What's the Key to Entrepreneurial Success?

Let's get right to the answer and not bother with a lot of fluff getting in the way. The key to entrepreneurial success is...

SELF AWARENESS

What in the world does that mean? Are you thinking I'm getting all fluffy on you?

Well, I'm not. This is just the short version for knowing

• what you are good at,
• what you need someone to help you to get good at and
• what you would be better off getting someone else to do for you all together.

Unfortunately, sometimes it turns out that the smarter you are, the less self aware you are. Too much ego and logic gets in the way.

You know what I mean.

This is when you say to yourself "I'm highly educated and highly skilled at what I do so I must be able to do everything that comes my way when running my business".

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but nobody is this good. Not me and not even Bill Gates.

So here's a little free advice. Get help and support and don't wait to do it. Delaying this inevitable need will only result in holding you back as well as costing you more time and money than it would to just suck it up and line up the help.

There's tons of things out there to help you out as soon as you realize it. There are books, newsletters, websites, associations, seminars, courses, coaches and advisors. Find someone to teach you what you don't know or do it for you. Just do something about it.

And keep this in mind too. Free help will certainly be better than no help, but you do get what you pay for and values differ depending on who or what you get to supply the help.

Just like it is with what you supply to your clients and customers: the more value you provide, the more they will have to pay for it, the better the results.

Bottom line- Self Awareness is the key to entrepreneurial success.

Testimonials- Instant Marketing & Credibility

I’m sure you already know that testimonials are a great way to back your business up to new prospects. What others say about your business is worth 1000 times what you say and do to try and prove it.

So how do you get testimonials? The easiest way is to literally ask for them. Come up with a process for this and life will be easier. You can either always ask for them immediately after a completely project or contact your clients once a quarter for them. The key is to ask though.

Also, you should already have something prepared that you would like them to say that is specific to a service you have or anything relevant to advertising you are putting together. I like to ask for the testimonial and also say that for their convenience I have put something together for them to modify or just sign off on.

By the way, testimonials can also be in the form of audio or video and not just written. This is great stuff to put on a website. Some also use audio and video to send in the mail to potential clients in the form of a DVD or Audio CD. A picture with a testimonial is also excellent.

Can you put testimonials on company letterhead or a website that you just made up? Of course you can. But be prepared spend time in a small room with a large roommate for a few years.

What if you have something so new that you don’t have a testimonial for it? Well, you can give it away for free or a small portion in return for a testimonial. Let’s say you have a consulting business. I’m sure you can give away an hour of a specific service to a potential client and they would be happy to hand you back a testimonial in exchange. This will also set them up to know the value of your business and want to be a paying customer.

Where are the best places to use testimonials? Any place you can is my answer. As an example, any advertising is a must. You can put a testimonial directly on a magazine ad, slick sheet, brochure, or website. Even better, whenever you leave materials with a potential client of in any sort of mailing add in a sheet with 3 to 12 testimonials on it. Front and back testimonial sheets work great.

I also like to add in a testimonial sheet when doing presentations in my participant package. Another great spot is right in the presentation itself.

Do what you have to do and grab those testimonials. Other people’s opinions will do a lot of selling for you.

How an Exit Plan Will Make You More Money

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again and I’ll keep saying it. Every business needs an exit plan. Even if that plan is to run it until you die. And there’s nothing wrong with that either.

The reason you need to have an exit plan is so that you can properly operate your business accordingly. My philosophy is to have the plan of “run it like you're gonna sell it”.

This puts you in a position to sell should you change your mind, something tragic happens (this is a sad but common occurrence) or an offer you can’t refuse comes along. And believe me that type of offer will not come along if you don’t operate in a manner conducive to selling it.

Putting as many systems in place as possible is the way to go. It will keep your employees and contractors on the right track to not have to micro-manage them. Try getting assistants or virtual assistants to do things you really don’t need to be doing. Automate as much as possible especially marketing systems.

My real point is that if you set up your business as if your exit plan is to sell it, then you will have a true business and not a job. You will make more money for yourself and do it with much less effort. You really can’t lose.

Don't skimp on systems, procedures and taking yourself out of the day-to-day as much as possible. A true small to medium sized business owner has their hands on the pulse of the company, especially on financial metrics, income stream strategies and marketing strategies.

Be a true business owner and give yourself the opportunity to someday sell the company you worked so hard to build.