🎙 Inventive Journey | Real Stories From the Startup Survival Club

Get your website up and figure out your sales process. I think that has been the hardest businesses to work with is when they don't have a clear sales process. We can get you all the web traffic you need and want. We can set up ads and do everything organically that we know-how. But, if you don't have a way to close, then it's all for nothing. Figure out your sales process, figure out how you close people. Figure out what you actually need to do to increase revenue. Then most agency owners that are good at what they do will help you figure out those channels to amplify your sales process.

Before you go into the fun stuff like, what is the design of my logo going to look like, really figure out what transformation you are going to take your potential clients through. They are here and, you want them to be here. Figure out what those places are and how you fill that gap. Without that, you are just going to be spinning your wheels you are going to be pivoting a lot as I did. Figure out and ask those questions. Where are my potential clients at? Where do they want to be? How can I help them get there?

You have to invest in yourself. A lot of people say go and talk to everyone else but you have to know your weaknesses. And you definitely have to work on those. That's one of the things I have done. Still to this day, I have a book in front of me and, I write down listen before every meeting that starts right on top. Because when you are starting off a business, you think you know everything. One thing is to learn to listen. That's one of the things I have to learn for myself. Invest in yourself and find your weaknesses and then work on them. That will definitely go a long way in you being successful.

You are the authority. You had touched on it a little bit just thirty seconds ago. You have to drive the ship. If you are a startup, a CEO, an owner, or a director, that's your job. You need to steer the ship But, the funny thing is the captain says go that way there's a helmsman crew actually steers said ship. There is an engine crew that's driving the engine and maintenance and mechanics who are keeping those things ticking. You have to see the big vision. You have to know what you know and know that you are an authority. But you also have to get very honest with yourself on what you don't know. And then what is it that it's ok not to know and, what is it that you need to get better at.

My advice is going to be from the perspective of the entrepreneur who is bootstrapping their business. It is to crawl before you walk and walk before you run. I think it's really important to not grow too fast and keep a gradual pace. Growing a business is about figuring out how you can sustain the business. Every step of growth reduces the stability of the business. You have to grow into that larger business so that you are on top of it and can then get to the next level.

Start earlier. Don't think about it more and more and wonder when you are going to do it. If you have the idea and passion to do it, don't wait. Start today. Start right now, make that first phone call, get your business licensed, get set up, name your company. Start moving. Don't waste time because what you will find is once you get into this, you never have enough time.

So they think their last step is running the payroll, hire an employee, coming out on the front. We want to create the other last step which is let's take a look at your expenses. Maybe beyond having an expense on your profit loss, we can convert that into a tax credit. If we could use it for the payroll tax credit, that would be great, or else it counts as income tax. We do a lot of planning, phone calls, exchange information. I also want to say that we use technology. We do a lot of zoom and teleconferencing. We record a lot of our discussions and our interviews. Every single thing we do is to save time for the client.

Make sure you are getting into the business for the right reasons. I would say: don't chase the dollar signs. Don't get involved in an opportunity solely because you believe you are going to make a fortune. If you really don't enjoy doing what you do, it's pretty easy to give up when you run into some roadblocks.

Be really clear on what your goals are in this situation. I think we did it well, even some of the groups that I have worked with over the years. Being clear on what the goals are and what the responsibilities are amongst people really helps.

Take every opportunity. Don't even hesitate about it just do it. Of course, you want to think about it. But, from what I have learned: when you hesitate when there is an opportunity in front of you, it really slows you down, especially with a startup. One of the pros of a startup is you can move at a certain pace. You can quickly change your model. And adapt faster than most businesses. If you see an opportunity, take it. Either joining a podcast or spreading your name out there.