Top 6 things you need to get comfortable doing (to be successfully self-employed) Part 2

We started this conversation last week, when I went over the first two items on the list. Those were:

1. Accounting
2. Time Management

This week it’s time to go over items 3-6.

3. Marketing

Getting the message out about your product/service is key to making sales. But many new business owners don’t know what is all included in marketing. So here are some of the main things you need to know how about.

• How to create a website that sells;
• How to write sales emails that sell;
• What CTA’s are and how to use them effectively;
• What a landing page is and how to make an effective one;
• What a lead magnet is, and how to create an effective one;
• What a sales funnel is, and how to use it effectively to find cold leads and convert them into warm, then hot leads.

There is, of course, a lot more to marketing, but those are the main aspects of it. If some of these topics are new to you, do some research and learn more about them!

4. Sales

Products don’t sell themselves—you have to make that happen. And that means knowing something about sales. Here are some of the things you need to know how to do.

• How to find the right clients (prospecting, maintaining a prospect list);
• How to pitch to leads. This involves knowing the features of your product inside out, knowing your competition, knowing how to show/build value, etc.
• How to close the sale. This one is an art in itself. There are tried and true methods for closing sales—yes, there are actual techniques!
• How to “ask” for the sale.

This is an area that I find many of my clients know little about. But it’s so important—so take the time to read up on this topic!

5. Business Modelling

I’ve talked about business models before. But it’s not enough to understand how business models work—you have to understand how to develop a model that generates income.

Here are some of the activities you need to be able to do to build a strong business model.

• Identify your ideal customer and understand them inside out;
• Create marketing messages that work;
• Create the most efficient system possible for producing your product/service;
• Analyze and identify which activities/leads are not worth pursuing;
• Identify which parts of your operations are costing you unnecessary money;
• Analyze and identify key metrics such as ROI, conversion rate, etc;
• Analyze which parts of your business model you can cost-effectively outsource to a trusted 3^rd party, so you can spend your time on higher-value activities.

6. Business development

This is all about creating a plan for growth. It’s actually part of business modelling, but I’ve put it in its own section here because there are a few things I’d like to say about it.

First off, this is a tricky one. That’s because it often involves predicting, and that’s never a sure thing. But you have to have some type of planning in place for how you want your business to develop—or it just won’t grow. That applies at start up (and even before!) and during the life of your business.

Here are some of the main things that are involved in business development.

• Spending time on new product development. One product is great, but most successful companies have several products—the more products, the more opportunities for sales! (To a limit of course—and it’s important to know where that limit is for your size and focus.)
• Problem solving. Problems will come up, and you have to rise to the challenge. Think inside the box, outside the box, or even throw the box away!
• Strategizing for how you will grow your business. Where do you want to be in one year? Two years? Five years? How will you get there? Who/what can you leverage to help you?
• A willingness to experiment. Trying (and possibly failing) is a way to learn and grow. It’s amazing what you can learn by simply trying something out!
• Money management. How will you fund any new projects/products you want to develop? How will you maintain a healthy cash flow, especially in lean times?
• Staffing. If growth involves hiring staff, how will you build/manage an HR structure/team?

So, that caps off the 6 things you need to be comfortable doing to run a successful business. Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? That’s because it is.

Remember—especially if you are a business of one—you need to take care of everything. That means you can have quite a learning curve!

But don’t let that discourage you! Stick with it, learn bit-by-bit, and you will make steady progress.

(Not sure how to do some of the things listed in this article? We’d be happy to have you learn with us in the Free Agent Collective!)