First I want to address 5 market issues you need to be aware of to make the most of the opportunities in 2021. Paying attention to these 5 things may help make this next decade a profitable one for you, so you can best serve your clients and ensure your own profitability.

1. The markets are not saturated, consumers are more educated and want more specific products and services from authentic and aligned providers they feel connected ti and who meet their needs.  In the early internet days there was a ‘wild west, anything goes’ mentality and anyone could sell a service or a product, especially coaching, at any price. 

Newsflash:  there is no competition on the internet – it is an interest based marketplace 

Customers don’t want to be dominated, crushed, or overwhelmed with your marketing. They want marketing messages they can connect with, relate to, and that answers their questions.

With many providers in the marketplace consumers are looking for more specific solutions that meet their needs, addresses their specific issues, and are aligned with their values. In short, they are more discriminating.  If you don’t have the expertise, education, or experience they feel makes you an authentic service or solutions provider, they will choose someone else.

This is not the time to boast about your ‘lack of business education, training, or skills’ when you are selling your business coaching services.

2. The gig economy has become the self determined economy. I have said for the last 10 years that the corporate model of employment is shifting and we’ll see more of that starting in 2021. As a veteran of the corporate world for 25 years, I started my business after 6 layoffs in 8 years. Especially in the high tech, information services sectors, you’ll see a greater demand for consulting services and fewer long term employment opportunities. If you have a marketable skill in these areas, and it is a wide open market, you should consider going into business for yourself as a consultant. We teach you those skills in the GPS business academy, which features a special consultant business master class as well as the advice, resources, and training to start and manage your business.

3. Women entrepreneurs will continue to flourish. Whether you want to start a business to stay home with your children (I started my first businesses for that reason), augment your monthly budget or you lost your job and you want more financial control and freedom, now is the time to start your business. Women have more resources, training, and options available to them now, and there are no barriers to entry if you want to start an online business. 

Now is the time to start your business and there is an opportunity for everyone who has a skill, idea, vision, or solution to share with the world. Our ‘Your Expert Solution’ tool will help you identify what that is and build a profitable business around it.

4. It’s time to think volume instead of exclusivity, especially when it comes to pricing. The days of ‘high value clients and high ticket programs’ are over. They have been overmarketed, overstated, over hyped, and it’s time for something new. 

There are simply too many alternatives and choices in the marketplace. Providers need to get clear on who they are serving and what their customers’ budgets are. If you want to serve a market that pays you $100K a year for your coaching that’s great but your audience will be very limited and you’ll lose access to a very big customer base that could benefit from your services at a far more affordable price.

By the way, the higher your prices, the smaller your market, remember that.

5. More businesses moving into the digital age and a virtual strategy is necessary, even for brick and mortar retail establishments. I remember when the internet first started entering the public sphere, in the late 1990s.  I am an internet pioneer who wrote the first book on the internet in 2000. My book was the first one used at the university level because I was the first person to suggest that the internet would play a substantial role in business.

In 2000 I did a talk for the Small Bus Admin about how the internet could work in the real estate market. A man argued with me, saying that real estate was a face to face business and would never be virtual. How many of you did your preliminary house search using zillow or trulia or redfin?

It doesn’t matter what kind of business you have, an online presence gives you greater visibility and viability in today’s market. If you aren’t online people question the validity of your business.  And it is easier to market to a mailing list. You can’t afford to wait on foot traffic and many people will find you online first. Online is the way to go now. And a word of warning, it doesn’t replace customer service, connection, or attention to your customer needs. 

Here are some tips for business success in 2021

1. You need a strategy that includes BOTH the virtual and the real presence. Customers want to see you and hear your voice.  Part of your virtual strategy can be a video blog or podcast, along with your mailing list and other methods of customer contact that the internet makes so easy.

Need help to include this strategy in your business? Set up a free consult with us to determine your needs.

2. Stop focusing on your why, your high ticket programs, high value clients and especially, your high prices. Focus on cash flow and what I call ‘compounded revenues’, build your business on volume, not exclusivity. Think of the customer connection process as a courtship. You wouldn’t ask someone to marry you after you say hello, so you should not expect your customers to expect to spend thousands of dollars with you when they barely know you. Cultivate the relationship before you ask for a commitment.

3. Stop using the word scale to describe your business. That’s a vertical marketing strategy.  If you’re in the growth phase of your business you need to start moving into a horizontal business model. If you’re a startup you need to lead with a long term horizontal focus which means keeping your customers with you for years and you do not do that by being exclusive (excluding everyone), charging high prices, or selling programs or services with a short term engagement commitment. Need help with that? You’ll learn about it in our GPS Business Foundation program where we teach our trademark cash flow profit platform and b

4. Avoid thinking about the competition – there is no competition on the internet. It’s an interest based marketplace and your customers look for the best fit, not the loudest voice. Stick with your message, your story, your solution that is available to those who need it. Promote your expertise, share your authority, claim your credentials and step up your promotions. Customers want relevance and resonance and they’ll find it with you when you let them know you have been where they are and can help them get through their issues with reality and experienced based information, solutions, and 

5. Plan to have a long term relationship with your customers. That means your pricing has to include greater affordability options and your programs, products, and services need to have some sort of . You know how I feel about ‘high ticket programs’ and high value clients, it’s a huge mistake to get all of your customers’ money up front and then they are out of your business.

2021 offers new opportunities for everyone with smart marketing, attention to customer needs, and paying attention to shifting trends so you stay on track with your business goals.If you’re ready for some real business coaching with an expert business leader, then join the GPSBusiness Academy now.

You can read the full article (and our past articles and podcasts) on the blog  and podcast page at GPSbusinessacademy.com

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