Starting a business is hard. And scary too.
If we fail, we have to go through the rigours again. However, if we succeed, the fruits of our labour may well be worth it. Having mentored and trained thousands of entrepreneurs since 2016, I have realised that new business owners typically face this problem they create for themselves, and that is seeking perfection.
Please don’t get me wrong. Perfection is good. But it is often the pursuit of “it must be perfect the first time!” that made many new business owners stuck in their little bubble. Yet many do not understand that perfection is the end goal, not the starting line.
Before the pandemic, many business owners were afraid to go online because they did not understand the potential of having a digital presence and showcasing their business. It was ubiquitous to hear them say, “Digital marketing is for the big brands. They have the budget, and I don’t.” Nothing could be further from the truth.
Contrary to popular belief, digital marketing has allowed new and small business owners a much more levelled playing field with the big brands, allowing exposure on massive platforms.
Imagine this. A business used to need to pay at least five figures or more to advertise on traditional media like newspapers or television, but now, your business can be on anyone’s mobile phone screen for as little as US$2 a day. This is a game-changer.
Untapped potential in the digital space
Many businesses focus only on one aspect of their business, and it is usually one of these two. Their offering and marketing.
Those who focus on the former usually believe that they have the best thing ever and that everyone will buy from them, and they do not engage much in marketing. They don’t realise that if no one knows about them, no one will buy from them.
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Those who focus on the latter will spend on marketing and sometimes neglect the value of their offer. But what they don’t realise is that if you do not provide the correct value to your customers, they won’t buy. In the rare instance they did, they will not come back again.
The sum of all parts makes a business tick, and there is a better alternative to address this issue for any business entrepreneur.
It is a well-known fact that 95 per cent of businesses fail within the first five years. While many contributing factors exist, offer and marketing are usually the prime culprits. I learned this as I experienced what it is like pivoting into a new business and career venture first-hand.
My first-hand experience
I had a relatively stable life growing up. I attended good schools, had the freedom to pursue my interests academically, and I primarily did not need to worry about finances. As I found a stable career path in the military as a Naval Officer, I started to have fear, which is the fear of regrets.
That is why I left my stable career on my 30th birthday, which is a symbolic date to give me a second shot to give myself a chance to live life without regret.
After volunteering to help out a contact for an event pro bono, I realised that I had a knack for offer creation and marketing. The second round of this event was done to prove the process’s success, which paved the start of other opportunities coming my way.
Through this experience, I started to share how they can achieve such success with others.
That is when Inbox Income Academy started and birthed my passion for helping others achieve success in their business. And very soon, I realised two things:
- Some people want to learn and do it themselves, and others want me to do it for them.
- I did not want to be a “trainer” with no real life and everyday experience.
To fill that gap, I started Inbox Consults. Now, I share up-to-date practices with my students in Inbox Income Academy, which I execute for my clients and myself through Inbox Consults.
Embracing failure and executing your business plans
These are the two lessons that have shaped my business today.
The first is to embrace “failures”, or as I prefer to call them, lessons learnt. More often than not, things do not always work in your favour in the first instance, and that is ok. What is important is that we learn from these episodes, improve upon what we need to do, and go for it again.
The second lesson is that while planning is important, execution is even more so.
In my years of military training, planning was drilled into me. We have the primary plan, the contingency plan, the back-up to the contingency plan, the what-if-the-back-up-also-fails plan.
Also Read: Diversity and inclusion marketing campaigns: Everyone, every day, forever
In business, if we only plan without executing it, nothing will happen. The execution brings results, and striving for progression and work towards perfection is part of the process.
A “soft love” approach
My SSG-approved program, “Soft Love” Launch Formula, is an acronym for sales, offers, funnels, traffic, leverage, offers, visibility, and execution. My framework and system are to help anyone start their business online and achieve more revenue online in 30 days or less.
Many people want to be able to start a business online, but they lack the system and knowledge to do so. I condensed my years of experience and proven track record into an easy to understand and implementable framework to help entrepreneurs and businesses head into the digital world and start making more.
It is clear that the future is in the digital space, and businesses that refuse to pivot will be left behind. But for the uninitiated, moving online could prove daunting. They need a proven framework that they can use to begin this journey, and SOFT LOVE Launch Formula provides that.
Final thoughts
For those who are looking for a change, ask yourself this question. “What is the best, probable, and worst-case scenario?” If the “worst-case” consequences are something you can live with, do it.
If you are content and happy with life, it is ok to stay where you are. There is no need to follow the trend, be an entrepreneur, or have a career change. However, if you are unhappy with yourself, do something about it. Your life won’t change unless you take action to change it.
If you are looking to do business online, I highly recommend that you learn from someone actively doing an online business. Online is a rapidly changing and unforgiving space. The pace of change is too fast. Something that worked just two days ago may not work today.
Have the courage to test out some campaigns, and do not be afraid to invest in advertising. Only when you do you will get data that will help you become better, and your business will grow the next time you do it. Once you are familiar with the basics, you can choose to work on your business and outsource the work to others and maintain oversight.
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