if you are your own advertisement.

Certification Is Verification When Starting A Personal Training Business

A great way to prove to people they can trust you is to get certified. Every fitness trainer and training business should have certification to show so that clients will have the ease of mind knowing you’re trained properly.

Find out what certification you should get when starting a personal training business–based on what you’d like to specialize in. You are seen as an expert in the field. Make sure you act like one. Start the relationship with your clients right from the very beginning – with them being confident in you. It proves to them that you have the knowledge and can help produce results.

Additionally, if you’re running your own business, you should learn more about the certifications that’ll help you avoid any lawsuits. There are always possible risks in the fitness industry since you’re dealing with other people’s health and safety. It’s best to protect yourself too.

Invest Time In Educating Yourself More

There’s never a time to stop learning. There’s always something new to gain even though you might think you already know it all. Although former education isn’t required, it’s always better if you want more clients. As a professional, you should never stop learning. Never stop reading and keeping up with the latest fitness trends and news. There will always be opportunities for you to grow.

For example, you can attend another personal trainer’s class. Perhaps there are some things you still need to work on, and other people can do it better? You can go to conventions and conferences. That’s where you’ll network and connect with like-minded people. Think of these as all investments for your business. It’ll make you and your business stronger.

3. Think About The Costs Of Starting A Personal Training Business

Costs and expenses are never easy to think about, especially when you’re starting out. That’s why you need to plan carefully to see what’s right for your budget.

These questions will help you find out how to estimate costs for starting a fitness business:

Will you purchase liability insurance?
Is there going to be another partner involved or other employees?
Are you going to open your own facility or meet with your clients somewhere else?
Do you have to buy any equipment and other supplies?
Have you set aside a budget for advertising and marketing?

You can plan out how you’re going to distribute your budget in these different categories. And depending on your answer, you might or might not have many overhead costs. It mainly depends if you’ll either have your own facility, go to a local fitness center, or work from a home-based gym. Let’s say you meet clients wherever they’d like to meet. You won’t have to spend on rent, utilities, equipment, maintenance, and staff. You’ll only need to spend on gas and liability.

4. Starting a Personal Training Business Shouldn’t Mean Working 24/7

You’ve probably been thinking about how much you should charge your clients. Usually, personal trainers charge clients for each session–an hourly rate. Perhaps you can charge clients more if you have to travel to them? Or you can offer a special promotion to clients if they decide to pay upfront for several sessions?

I can’t tell you exactly how much you should charge because I don’t know what you know. But I do know that the prices may vary depending on the location you’ll be training at. You can see what other personal trainers are charging in the area. If you want to charge clients more, you have to think about the value you’re going to give them. Are you going to provide them with the equipment? Are you going to teach them new skills? What makes you better than anyone else?

Don’t raise your prices without any change to your services. Always find ways to add more value. You can start by giving them advice about their diet or recommend what supplements to use. As you pick up more clients, you can also consider raising your prices. That means your time is more valued to many more people.

Are You A Full-Time Or Part-Time Personal Trainer?

You have to decide how much you’re willing to work without dealing with burnout.

You might be eager to take on as many clients as possible, but remember – you need time for yourself too. Try to get your clients to commit to a consistent schedule. This will allow you some time to operate and grow your business in other ways.

You’ll have to get used to working during hours that people don’t. When clients clock out of work, that’s the time you clock in. You might even have to work early in the morning–before clients get to work. You’ll have more free time in the middle of the day, but be prepared for less time with your family and social life.

Personal trainers may be able to make their own schedule, but if you’re starting a personal training business, you might find yourself committing too much time in hopes of more success. Don’t forget to block out time for your personal interests. I know you might feel guilty about doing it and not working. But taking some time off will improve your performance, and you’ll be able to give your clients your best.

All successful business owners that I personally know spend time reflecting–rejuvenating their minds and body too.

5. Don’t Just Strengthen Your Client, Strengthen The Relationship Also

I mentioned how important it is to learn about your clients earlier, but really, it deserves a whole section itself. Before you even think about taking on a new client, get to know them first. You can ask them:

What are your goals for these personal training sessions?
What do you hope to accomplish with a personal trainer?
How urgent is it for you to reach your goals?

Ask as many questions and get more clarity on what they want. They’ll appreciate you for listening as it shows them you care. Once you discover what your client needs, you’ll know exactly how to deliver your services. Not every client has the same body and goals. It’s your responsibility to find out who they are and what they want.

Sometimes a client wants to focus on gaining muscles instead of losing weight. Some clients might have an injury that you should know about. Some other clients just simply admire you and want to learn from you. When you understand your client’s goals, you can educate them on what to do next. You’ll find out if you’re the right fit for them or not. Sometimes what they’re looking for might be out of your services, and it’s fine turning them down. If you do well in connecting with the client, fewer objections will come up. It’ll be hard for them to say no to you.

Client Relationships Pay Well

Imagine you have 10 loyal clients who pay you well. That’s all you’ll need to at least pay the bills and more. Imagine if you have 10 inconsistent clients, though. You’ll probably be opening your availability to pick up more phone calls and hope you meet your sales goals every month.

There’ll never be a “bad month” if most of your clients are ongoing. You can show your appreciation to clients by checking in with them and see how they’re doing. Ask them if they have any questions or need additional help. You can even give them simple gifts if there’s an occasion.

What’s even better is that if clients like you, they might refer other people to contact you for your services. It won’t be a problem for you to ask them for testimonials either. If more people see how great you are with your clients, they’ll want to work with you.

6. Marketing is Everything When Starting a Personal Training Business

If you don’t have much of a budget for marketing when starting a personal training business, you’ll want to depend on client testimonials and referrals. In other words, word of mouth advertising is your best bet.

It costs almost nothing to do word of mouth. But there’s a trade-off–you have to keep clients happy and produce results. Does that sound fair enough? Another affordable way to market your services is through social media. It’s free to make an account on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Why not leverage it?

You can use social media to attract new customers by offering helpful information and value. Try not to sell. It’s better if you see social media as a place to answer questions and connect with your audience. You can share useful fitness tips and tricks. You’ll likely gain more attention that way. Also, you can offer free sessions at your local gym or community centers. That’ll create some buzz online and increase your profile’s visibility. It’ll even highlight your skills and you could gain new clients if people like what they see.

Networking is something your business can thank you for when you invest time in it. You can either host or attend public events and reach out to other personal trainers who’ve gone through what you’re going through. They might recommend you tools you need to help grow your business faster. Those who are already successful in the field are most likely willing to share some advice and guidance. You’ll avoid some mistakes and make better decisions.

Make Money With Your Website

Don’t just finish making your website and leave it in hopes people will find you. Your website is a powerful tool you can strategically make money with. It’ll require you to be active online and update it frequently. What any good websites need is quality content. The more valuable your content is, the more free traffic you’ll bring. People will start noticing your services if your content is interesting enough.

Even search engines will favor your website by ranking you higher if they see that visitors find your information helpful. Your website will become more accessible to anyone. This will give your business more credibility and authority. You can start by adding a blog to your website and consistently post engaging content. Your audience will feel connected with what you have to offer, and they’ll be more convinced to pay for your services. You’ll do less of the selling.

If you’ve set aside a marketing budget, you can consider running online ads–either through social media, Google, or both. That’ll help your business pop up right in front of your target audience.

Starting a new business is no easy task. If you focus on the right things, in the beginning, you’ll be set for success through the process. That’s why you need to avoid common mistakes other personal trainers make. Making the right decisions will help put your business forward and in front of others.

I want you to be aware that there are a lot of people starting a personal training business, and clients want to find out why they should choose you instead. A good business plan and a strong relationship with your clients will differentiate you. And with the right marketing, people will be familiar with your services across all online platforms. Whatever you do, the key thing to remember is – keep learning. Stay up to date with the latest fitness news and trends. See what other successful business owners are doing to dominate their industry.

If you are still lost in your business planning or need help scaling your business, you can turn to the High Ticket Influencer Program. This program gives business owners and coaches access to exclusive secrets and guidance on how to grow their business to 6-7 figures. You’ll be using the same system and strategies I used for my business too. If you’re really serious and ready to take your work to the next level, then the High Ticket Influencer Program might be for you.

B2B VS B2C: Which Business Model Is Better?

February 18, 2020 by Dan Lok

When it comes to B2B vs B2C, which business model is better? Can you make more money selling your product or service to businesses, or to general consumers? If you are trying to decide which business model you should pursue, you might be wondering which one to choose: B2B vs B2C?

Which business model is more profitable and scalable? Where can you make more money and grow your business faster?

The short answer is that it depends. It depends on your background, your expertise, your knowledge, your specific set of skills, and what you’re offering the marketplace. It also depends on what you want for you and your business.

In general, for most people, it’s a little bit easier to start with B2C. Why? Because in your day-to-day life, you are a consumer, too. So, understanding what consumers want will come more naturally to you. Chances are, you face similar problems as other people do, and you understand what people need.

So, if you are just starting out, you might want to start in the B2C sector since it’s an easier place to start.

B2B, on the other hand, will be easier for you if you have plenty of experience working in a corporation. B2B is even easier if you’ve already built some relationships with other businesses.

For most people, I would say start with the B2C model. Then later, perhaps branch out into B2B.

If you possess the right skills, the B2B model can be incredibly profitable. Why? Because businesses usually have much more money to spend than the average consumer. Businesses have a much larger budget to pay premium prices.

You can make a lot of money in the B2C sector, too, but it requires you to first build a massive customer base. You need a lot of customers to make good money in the B2C sector. There is often more money in B2B, and with B2B, you don’t need as many customers to make good money, since you can charge higher prices.

As you’re now realizing, a lot of factors play into the decision when you’re deciding between B2B vs B2C for your business model. Below are some deeper insights into B2B vs B2C.

What Exactly Is The B2B Business Model?

B2B stands for business to business. That means your company is selling products or services to other companies. As you sell to other businesses, you have to understand one thing: The person buying from you doesn’t make the buying decision for themselves.

Rather, they are buying your product or service for their company. They are making the purchase on behalf of the whole organization, and their organization’s needs are being considered. Common B2B products are consulting services, customer relationship management systems, copywriting services, lead generation and many more. You see, a single customer probably wouldn’t need such products. But these types of products provide immense value for businesses.

What Exactly Is The B2C Business Model?

B2C stands for business to consumer. A consumer is a regular customer. So, you are selling to individuals. Your product would be designed and developed to solve the problems of everyday people.

In B2B, you could be selling anything from outerwear to toothbrushes to mattresses. Everybody needs those items, but there is also a lot of competition. That’s why B2C companies have to be creative in their marketing strategies, in an effort to stay on top of the market and ahead of their competition..

It Depends On Your Experience

If you start a business in a niche industry that you have personal experience in, chances are, you understand your customers very well.

As a B2C company, you could be selling a simple product on an e-commerce site. On your online store, you’re simply selling something that everybody uses. Starting such a business isn’t that expensive. It also doesn’t take a lot for you to advertise it on the internet. Advertise it through Facebook, Instagram, Google or other channels. You could even sell your product on Amazon. Just get in the game and make those first few sales. You might even consider going to Kickstarter and start a crowdfunding campaign. That way you can pre-sell your product before you even make it.

If you have a background in the corporate world a B2B business model might be for you. Let’s assume you worked in the human resource department, for example. You already gained some insights into that sector and chances are you built some relationships. Maybe now you want to branch out and start your own human resource agency. Then the B2B model might work for you. Why? Because you have some experience, you know some people and have been in the industry for some time.

B2B vs B2C: What Are The Similarities?

B2B and B2C businesses aren’t complete opposites. Actually, many businesses offer both B2B and B2C solutions.

Let me give you a perfect example. Let’s assume your company sells beverages. You could have a store where you sell beverages to individual customers. At the same time, you could also have contracts with businesses. Businesses would offer your drinks in their restaurants, cafeterias or in vending machines in their office buildings.

In such a case, you would have both a B2B and a B2C business strategy. More and more businesses are doing exactly that and do very well with both. It opens up an even bigger market for them.

B2B vs B2C: What Are The Key Differences?

Now, when it comes to B2B vs B2C there are some key differences that you should be aware of. What works perfectly in the B2C sector might not work at all in B2B. So, be very aware and make conscious choices about your business model. What are those key differences? Let’s have a look below:

Different Target Markets

The target market of B2B and B2C businesses are different. Generally speaking, the B2C market is a bit larger. Why is that? Yes, there are plenty of businesses out there that you could market to. However, you most likely have to specialize. You have to pick a certain niche and a certain vertical. Like the example I gave above – when you have relationships in human resources already, you could build up your business there. But here comes the important point: the product you offer might be extremely valuable for HR departments. But chances are, it wouldn’t work that well in other industries or other departments.

For B2B businesses, the market is often smaller and more specialized. But that also means you might be able to charge a higher price in the B2B sector. In fact, it’s estimated that the US B2B market is a 780 billion dollar market compared… Share on X

Still, there are also plenty of very pricey B2C products. Think about luxury stores such as Prada, Gucci, and Hérmes. These are B2C businesses, but still have a high price tag. So, price isn’t the only key difference between B2B and B2C companies.

Different Customer Needs

In general, the target market for B2B is a bit more sophisticated. They want to be educated on your product or service, and you need to build personal trust with them. Remember, they are making the purchase decision for the whole organization. They don’t want to look stupid and make sure their decision actually makes sense. So if you educate them on how your product helps them, you have bigger chances of making a sale. They will also want to see that investing in your product makes financial sense for them. It has to save them time, make workflows easier or give them any other return on their investments.

B2C customers, on the other hand, want to be entertained rather than educated. So, you would heavily focus on your brand image. B2C customers usually don’t think about return on investment. They want to have a good time and enjoy a purchase from a cool brand.

Some people argue that B2B clients make rational decisions, while B2C prospects buy out of emotion. I would be careful with such assumptions, as I believe all buying decisions are emotional. But we justify it with logic later. That’s why for B2B, relationship building is so important.

Different Sales Cycle

A great distinction from B2B vs B2C is the sales cycle of your product.

First, let’s define what a sales cycle is. The sales cycle is the whole process of selling a product. From the first contact with a customer until closing the sale. The exact steps look different for every business.

In a physical retail store, for example, the sales cycle could be simple. The customer goes in, chooses a product from a rack, and pays. That’s it.

For B2B businesses, the sales cycle is usually longer compared to B2C. Your customers need more touchpoints with you before they are ready to buy. In general, B2B also takes longer because several people have to approve the buying decision. They have accounting departments that have to approve the purchase, and it’s also often a team decision. It can take some time until the purchase is approved internally.

You have to provide your B2B customers with a very clear understanding of the value of your product or service. Once they buy from you, however, they will likely stick with you. So, the B2B business is a lot about customer retention. Ideally, you keep them as a returning customer for a lifetime.

In the B2C business model, the focus is more on customer acquisition. The market is bigger and you want to reach a higher volume of people. Especially if your product is something that people need to buy only once. You need to generate new customers constantly.

B2C customers depend less on other people when making a purchase. The influence of friends and family might be increasing, but they don’t have to go through a whole command chain before making any purchase.

So when you compare B2B vs B2C in general, the sales cycle of B2B clients takes longer but they will likely stay with you. B2C requires to find new clients frequently. That’s why many B2C companies offer subscription models.

Different Marketing Strategies

You will need different marketing strategies for B2B vs B2C. Depending on who you want to sell to, you’ll develop a different marketing campaign. As I briefly touched on, B2B clients usually want to be educated. So you have carter informational content towards them. You probably have to “nourish” them before they would buy. That means to build a relationship with them and showing them in which way you add value to their lives.

In the B2C market, education can also be important but the customers are also looking for entertainment. They maybe don’t want to build a close relationship with your brand – sometimes they just want to buy their necessities and be done with it. This will greatly depend on your product.

When Is B2B Probably Better For You?

The B2B business model might work very well for you if you’ve worked in the corporate world before. Maybe you already got some insights on how big companies make buying decisions. Maybe you even know some problems that companies face. Then you could create a product that solves exactly that problem.

B2B might also work well for you if you like planning for the long-term and enjoy going into detail. As the sales cycle is longer in B2B you have to plan for the purchase in a long term view. Usually, you also would research your potential prospects and really find out their pain points.

When is B2C Probably Better For You?

Starting out as a B2C business might be easier, as you yourself are a customer, too. So you could create and sell products that you yourself would enjoy. To stay in the business, however, you will need the ability to keep customers engaged with you. You need some form of creativity to attract customers. If the idea to attract masses interests you, then B2C might be more suitable for you.

B2C customers may buy from you once but don’t immediately come back for more. They could be drawn to your competitors too. So you have to figure out how you can stay interesting and have them come back for more.

B2B vs B2C? It’s all P2P

As you see, the answer if a B2B or B2C business model is better can’t be answered easily. So many factors determine success. If you do it right, both can be very lucrative.

But no matter if you have a B2B or B2C business model, at the end of the day it’s all P2P: Person to Person. You have to remember that your customers aren’t just numbers on a screen. They are real human beings. If you understand why people buy, and how people buy, you will be able to close them on any deal.

You might be wondering, does this really apply to B2B businesses too? The truth is, it does. Because even big businesses are run by people. So if you know how to find out the needs and pain points of a person you can much more effectively communicate how your product can help them. Selling has a lot to do with emotions and psychology.

So which to choose B2B or B2C?

In conclusion, the decision between B2B and B2C business models is not a matter of which is definitively better, but rather which aligns best with your background, expertise, and goals.

While B2C may offer an easier entry point due to its broad consumer appeal, B2B holds the potential for substantial profitability, particularly for those with corporate experience and industry insights.

Regardless of the model you choose, understanding the nuances of your target market, their needs, and the art of effective selling is paramount.

What to do after deciding B2B or B2C?

Start to craft offers that align with your target audience’s unique characteristics, motivations, and purchasing behaviors. Consider to create high-ticket offers for your business.

High-ticket offer typically commands a higher price point but offers significant benefits, exclusivity, and results that make it compelling and desirable to potential buyers. High-ticket offer is good for business because it attracts high-value clients, increases revenue per sale, and strengthens the brand’s positioning in the market.

If you’re seeking to learn how to create high-ticket offers for your business, download the FREE “High Ticket Offer Formula™”. This will equip you with the strategies on crafting irresistible high-ticket offers, whether you’re engaging with businesses or consumers. Unlock new opportunities for growth and success.

10 Detrimental Mistakes To Avoid When Starting A Business In A Crowded Marketplace

February 3, 2020 by Dan Lok

Have you been making these mistakes when you’re starting a business? It can be overwhelmed in a crowded marketplace. What are the mistakes you can avoid?

Here are 10 detrimental mistakes to avoid when starting a business in a crowded marketplace

The truth is… everyone makes mistakes and it’s obvious that it’s no different for business owners.

Unless your mistakes can turn into huge advantages in your business and life – avoid it when you’re starting a business.

There are many common mistakes and it’s natural getting a little tripped up here and there. But some of these common mistakes are detrimental when you’re starting a business.

It means, it can become costly down the line.

So, it’s better to avoid them at the beginning itself.

With effective planning, you can avoid typical stumbling blocks that may potentially lead to failure.

Starting a business is not a consequence of good genes or being lucky. It can be engineered by following the right methods and strategies – it can be taught.

A crowded marketplace can be overwhelmed, and you’ll sometimes get overconfident with enthusiasm. However, enthusiasm can be both a blessing and a curse when you’re starting a business.

Why? That’s because it drives the passion for your business that can fuel your success – and financially ruin you if don’t think through your decisions.

Here’s a video I want to share with you. About what I learned and some costly mistakes you can avoid.

I’ve started and failed in 13 businesses – lost thousands and millions of dollars. If you don’t navigate those potholes. You’ll most likely won’t see success.

If I could turn back time, I’d do things differently…

10 Detrimental Mistakes To Avoid When Starting A Business

No Goals And Commitment
Avoid Micromanaging When Starting A Business – Delegate
No Understanding Of Marketplace
Not Having The Right Mindset
Technology Ignorance Isn’t Bliss
Starting A Business Without A Plan
Neglect Marketing Investment
Accidentally Create Leverage
Spending Lavishly
Hiring the wrong people

No Goals And Commitment

When you’re aiming in the dark – you can’t hit a target that you can’t see. You’re going to miss 99% of your target.

It’s the same with everything we do in life. Without a clear goal, you won’t have any motivation to improve your business continuously. You drift along and taking things as they come – hoping for the best.

And because you’re not putting in the time, energy and focus into growing your business, eventually it’ll fail.

When starting a business, set a clear goal and commit to making things happen. With that said, be very specific with your goals – not being a generalist.

Instead of saying “I will improve next quarter’s revenue”, say “ I will increase sales by at least 20% each month until the next quarter”.

When you be specific about where you want to go from the beginning, you’ve created a much clearer image in your mind of how to achieve your goals.

On another note, observe your motivation. Because this can lead to emotional baggage and this baggage slows us down and hinders our growth.

Not only you’re going to miss most of your target. What’s worse is you’re also stuck in this vicious cycle of emotional baggage.

Or maybe the regrets you have will demotivate you to achieve your goals.

Avoid Micromanaging When Starting A Business- Delegate

Delegating is a powerful tool when starting a business. But you must know when to spend your money before you create your high-performance team.

There’s sometimes a lack of self-awareness when starting a business. Some business owners in the early stage are not great at delegating work to their team members.

So, if you’re not good at certain things, avoid doing everything just because you want to cut costs.

Focused on your strength in specific work tasks and delegate the rest will help in the long run.

While most employees don’t appreciate being micromanaged – as a business owner, when stating a business – curb this behavior before it leads to negative effects.

Here are some pointers on how to let go:

Reflect on your behavior. Most likely it’s because of some insecurity – if your team doesn’t perform exactly the way you wanted – you’re afraid it’ll reflect badly on you.
Prioritize what matters and what doesn’t. Regardless of how important the task is – you can’t do that if you want to control everything. Avoid being a control freak. Create a To-Do list and start determining what work is critical and delegate those that are less important. For example, strategic planning vs presentation.
Talk to your team. Once you’ve determined the importance – the next step is communication. Have a conversation with your team about what really matters to you and how you want to be kept in the loop.
Built trust. Have a pep talk with your team members. Because they’re used to you not trusting them, they might come to you for approval on each and every project. So, give your team members the psychological power to lead. Show them you trust and have faith in their abilities.

Editorial Credit: Stephane Bidouze / Shutterstock.com

No Understanding Of Marketplace

Most Entrepreneurs are an expert in their own product or services. When we talk about the marketplace – it can be billions and billions of people but with your product – will the majority pay for your product or service?

Exactly – NO! Not everyone will pay. So how exactly can you understand the marketplace or at least understand your market?

That means If you have a certain product or service, where and what types of customers will pay for it.

When you understand your marketplace or customers – not only it’ll increase your sales, but also increase your chances of attracting the kind of customers you want Share on X

Do you see what I mean?

And sometimes, you come out with a new product or service. With that said, testing your product is critical to your success or failure – your product-market fit can be tested in small ways.

Why do you need to test it?

Because a product that works for you may not work for others.

So, by testing it in smaller ways can help you save time and money. At the same time, you are generating feedback and answers to your growth success.

Only then, you will understand your marketplace and customers better.

Maybe you need to modify and fine-tune your product according to your feedback…

Or perhaps, you need to remove some funky and complicated product or service that initially you thought it was cool to combine – but not in the eyes of the marketplace.

So, when starting a business… and to avoid these detrimental mistakes.

You need to make sure what works best for your clients. And this is one of the main factors most online entrepreneur/s fail to succeed

Watch this video on how to choose your niche and target market.

Not Having The Right Mindset

Do you have confidence in yourself? Or confidence in your product or service…

Don’t expect customers to show up at your doorstep or website to buy from you.

You need to put yourself out there by branding your business, marketing your offers and networking.

I know many brilliant business owners with exceptional product or service – but lacking in confidence.

You see, starting a business is no easy task…

You need to have the right mindset even before you start a business. If you’re lacking confidence, you need to learn how to be more confident.

So, what do I mean by not having the right mindset?

Is it the level of confidence or having a combination of mindset which includes leveraging your money mindset to create more money?

When we portray confidence in anything we do... that’s a positive mindset Share on X

It’ll constantly motivate you towards success. And leveraging money mindset is like, instead of having a saving mindset and trying to salvage every dollar – focus on making more money with your money.

Now, does that make sense?

When you’re starting a business, think of how you can use your mind to create wealth – use the money you currently have to help you generate more money.

With that said… doesn’t mean that you need to spend every single penny on marketing or product development.

Plan according to your goals and commitment and then take massive action Share on X

Develop a millionaire’s mindset and be a “Doer” instead of a “Talker”. Most unsuccessful people like to talk about things and tend to have a lot of opinions.

They dwell and complain about their struggles and problems.

So, if you’re reading this article right now…

I know you are a “Doer”. You want to avoid mistakes when starting a business.

You want to achieve your goals and generate results.

Technology Ignorance Isn’t Bliss

The digital landscape is rapidly growing and constantly evolving. As a business owner, if you don’t leverage the current technology in your business, you’re considered as laid back.

If you’re a young entrepreneur just starting a business…

Here’s a question you might be asking; How can I use technology in my business?

Simple!

I spoke about micromanagement earlier, about delegating certain things and avoid doing everything by yourself.

You see, tasks like data entry, posting updates and generating leads on your website can be delegated and those are all the things that can be done with technology.

It’ll save you hours on trivial tasks if you know how to leverage it. This useful tool gives you the time and freedom to attend to more important matters in your business.

If you don’t want your competitors to run you out of business – find the time to learn how to leverage technology Share on X

Now, this is where the mindset comes in…

If you’ve been a stubborn business owner and refuse to learn, you’ll most likely lose out to your competitors and more likely to see failure instead of success.

Don’t adopt the old school traditional mindset, it’s one of the deadliest mistakes business owners make – especially if you’re starting a business.

Starting A Business Without A Plan

A business plan is your roadmap to success!

Although it could evolve as you go along. But when you’re starting a business – a proper business plan leads you on the course with a structured approach.

You can document your business thoughts and ideas you want and need to accomplish. And then, formulate a strategy and tactics for how you plan to get there.

Successful Start-up entrepreneurs are often those who have strategies in placed to deal with challenges as they occur Share on X

While being flexible and adaptable to the changes in today’s marketplace – you can’t sidestep planning if want to succeed.

While the mindset plays the biggest role in our life – exercising self-control to avoid these mistakes when starting a business – doesn’t mean you need to re-consider your whole idea of having your own business.

The thing about having your own business is, it requires both patience and passion.

This may sound troublesome to some business owners. But my point is…

If you could avoid these detrimental mistakes with proven strategies, wouldn’t you make use of that opportunity?

Neglect Marketing Investment

If you have a mindset of, “I’m already doing well, I don’t need to invest in any marketing” but you expect to increase your revenue…

You’re most likely won’t be successful forever.

Most business owners who are already successful have this mindset.

You see, the thing is…

You’re going to slowly lag if you’re aren’t bringing in new business – especially from today’s competitive marketplace.

In one of my recent articles, I spoke about “The Future Of Marketing Automation” and in one of the sections in that article, customers want a more satisfying journey when they are searching for a particular product or service.

To survive and thrive in the future of marketing – you don’t want to neglect marketing investment when you’re starting a business Share on X

On top of that, people are talking about customer experience (CX). Research from PWC said, 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for GREATER customer experience.

So, if you neglect your marketing investment – you’re likely to lose out a lot.

Now, as you already know, in this new decade, we’re all moving towards “Digital”. And with all the variety of technology tools available, you can always start with some free marketing tools to help you grow.

By doing that, you can maximize your return on investment (ROI).

So, don’t neglect it – thinking you’re already successful and don’t need any investment in your marketing.

Accidentally Create Leverage

Who owns your company’s intellectual property (IP)? This includes the brand name, designs, domains, and technology. Ensuring vital IP owned by the company is critical.

Because, in the event of a dispute between two partners, and If one partner owns the domain names personally – this means he or she has not assigned the right to any intellectual property.

Now, what does this mean when someone has not assigned any IP rights?

It means, they can leverage in any negotiation.

Here’s the thing I don’t want you to miss…

When registering domain names and assets in the name of the company – it’s straightforward.

But… when it comes to Intellectual creation, you need to understand the most important point.

For example, when an employee of your company creates a logo, it means, it’s owned and assigned by the company.

However, if it’s being created by a freelancer – it needs to be assigned in writing.

Now, you don’t actually need to engage a lawyer to do this. There are plenty of standard intellectual property documents online where you can get your team to prepare.

This might be one of the biggest mistakes for young entrepreneurs.

That’s why it’s crucial to know what are the mistakes to avoid when starting a business.

Spending Lavishly

Your first-quarter sales were good – business is going well. Second-quarter was even better and now you have some extra cash to splurge.

Typically, most of us would make a few purchases to help with future scaling.

Investing in new software, doubling your ad spend, redesigned a new company logo, or maybe a small renovation for the office.

What happens if the following month, your projected revenue isn’t as much as what you’d expect?

All of a sudden – you find yourself in debt.

You’ve spent too much money too soon on unnecessary things. And these things can turn your business profits into additional business expenses.

On top of that, you are not in a position to utilize them yet.

So, before you spend lavishly on unnecessary things, ask yourself this: “ Is this important and going to be used immediately to grow your business?”

And by asking yourself certain questions, not only it helps you avoid crucial mistakes, but to also make a decision to achieve your goals faster.

Hiring The Wrong People

Hiring the wrong people is like having a bad team. If you select the wrong people to be on board, not only you’ve made a mistake. But also closer to failure than you know it.

When you have the wrong people on your team, it harms your business reputation Share on X

Before you hire anyone – think about what that person is like. If it’s possible, find out about their goals, beliefs, and mindset. This is crucial because it has to be aligned with your vision and mission.

Let’s take a salesperson for an example. Many companies hire salespeople because they want to generate more revenue. However, a salesperson, they only look at their own income and sales quota.

They don’t care about things like integrity and morals…

With that said, at the beginning of their career, they might bring in more sales but subsequent months, their sales get lower and lower.

This is because most salespeople are not properly trained. Instead of building a long-term relationship with your customers – they resort to being a slimy salesperson with pushy tactics.

As a result, you’ll only get a “one-time purchase” from your customers. What’s worse?

You spend years generating and nurturing leads…

And because you hire the wrong people, your customers lose trust in the company and they go to your competitors.

So, to see success faster, create a high-performance team that’s aligned with your goals.

Want To Scale Your Coaching Business?

So, is it time to scale your business? – Especially for coaches and consultants.

As your business grows – knowing when to hire, when to automate the tedious process, strategizing techniques and tactics effectively is crucial when starting a business.

I said this in the beginning – you can avoid typical stumbling blocks that may potentially lead to failure.

I’ve started and failed 13 businesses – I have seen startup companies moving too fast without proper planning and crumbled before they can achieve their goals…

The thing is, all this can be avoided.

Why would you create a new success strategy when there are already several proven strategies?

Discover the method and strategies that you can use to scale your coaching business online.

You see, I knew little to nothing about starting a business. This was when I was younger. I was heavily in debt and failed 13 businesses.

Today, you can discover the method I used to scale my coaching business from zero to $1,000,000 a month in less than 8 months…

Now you must be thinking what did I do to achieve that?

Well, it’s by doing the opposite of every other coach! Get your resources here and maximize your “Personal Media Platform”.

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