One of the most popular questions I get asked about Facebook & Google ads is how much should I spend to get results?

I want to help you to determine what is a good budget but I also want to educate you on how to think this through properly.

Determining how much to spend on advertising is NOT a guess.

There IS math involved.

In order to figure out how much you should spend on advertising there are a few questions that need to be answered.

In this episode I will go through a few business model examples to give you an idea on how much you should be spending in order to bring new customers effectively into your business.

Here are your 4 variables for advertising budget consideration we will be discussing: 

• ATV: Average Transaction Value (Average Sale) 
• ACV:  Average Customer Value 
• CLV: Customer Lifetime Value
• CPC: Cost Per Conversion 

You may be thinking I have this ITTY BITTY business - this does not apply to me.

But OH it does! Not having this knowledge and mindset is how your business stays itty-bitty. 

The first thing I want you to know is email marketing is alive and well.

Email marketing has been a cornerstone of online marketing since the beginning of the internet. 

Despite the rise of texting and instant messaging, it remains an incredibly effective and essential piece of the marketing pie.

When I refer to the "marketing pie," I mean the collection of marketing platforms and strategies that a business uses to effectively reach its target customers. Each slice of this pie represents a different method of getting the message out to prospective customers about your business, and email marketing is a crucial slice.

In this episode I will discuss the power of email marketing, how it can bring more sales into your business and how I am using it for my own clients. 

Post COVID I have noticed there seems to be an influx of handyman businesses. Most seem to be doing this business model as a side hustle or just focusing on building referrals within their local communities. Which by the way BOTH of those things are fine, if its just a side hustle fine - if its just a local community thing fine.

But what if it isn't fine? What IF you really want to create a profitable and viable business? Perhaps even something that is viable enough to involve your family in? Perhaps even create a legacy business you can one day leave to your children?

What if you ARE ready to take that step? What IF you want to be more than just a guy driving around in a truck with a toolbox?

In today's podcast I will discuss exactly what that would look like - at least from a marketing perspective.

Section Markers: 

3:52 High Search Equity -  If your potential new customer goes online to find your services, you have search equity. A handyman business model has very HIGH search equity.

4:06 Real Data  - I will share with you some real data behind the handyman model search based on area demographics. The market where you are (your demographic) determines the potential demand for your type of service. It is data like this that provides a roadmap to help you make the decision to start a business.

5:42 The Consequence of Using Bad Data - It's super important to use data and hard core facts before entering into any business venture. You wouldn't base an entire business model for example on data that was created during a fluke, or a crisis.

 7:24 Comparing Apples to Apples - The handyman industry and other home service niches saw a huge surge during the Covid era and this caused big profit jumps. It's important not to compare your 2023 numbers to the COVID era because it's just not an apples to apples comparison. Instead look back to the years prior to Covid.

8:10 Marketing to YOUR Demographic - If you're not marketing your business to your ENTIRE demographic you are missing out on tons of leads - leads that could keep your business strong and from suffering any cashflow issues.

8:48 Search Share - You already know you have a high search equity business. The real question is what is YOUR search-share?Every month handyman near me is searched a certain number of times based on your demographic area. The question is how many of those searches is your business getting? If you say 20% for example, that is how much search-share you have.

9:46 A Lesson in Mindset - What happens when you take 28 entrepreneurs - give them the exact same business model to run and access to all all the same tools and resources? Do you think they all will be successful? If you said yes - you would be very very wrong.

11:25 The Dividing Factor of Success or Failure - The dividing factor is the mindset. The successful business owners had a growth mindset whereas the struggling in the group had a fixed mindset.

12:34 Growth VS Fixed Mindset - A definition and examples on the two mindsets so you can decide which one you indentify with the most.

16:20 Marketing Strategy - Here are the 6 tools to creating a lead generating marketing strategy and an explanation of each.

29:14 What Marketing Tactics to Avoid - Avoid investing in secondary search aggregation websites. What a secondary search aggregation website is and how it can be harmful to your business. Also, what to do instead. 

Today's marketing lesson requires you to be able to use your phone so if you can listen to this episode on a computer it is helpful. It's a brief lesson - but a very important one! 

If a business owner has a brick-n-mortar when visited by a customer they get to have a personal impact on how that individual sees and experiences their business. 

You achieve this impact by communication.

But, what if you aren't there to have that impact?

What if they are experiencing your business alone, without your presence or impact on how they see it?

This is what happens when someone visits your website.

Section Markers: 

2:04 Can You Remove Your Ego from Your Business? - Do you have the ability to completely remove your business owner hat and walk in your customer's shoes? Let go of what you THINK people want and see and instead really grasp their perspective? It sounds like an easy thing but it is certainly not. When was the last time you did that OR have you ever? Over the years I have learned one huge flaw with many business owners is sometimes they get hung up on details that have very little impact on the business at all - this is when your ego is getting a little too involved in your business. Remember, it's not about YOU.

3:32 Website Mobile Friendliness  - What does your business look like on your phone? This is where the vast majority of people are going to experience your business online. Here is where you will map the journey from website visitor, to lead, to potential new customer. 

9:33 Website User Friendliness - Here I will share with you the 6 check points to determining how user friendly your website is. 

I mention the free tool Google provides to check your website's speed, here is the link to that: https://developers.google.com/speed

NOTE: Be sure to make a list of everything you need to work on and do NOT put it on the backburner! These are things that are directly connected to the revenue of your business. 

Remember the saying "Location is Everything" when it comes to a business? 

Everyone understands the importance of location when it comes to a brick-and-mortar business. 

How about those giant yellow books we use to have? Whenever you need a plumber or something you got out the book. Do you remember how many businesses started with A because they wanted to be listed first?  

Well Mainstreet is now the first page of Google!

People now go to the people Internet to find a plumber for example, but the problem is not enough businesses are trying to start with an A if you know what I mean? 

The amount of really small service-based businesses NOT using the Internet is shocking. 

Just like Mainstreet the Internet is great real estate, that every business owner needs to invest in. Today's podcast will explain the various pieces of real estate available and the impact on your business. 

Section Markers: 

2:25 High Search Equity - Is your business sought on online? Well that means you have high search equity and you should especially be looking out for some good real estate.

3:05 Internet Search = Google  - The search engine Google has 91.9 % marketshare, so this is where your attention lays when it comes to Internet real estate. 

4:25 Demographic Determines Value of Real Estate  - Depending on where you are in the world determines your search value and opportunity. Here I will give you some examples of various city demographics and how search equity works. 

6:54 Missed Opportunity  - If your business model has high search equity and you are not in the Internet search you are MISSING revenue opps BIG TIME. 

7:30 5 Ways to Be in the Search - Here are 5 different ways your business can be visible in top searches. 

8:37 Practical Logic of Real Estate  - The Internet is in fact real estate for your business online but just for the sake of learning let's relate it to actual real estate.

11:22 The 6 Different Types of Internet Real Estate  - Here we break down the 6 different opportunities and what determines their value. 

Welcome to the first episode of The Clueless Business Owner Podcast! 

A little over a year ago I created my first podcast. I gained quite a few listeners, had some great feedback but it just didn't feel like I was on the right path.

Over 10 years ago I started my entrepreneurial journey..... if there's one thing I've done to a fault, I have followed my gut. 

It has never lead me wrong ....at least not yet anyway.

I am however super glad I did start my podcast even when I was unsure of my direction because there is one thing I have always said, clarity is an action process. 

You figure it out while you're doing it, not while you are thinking it to death..or waiting until some perfect timeframe which by the way is a unicorn, it does not exist. 

You have to be moving in the process even if you are scared and uncertain. You have to take action and take chances. You have to be willing to make mistakes and get back up and start again.

This is how you find your path. 

In this episode I share with you how I finally found the path I need to be on with my podcast. I thought this dream was too big for me, I thought I needed to scale it way down, but then I thought, heck, what do I have to lose? 

Important Points:

1:23 Clarity is an Action Process - The perfect time to do something does NOT exist.

3:05 Marketing is a Bridge to Customers - We live in a time whereas we have incredible an opportunity to easily reach a large number of people. 

7:50 Marketing Education is Critical - Getting educated on modern marketing tactics can literally mean the difference between failure and success. It was this lack of knowledge that caused my first business to fail.

8:50 There are No Golden Tickets or Passes  - Despite leaving corporate America as a 6-figure award-winning sales executive (many times over) I STILL failed in my first business venture. 

9:59 Marketing Scams: Each year business owners lose thousands of dollars as a result of marketing scams. Have a marketing education can prevent this loss.

11:34 It's Your Fault - Being scammed is a large of education and therefore a bad decision and something you should take full responsibility for.

12:16 The Fear Mindset - Many business owners are held back out of fear of all of the information and the responsibility of learning it. 

13:40 Really Small Businesses- Did you know 86.3% of small business owners make less than $100K in income per year? Did you also know there is a 70% failure rate among this really small businesses?

15:54 Surviving Obstacles - If you create a strong marketing strategy in your business not just when you need customers but one that is constant and consistent, your busines will weather any storm.

17:41 The Pandemic and Business Failures - Over 200,000 businesses closed during the first year of the pandemic. What was the reason? It's not what you think.

Today's podcast is a little different. I have a guest and we have recorded a phone conversation we had. I am especially proud of this podcast as Steve is one of my favorite clients.

In today's podcast we talk about how important it is to market your business properly. Especially in challenging times like we are having today. 

Steve really drops some wonderful knowledge nuggets about how he runs his business and how is navigating challenges such as longer waits for products and labor shortages.

Most importantly we talk about the importance of marketing to the growth in your business when times are good and especially when they are scary or challenging. 

The transparency of our lives due to things like Facebook and instagram can really make things blurry.

We are constantly seeing people post pictures of their new haircut, their new relationship, their wonderful vacations, their successful business, etc.

 This abundance of information is a constant companion and it can cause us to feel inadequate, overwhelmed and paralyzed.

You look at all these things and you start to minimize your own life. 

But here is the thing this person you are looking at and comparing yourself to .........you only see one piece of the puzzle.

They may have a successful business but what if they are struggling in their marriage, or have a drug or alcohol abuse problem or maybe they have depression or anxiety issues.

In this episode I share with you a very eye-opening, and COSTLY  experience I had with self comparison.  It was a very costly lesson I want to prevent for anyone if I can. 

Today's podcast is going to be all about Voice Search.

If you didn't know this already I am a marketing consultant. 

I design lead-generating strategies for service-based businesses that makes them more profitable in the online space. 

I am telling or reminding you this because I know first hand marketing is overwhelming, there is a lot to learn, it's constantly changing, and there is a ton of bad information swarming.

There are sharks constantly swimming around to sell you their products and services - when they smell the blood of an uneducated business owner they attack. 

I want to prevent that for you if I can. 

In today's podcast we will cover the various topics on Voice Search:

• What it REALLY is
• How it REALLY works
• Why it matters to your business
• How ranking in search is a GAME-CHANGER to your bottom-line
• How to optimize your business for voice search
• All the scams and misinformation out there surrounding it

The takeaway from today's podcast on Voice Search:

•  To learn exactly what voice search is
• What to do to make your business voice-searchable 
• To make sure you're educated enough so that you do not fall prey to the many scams surrounding it

If you prefer to see the video version of this podcast I have a free masterclass located on my website.

What is cool about the class is it's more visual and I also have worksheets you can download to help explain the process more.

You can sign up for the free Voice Search Masterclass here:

https://www.perfectmarketingequation.com/free-voice-search-masterclass

You will have some homework to get your business ready for voice search.

I do have additional training available which takes you through the process step-by-step.

A look-over-the -shoulder so to speak. This training has a bonus attached. I take you through the process of optimizing your Google My Business and how to get more reviews for your business.

The training course is $39, you can find it here:

https://www.perfectmarketingequation.com/voicesearch