Four Deadly Mistakes Home Business Owners Must Avoid
As entrepreneurs, we are part of a very special group. Yet, we don’t all enjoy the same level of success. But why is that? We would very much like to believe that the rich and successful “Gurus” have secrets that they’re keeping from us, and if only we knew them, we would be in that same elite group.
Well, there is no magic secret, sorry. What it really boils down to is discipline and following a system. That being said, there are some very common mistakes that people make in the day to day functions of their business. Not only do these mistakes doom them to a life of mediocrity, they also choke the very life out of their efforts. Below are four of the most common mistakes we make:
Not Scheduling
The apparent freedom that comes with working from home can be a double edged sword, especially if you’re used to working in the corporate world. Whether you’re working for someone else or working for yourself, you absolutely must have a schedule. While we can usually buy more of something or replace it with something better, time is not one of those things. Time is the scarcest of commodities, and you must treat it as such. It is the most valuable thing you’ll ever have to manage. In short, it is priceless.
If you allow yourself to just ‘figure it out’ each day when you wake up, you’ll never get anything done. Be honest with yourself and you know this is true. If you have no scheduling or serious thought for a plan, you don’t know what you’re working towards and you don’t know what you’re going to accomplish. More likely than not, you’ll end up spending most of your time doing busy work. What is busy work? These are tasks that do nothing for the growth (money) of your business. Tasks such as filing, cleaning your workspace, bills, calling customer service for that issue that ‘has to be taken care of today’.
These tasks are important, but they should not be important enough in your mind to put them ahead of your true goal. These are the tasks that should fall under the category of ‘Operations’ or something similar. These tasks do nothing for your bottom line, and therefore should be delegated to either someone else to do or to a block of time where they can be addressed together and quickly.
Pick a day during the week, the day doesn’t matter but the closer to the beginning of the week is best. Do this each and every week, sit down for 20 or 30 minutes and plan out what you want to accomplish for that upcoming week. Based on the goals and stepping stones you have set for your business, what needs to be done this coming week to reach your 1 month goals, 3 month goal, and 1 year goal? Once you have this process in place, your business will begin to run smoothly and efficiently. One thing that most people omit in this process is the review of the previous week and to make sure all the previous goals have been met.
Not Prospecting
Just because you market online does not mean you do not have to prospect. For most businesses, you have to prospect; it just may be called something else. Working at home does not mean that you do not have to associate with the outside world anymore, quite the opposite – the very existence and success of your business depends on it!
I have my own preferred methods of prospecting, but I won’t get into that here. There are various methods to use: be it cold-calling, search engine marketing, email marketing, offline marketing, etc. You have to do your homework and pick a mix of marketing methods that will supply you with prospects. Then you have to prospect them.
A critical part of prospecting is communication. You have to take the time to learn and refine your communication and prospecting skills. It is an art and skill to be able to prospect and close someone effectively. Learn this, or your business will suffer.
Momentum – Not Running Through the Finish Line
So you now have goals and a schedule – great. But what do you do when you reach a goal, especially at the beginning stages of your business? You absolutely should celebrate your successes, no matter how small, but then get back to work!
Watch a race, any race. It could be swimming, running, motorcycles, or car racing. How do these people finish the race? Do they race to the finish line, or do they go full speed right through it? They go through it; momentum pushes them past the finish line.
Treat your business the same way. One mistake I see too many people do is celebrating and relax too much at every little sign of progress. Give yourself a pat on the back and a smile but keep going. Building momentum is the key to making things happen in business. Every time you stop, you kill any momentum you have built and you have to start over. Your goals should not be static, keep refining and adding to them so there is always a next step. Don’t kill your momentum. Make sure you run through the finish line.
Marketing – Or Not Enough Of It!
Here’s the big one. To put it very simply: If no one buys from you, you have no income. If no one knows your business exists, then no one can buy from you. If you do not market, then no one knows your business exists.
Lets be clear on one thing, if you do not market your business, you have no income.
If you don’t like marketing – start liking it. There are so many ways to do it, find a few that you enjoy and make it fun. The fact is, the majority of your time should be spent MARKETING. At least 60% of your time, if not 80% should be spent marketing.
Go through your typical day and think about where your time is spent. How much of it is spent on marketing? Be honest, if you’re like most people, you probably spend less then 20% of your time marketing. Therefore if you are like most people, you’re not making any money, and like most people, your business will fail.
This is not the time to be timid! This is go time. Get the word out, find the people that already want what you have, and get in front of them. There are no lack of ways to do this, so get out there, learn and MARKET.
Wow, that was harsh. Sometimes life is, but this doesn’t have to be. You know what to do, just do it. The biggest thing is to get into action. Just get out there and Market Your Business.
If you really get stuck for ideas or you’re struggling with this, please feel free to get in touch with me and I’ll help you layout a plan for success.
Remember, as entrepreneurs, we are part of a very special group.
“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new” – Albert Einstein
Success in all your endeavors
Fred Villareal
