February 17, 2025 • 23 mins
You have passion, drive and a GREAT business idea - so how do you avoid becoming one of the "failed business statistics"?
There are lots of reasons small businesses fail in their first few years but it's rarely because they weren’t “good enough.” Most new businesses fail because they skip over the boring but critical stuff that actually keeps a business alive.
In this episode, we’re cutting through the fluff and getting straight to what really makes or breaks a business in the early years. Before you drop thousands on a fancy logo or get lost in the social media hype, let’s make sure your business has a strong foundation that actually sets you up for success.
We’ll cover:
- Why market research is non-negotiable and how to do it right
- How to avoid jumping into an oversaturated market with no real plan
- The biggest mistakes new business owners make with marketing (and what to do instead)
- Why relationships will always beat random marketing tactics
- What realistic success actually looks like in the first few years
If you’re serious about making your business work (and not becoming another statistic), this episode is a must-listen.
Let’s set you up to not just survive, but thrive.
Links & References:
Episode #14 - Strategic Planning for Business Success with Connie Kercher
- Join us at our next PWR Virtual Speed Networking Event!
For even deeper connections and faster business growth, check out the Powerful Women Rising Community!
Loved the episode? Here are four ways you can show your support:
1. Buy me a coffee to show your appreciation!
2. Leave a five-star review
3. DM me on Instagram and let me know
4. Share it with a friend!
Connect with Your Host!
Melissa Snow is a Business Relationship Strategist dedicated to empowering women in entrepreneurship. She founded the Powerful Women Rising Community, which provides female business owners with essential support and resources for business growth.
Melissa's other mission is to revolutionize networking, promoting authenticity and genuine connections over sleazy sales tactics. She runs an incredible monthly Virtual Speed Networking Event which you can attend once at no cost using the code FIRSTTIME
She lives in Colorado Springs with two girl dogs, two boy cats and any number of foster kittens. She loves iced coffee, Taylor Swift, and Threads.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Powerful Women Rising, a podcast for
female entrepreneurs ready to dobusiness their way.
Grab your coffee and join hostMelissa Snow, business
relationship strategist andfounder of the Powerful Women
Rising community, as sheinterviews industry experts and
shares insights on strategy,marketing, mindset and more.
(00:25):
Here you'll find the tools,strategies and inspiration you
need to feel empowered, takebold action in your business and
keep rising.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Hello, welcome back to another episode of the Power
for Women Rising podcast.
I'm your host, melissa Snow,and we are back.
Another Monday, another week,another opportunity to live the
dream.
Are you living the dream?
Everyone, I am, actually, forthe most part.
(00:58):
Last week, we had our monthlyvirtual speed networking event
for female entrepreneurs.
If you've never been to that,why not?
You are missing out.
It's so much fun.
We have usually like between 60and 80 female entrepreneurs
from all over the world, alldifferent experience levels, all
different industries, and wejust attract some of the most
(01:20):
amazing women who are there toshow up with authenticity and
integrity and genuinely want toconnect with other people and to
do what they can to supportother people, and it's just an
amazing experience.
Every time I have one, I'm likeGod, this is the best thing
ever.
Why wasn't I doing this yearsago?
But I'm doing it now and it issuper fun.
(01:44):
So if you've never been to oneof those events, definitely
check it out.
All right, let's talk abouttoday's topic.
It's a biggie.
We're talking about why mostbusinesses fail within the first
year, and before we dive intothis, I want to put a little
disclaimer on it.
I am not a statistician.
I am not an economist.
I am not claiming to be theexpert on any of those things.
(02:06):
I'm only speaking from my ownframe of reference, my own
experiences and what I've seenwith the business owners that I
have worked with.
There are a lot of factors thatgo into whether or not a
business is successful or not,and we're just going to talk
about a few of them today, andwe're going to talk about them
in ways that are somewhatsurface level.
(02:28):
But I also want to make surethat this episode is valuable
for you, impactful for you, thatthere are things that you can
take from this episode andactually use, while also
recognizing this is a massivetopic, with about 100 subtopics
that are also massive.
So just know, if there'ssomething that I don't say that
(02:48):
you're like I can't believe shedidn't even talk about that.
That is why we don't want to behere all day.
So, okay, let's talk about thestatistics.
The statistics in the UnitedStates say that about 23% of new
businesses fail within thefirst year.
Within the first five years,about 48% have failed and within
(03:12):
the first 10 years, about 65%have failed.
That is a lot of businesses Ifyou think about the fact that
right now in the United Statesthere are, I think, close to
like 33 or 34 million smallbusinesses across the country,
so that's quite a lot ofbusinesses that are closing down
(03:34):
within the first 10 years, andI don't want this to be
discouraging to you.
I don't want this to be like ohmy gosh, there's no way I can
ever succeed.
Because you can believe me, oneof my favorite things about
networking is meeting people whohave businesses that I'm no way
I can ever succeed.
Because you can believe me, Oneof my favorite things about
networking is meeting people whohave businesses that I'm like I
can't believe that's even abusiness.
But they're succeeding and soyou can too.
It's not impossible.
(03:55):
There are just some things thatyou need to keep in mind, and
those are some of the thingsthat we're going to talk about
today.
So the first reason that I wantto talk about is people start
businesses without beingprepared, they don't do enough
market research, they don't knowenough about what their
potential clients actually needand want, or they don't realize
(04:20):
that they are entering acompletely oversaturated market
and that they are going to haveto have a way to stand out in
that oversaturated market.
Here's the brutal truth.
Just because you think youridea is amazing doesn't mean
that other people are going tofind it so amazing.
They wanna pay you for it.
(04:40):
A huge reason that businessesfail is because they don't
actually solve a real problemfor a real person who is willing
to pay money for it.
And those three things all haveto be in place.
If you have a real problem thata real person has, but they are
not willing or able to paymoney to solve that problem,
(05:01):
your business is not going tosucceed.
So many of us get into businessbecause we want to do our thing
right, we want to coach, we wantto help people, we want to be a
consultant, we want to dosocial media management Whatever
it is that we want to do thatwe're passionate about that, we
love that.
We know we're good at that, weknow is going to help people.
But we don't stop and thinkabout what it actually takes to
(05:26):
launch this business.
And listen, I'm speaking fromexperience because when I first
got my coaching certification, Ihad no idea what I didn't know
about growing a business.
I just thought I was going toget my coaching certification
and I was going to be like, hey,everybody, I'm a life coach who
wants me to help them, andeveryone was going to show up
and they were going to pay memoney and it was going to be
(05:47):
amazing.
What happens is business ownersskip that market research and
they jump straight to I need awebsite, I'm going to print
business cards, I'm going tomake a logo on Canva, I'm going
to launch an Instagram with acute grid layout, right Like all
these things that are fun, thatwe think this is what we need
to have a legit business andthere is a time and a place for
(06:08):
them.
But you start doing thesethings without actually doing
the work to figure out who youare selling to, who is actually
going to buy your thing.
You need to be crystal clear onwho those people are, what
those people really need andwant and how they make their
buying decisions.
That is going to put you milesahead when you start doing those
(06:32):
other things, like getting awebsite and promoting yourself
on social media and all of thosethings.
I also want to talk a little bitabout that piece of entering
oversaturated markets for asecond, because this is really
huge, especially afterpost-COVID.
After COVID, everyone decidedthat they were going to be an
online business owner.
They were going to do affiliatemarketing, they were going to
(06:55):
be a coach, they were going topassively sell digital products
and make millions of dollars,and what they didn't realize is
that those markets were becomingoversaturated literally
overnight, and so if you'reentering a space that's already
filled with hundreds orthousands of people doing the
same thing, you are going tohave to take some time in the.
(07:16):
You are going to struggle tostand out unless you have a very
unique spin or a very uniqueapproach to what you do.
So you really need to spendsome time and do some research,
(07:36):
figuring out what makes youdifferent.
What is different about theaudience that you're targeting?
What is different about yourniche?
Are you talking about thisthing in a way that is different
than anyone else out there istalking about it?
Do you have a unique method?
Are you teaching a way to do itthat is different than what
(07:57):
anyone else is teaching?
Are you solving a problem thatno one else is solving, or are
you solving a problem in a waythat nobody else is solving it?
There's got to be somethingthat is different about you and
what you offer that is going toset you apart from all of that
competition, and you've got tobe really clear on what that is
from the get-go.
(08:17):
So, before you do anything else, take some time to validate
your idea.
Even if you've already launched,even if you've already done
these things that we're talkingabout and they're not working,
you can take a step back and dothis pre-work right now.
Talk to real humans, do somemarket research.
(08:37):
I'm not talking about scrollingon Instagram to see what other
people are doing and copyingwhat seems to be working for
them.
I'm talking about having actualconversations with your
potential customers and askingthem what is your biggest
challenge with whatever thisthing is?
Have you ever paid for asolution to this thing before?
Did it work?
(08:57):
Did it not work?
What made you decide to pay forthat solution?
What was it about that solutionthat you thought this has
enough potential to help me,that I'm willing to hand over my
money, and what would make yousay yes to buying something like
this?
When you get the answers tothose questions from people who
(09:19):
are your ideal client, you'regoing to be much better
positioned to start marketingyourself and talking about what
you do, creating things like awebsite or social media presence
from that perspective thatimmediately sets you apart from
your competition.
If you skip this part, thenyou're really just guessing.
And when you guess, you aregoing to waste a ton of time and
(09:41):
energy and money figuring outwhat doesn't work before you
finally find what does.
So do yourself a favor and takethe shortcut, all right.
Reason number two that I seebusinesses fail frequently
Ineffective marketing strategiesaka you're doing the wrong
(10:01):
things.
So many new business ownersthink that marketing means
paying somebody thousands ofdollars to build a fancy website
, starting a podcast before theyeven have an audience, doing a
challenge, a summit, a workshop,whatever it is, without having
anyone to actually promote it.
To running Facebook ads topeople who have never heard of
(10:23):
them.
And let me be clear none ofthese are bad strategies.
I have done all of these thingsat certain points in my
business.
Sometimes I did them at theright time, sometimes I did them
before I should have done them,but if you're just starting out
, these things are not yourpriority.
Marketing is actually verysimple.
In the beginning.
(10:44):
People need to know that youexist, they need to learn how to
trust you and they need to knowthat you exist.
They need to learn how to trustyou and they need to believe
that you can help them, and thefastest, easiest way to do that
in the beginning is to talk topeople.
Seriously, it's that simple Getout there, show up in spaces
where your ideal clients hangout, show up where people who
(11:06):
will be valuable to your networkare spending time and really
put the effort into buildingthose relationships.
Telling people what you do, whoyou help, how you help them,
learning about what other peopledo and who they help, how you
can collaborate with them, howyou can support each other.
Building your network at thisstage of the game is one of, if
(11:29):
not the most important thingthat you can do.
But before you go out there andstart meeting people and talking
to them, you have to do thepre-work to be very clear on who
you are, what you do, who youhelp, how you help them and what
sets you apart from otherpeople that do the same thing as
(11:50):
you.
If you're just another lifecoach talking about helping
people get into alignment andfind the flow and live more
purpose-driven lives, you aregoing to blend into the
background.
If you are just anothercopywriter, another VA, another
business coach, people are notgoing to pay attention to you,
and it's not because you're nottalented, it's not because you
(12:12):
don't know what you're doing.
It's not because you're notamazing.
It's because they have noreason to pay attention to you
over the other hundred peoplewho are doing the same thing.
So your job, before you go outand meet people and start
talking to them, is to make itincredibly clear to yourself why
you are the right choice andwho you are the right choice for
(12:35):
.
This means getting really clearon what makes you and your
approach unique.
Are you a no BS person in aspace where usually there's a
lot of yes, people?
Are you more on the spiritualside?
Do you blend business and humandesign?
Do you have a proven methodthat other people out there
(12:58):
aren't using or even aware of?
What is it that sets you apart?
The other thing that you wantto get really clear on is who
exactly you help, because ifyou're trying to help everyone,
if you're trying to speak toeveryone, you're going to end up
talking and helping no one, andthen what is the real
transformation that you provide?
No one cares about yourcoaching package, nobody cares
(13:20):
about what's included, nobodycares about your 24-hour Voxer
support if they don't alreadyknow what changes, after they
work with you what your life islike right now.
This is what your challengesare.
This is how you're thinking andfeeling and what you're
(13:41):
experiencing, and this is whatwill change after you work with
me.
This is what will change afteryou start using my product.
This is what will change afteryou attend my event.
Whatever it is right.
Be very clear on that so thatyou can clearly communicate it
to people when you are outhaving conversations with them.
Instead of dumping money intothings that might work down the
(14:03):
road, try these things instead.
Get on social media and starttalking to people, instead of
just posting pretty graphicsthat you made in Canva that make
your Instagram grid lookaesthetically pleasing.
Join communities and actuallyengage in them, not in a spammy
way, but by being helpful, beingcurious, being interested in
other people.
Go to networking events,whether they are virtual or in
(14:26):
person, and practice introducingyourself.
Practice talking about who youare, what you do, what sets you
apart because that does takepractice and then spend some
time intentionally following upwith people that you already
know and letting them know whatyou're up to.
Now.
Your first sales are going tocome from connections.
They are not going to come fromGoogle SEO magic or some super
(14:50):
secret ad formula.
They're going to come fromconnections and relationships
that you can start buildingright now.
And then the third reason that Isee most frequently that
businesses don't succeedinitially is because they don't
have a business plan.
They don't have any idea wherethey're going and or they have
(15:11):
completely unrealisticexpectations.
A lot of people think that abusiness plan is this big,
complicated document that youonly need if you are pitching to
investors or going in aboardroom to present it to
people, or you're this big,fancy, multi-level,
multi-million business owner.
But the reality is that if youdon't have a plan, you are just
(15:33):
winging it.
Winging it does not pay thebills.
Winging it takes a lot longerto get to where you want to be.
This is an analogy that I usedto use with my dating coaching
clients a lot, because I wouldsay, if you don't know where
you're going, if you don't knowwhat you're looking for and what
your end goal is, if you're notsuper clear on who that person
(15:53):
is and what you want with them,it's basically like getting in
the car and starting to drivewithout actually knowing where
you're going.
You're going to find some coolplaces to stop.
You're going to find some funplaces to eat.
You're probably going to stopmany places that you're like oh
my gosh, why did we stop here?
There's not even anything tosee.
Or I can't believe we paid $20to get into this museum.
(16:15):
It's literally the worst museumI've ever been to.
Right, eventually, you mightget somewhere that you're like,
okay, this place is cool, maybewe'll stay here, but if you want
to get to where you want to bein the fastest, simplest,
cheapest, best way possible,you're going to need a plan.
You're going to need a map.
(16:35):
At the very least, your businessplan should answer these
questions.
Number one what is your offer?
What exactly are you selling?
And I'm not talking about thefeatures of what you're selling.
I'm not talking about what'sincluded in the package.
I'm not talking about what theactual product is.
I'm talking about what is theoffer that you are selling in
(16:57):
terms of the experience, interms of the result, in terms of
the change that your client isgetting.
Number two who is your audience?
Who are you selling to?
Number three how are you goingto get in front of those people?
That's your marketing strategy.
Number four how are you goingto make money?
So this includes things likeyour pricing, your revenue goals
(17:19):
, your expenses, the moneythat's coming in versus the
money that's going out.
And five, what is your plan forgrowth?
How are you going to scale orsustain this business over time?
All of these things areimportant to know in the
beginning, and that doesn't meanthat your answers aren't going
to change as time goes on, butyou do at least need an initial
(17:41):
roadmap before you get in thecar and start driving.
And I also want to touch on onething that I mentioned, which is
managing your expectations.
So many new business ownerscome in thinking that they're
going to make six figures in sixmonths because that's what some
influencer on Instagrampromised them.
That's what some celebritybusiness coach said that if you
(18:01):
paid them $5,000, they wouldgive you the formula for making
$90 million in 90 seconds.
Right.
And then, when they'restruggling to make even $500 in
their first few months, theypanic, they think they're
failing, they think they'redoing it wrong, they think
something is wrong with them.
But the reality is thatbusiness takes time.
You are not going to haveovernight success.
(18:24):
You will have slow months.
You will learn things throughtrial and error.
All of that is completelynormal.
So if you set realisticexpectations and you have a plan
to sustain yourself while yourbusiness grows, even if that
means you have to keep workingat your full-time job or taking
on a part-time job.
(18:44):
You are much less likely toburn out and quit when things
don't happen as fast as you wantthem to.
So we've talked about some ofthe big reasons that businesses
fail.
Let's talk about how to actuallymake it past your first year.
Here is your simple roadmap.
Number one validate your offer.
Before you start investing inbranding, websites, pictures,
(19:06):
anything fancy, make sure thatpeople actually want what you're
selling.
Number two prioritizerelationships over random
marketing tactics.
If nobody knows that you exist,nothing else matters.
Marketing tactics.
If nobody knows that you exist,nothing else matters.
So focus on getting in front ofreal people and building real
connections from the beginning.
Number three make a plan, evenif it's not perfect, even if it
(19:29):
changes.
You don't need a 30 pagebusiness plan, but you do need a
simple roadmap with clear goalsand strategies as a starting
place.
Simple roadmap with clear goalsand strategies as a starting
place.
Number four be willing to pivot.
I know people are so sick ofthis word, but I don't have a
better word for it.
So be willing to pivot.
If something isn't working theway that you thought it was
(19:51):
going to, you don't have to keeppushing it.
Some of the best advice I evergot in business was don't keep
making the same mistake over andover again just because you
spent a lot of time and moneymaking it.
Be willing to adapt, to tweak,to improve as you go and to say
okay, I thought that was goingto work that way.
It didn't.
(20:11):
What is something that I canchange, rather than just
throwing the whole thing out andstarting over and see if that
works?
And number five is stop tryingto be everywhere all at once.
Choose a few specific marketingstrategies to go all in on in
the beginning, rather thanspreading yourself thin by
trying to do all of the things.
(20:33):
If you need to reference mypodcast episode about shiny
object syndrome, you might needto go back to that several times
, because this is a very normalpart of entrepreneurship.
We say I'm going to grow mybusiness on Instagram and
in-person networking events.
That's where I'm going to focusright now.
But then we see that Susielaunched a podcast and she's
(20:53):
actually doing really great withher podcast.
She's getting tons of downloads, she's converting it to paying
clients and you're like I need apodcast.
And then so-and-so shows you aFacebook ad about how you can
skyrocket your business bygetting speaking engagements,
and they will book the speakingengagements for you.
You don't even have to doanything, they'll just do it and
(21:13):
you just get the clients.
And so you're like I need tohire them and start doing the
speaking engagements and beforeyou know it, you've completely
forgotten about Instagram andin-person networking events
because you've gotten sodistracted by all of these shiny
objects.
So pick a few things to go allin on and stay the course on
those things.
All right, that's a lot.
(21:35):
You might have to, when yourwalk is over or your drive ends,
go back and fast forward tosome parts and write some of
these things down, because I'vegiven you a lot to think about
and I gave it to you reallyquickly.
But hopefully there were somethings in this episode that hit
home for you and I would lovefor you to share it with a
fellow entrepreneur who needs tohear it, maybe somebody you
(21:57):
know who's just getting startedin business or considering
starting a business.
It's important information thatI sure wish I would have gotten
in the very beginning Couldhave saved me a lot of time, a
lot of money and a lot of stress.
All right, friends.
Thank you so much for hangingout with me today.
Now turn your phone off, go outthere, talk to people and make
(22:18):
some money.
I will see you next week.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
That's a wrap on this week's episode of Powerful
Women Rising.
Thanks for hanging out with us.
If you love the podcast, makesure to subscribe, share it with
a friend, write a review or buyus a coffee.
Your support helps more womenlike you step into their power
and grow their businesses in away that feels real and true to
them.
Want to keep the party going?
(22:43):
Check out the show notes fordetails on our next virtual
speed networking event or joinus in the powerful Women Rising
community.
Until next time, remember thatbuilding a business your way is
the best way.
Welcome to Powerful Women Rising, a podcast for
female entrepreneurs ready to dobusiness their way.
Grab your coffee and join hostMelissa Snow, business
relationship strategist andfounder of the Powerful Women
Rising community, as sheinterviews industry experts and
shares insights on strategy,marketing, mindset and more.
(00:25):
Here you'll find the tools,strategies and inspiration you
need to feel empowered, takebold action in your business and
keep rising.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Hello, welcome back to another episode of the Power
for Women Rising podcast.
I'm your host, melissa Snow,and we are back.
Another Monday, another week,another opportunity to live the
dream.
Are you living the dream?
Everyone, I am, actually, forthe most part.
(00:58):
Last week, we had our monthlyvirtual speed networking event
for female entrepreneurs.
If you've never been to that,why not?
You are missing out.
It's so much fun.
We have usually like between 60and 80 female entrepreneurs
from all over the world, alldifferent experience levels, all
different industries, and wejust attract some of the most
(01:20):
amazing women who are there toshow up with authenticity and
integrity and genuinely want toconnect with other people and to
do what they can to supportother people, and it's just an
amazing experience.
Every time I have one, I'm likeGod, this is the best thing
ever.
Why wasn't I doing this yearsago?
But I'm doing it now and it issuper fun.
(01:44):
So if you've never been to oneof those events, definitely
check it out.
All right, let's talk abouttoday's topic.
It's a biggie.
We're talking about why mostbusinesses fail within the first
year, and before we dive intothis, I want to put a little
disclaimer on it.
I am not a statistician.
I am not an economist.
I am not claiming to be theexpert on any of those things.
(02:06):
I'm only speaking from my ownframe of reference, my own
experiences and what I've seenwith the business owners that I
have worked with.
There are a lot of factors thatgo into whether or not a
business is successful or not,and we're just going to talk
about a few of them today, andwe're going to talk about them
in ways that are somewhatsurface level.
(02:28):
But I also want to make surethat this episode is valuable
for you, impactful for you, thatthere are things that you can
take from this episode andactually use, while also
recognizing this is a massivetopic, with about 100 subtopics
that are also massive.
So just know, if there'ssomething that I don't say that
(02:48):
you're like I can't believe shedidn't even talk about that.
That is why we don't want to behere all day.
So, okay, let's talk about thestatistics.
The statistics in the UnitedStates say that about 23% of new
businesses fail within thefirst year.
Within the first five years,about 48% have failed and within
(03:12):
the first 10 years, about 65%have failed.
That is a lot of businesses Ifyou think about the fact that
right now in the United Statesthere are, I think, close to
like 33 or 34 million smallbusinesses across the country,
so that's quite a lot ofbusinesses that are closing down
(03:34):
within the first 10 years, andI don't want this to be
discouraging to you.
I don't want this to be like ohmy gosh, there's no way I can
ever succeed.
Because you can believe me, oneof my favorite things about
networking is meeting people whohave businesses that I'm no way
I can ever succeed.
Because you can believe me, Oneof my favorite things about
networking is meeting people whohave businesses that I'm like I
can't believe that's even abusiness.
But they're succeeding and soyou can too.
It's not impossible.
(03:55):
There are just some things thatyou need to keep in mind, and
those are some of the thingsthat we're going to talk about
today.
So the first reason that I wantto talk about is people start
businesses without beingprepared, they don't do enough
market research, they don't knowenough about what their
potential clients actually needand want, or they don't realize
(04:20):
that they are entering acompletely oversaturated market
and that they are going to haveto have a way to stand out in
that oversaturated market.
Here's the brutal truth.
Just because you think youridea is amazing doesn't mean
that other people are going tofind it so amazing.
They wanna pay you for it.
(04:40):
A huge reason that businessesfail is because they don't
actually solve a real problemfor a real person who is willing
to pay money for it.
And those three things all haveto be in place.
If you have a real problem thata real person has, but they are
not willing or able to paymoney to solve that problem,
(05:01):
your business is not going tosucceed.
So many of us get into businessbecause we want to do our thing
right, we want to coach, we wantto help people, we want to be a
consultant, we want to dosocial media management Whatever
it is that we want to do thatwe're passionate about that, we
love that.
We know we're good at that, weknow is going to help people.
But we don't stop and thinkabout what it actually takes to
(05:26):
launch this business.
And listen, I'm speaking fromexperience because when I first
got my coaching certification, Ihad no idea what I didn't know
about growing a business.
I just thought I was going toget my coaching certification
and I was going to be like, hey,everybody, I'm a life coach who
wants me to help them, andeveryone was going to show up
and they were going to pay memoney and it was going to be
(05:47):
amazing.
What happens is business ownersskip that market research and
they jump straight to I need awebsite, I'm going to print
business cards, I'm going tomake a logo on Canva, I'm going
to launch an Instagram with acute grid layout, right Like all
these things that are fun, thatwe think this is what we need
to have a legit business andthere is a time and a place for
(06:08):
them.
But you start doing thesethings without actually doing
the work to figure out who youare selling to, who is actually
going to buy your thing.
You need to be crystal clear onwho those people are, what
those people really need andwant and how they make their
buying decisions.
That is going to put you milesahead when you start doing those
(06:32):
other things, like getting awebsite and promoting yourself
on social media and all of thosethings.
I also want to talk a little bitabout that piece of entering
oversaturated markets for asecond, because this is really
huge, especially afterpost-COVID.
After COVID, everyone decidedthat they were going to be an
online business owner.
They were going to do affiliatemarketing, they were going to
(06:55):
be a coach, they were going topassively sell digital products
and make millions of dollars,and what they didn't realize is
that those markets were becomingoversaturated literally
overnight, and so if you'reentering a space that's already
filled with hundreds orthousands of people doing the
same thing, you are going tohave to take some time in the.
(07:16):
You are going to struggle tostand out unless you have a very
unique spin or a very uniqueapproach to what you do.
So you really need to spendsome time and do some research,
(07:36):
figuring out what makes youdifferent.
What is different about theaudience that you're targeting?
What is different about yourniche?
Are you talking about thisthing in a way that is different
than anyone else out there istalking about it?
Do you have a unique method?
Are you teaching a way to do itthat is different than what
(07:57):
anyone else is teaching?
Are you solving a problem thatno one else is solving, or are
you solving a problem in a waythat nobody else is solving it?
There's got to be somethingthat is different about you and
what you offer that is going toset you apart from all of that
competition, and you've got tobe really clear on what that is
from the get-go.
(08:17):
So, before you do anything else, take some time to validate
your idea.
Even if you've already launched,even if you've already done
these things that we're talkingabout and they're not working,
you can take a step back and dothis pre-work right now.
Talk to real humans, do somemarket research.
(08:37):
I'm not talking about scrollingon Instagram to see what other
people are doing and copyingwhat seems to be working for
them.
I'm talking about having actualconversations with your
potential customers and askingthem what is your biggest
challenge with whatever thisthing is?
Have you ever paid for asolution to this thing before?
Did it work?
(08:57):
Did it not work?
What made you decide to pay forthat solution?
What was it about that solutionthat you thought this has
enough potential to help me,that I'm willing to hand over my
money, and what would make yousay yes to buying something like
this?
When you get the answers tothose questions from people who
(09:19):
are your ideal client, you'regoing to be much better
positioned to start marketingyourself and talking about what
you do, creating things like awebsite or social media presence
from that perspective thatimmediately sets you apart from
your competition.
If you skip this part, thenyou're really just guessing.
And when you guess, you aregoing to waste a ton of time and
(09:41):
energy and money figuring outwhat doesn't work before you
finally find what does.
So do yourself a favor and takethe shortcut, all right.
Reason number two that I seebusinesses fail frequently
Ineffective marketing strategiesaka you're doing the wrong
(10:01):
things.
So many new business ownersthink that marketing means
paying somebody thousands ofdollars to build a fancy website
, starting a podcast before theyeven have an audience, doing a
challenge, a summit, a workshop,whatever it is, without having
anyone to actually promote it.
To running Facebook ads topeople who have never heard of
(10:23):
them.
And let me be clear none ofthese are bad strategies.
I have done all of these thingsat certain points in my
business.
Sometimes I did them at theright time, sometimes I did them
before I should have done them,but if you're just starting out
, these things are not yourpriority.
Marketing is actually verysimple.
In the beginning.
(10:44):
People need to know that youexist, they need to learn how to
trust you and they need to knowthat you exist.
They need to learn how to trustyou and they need to believe
that you can help them, and thefastest, easiest way to do that
in the beginning is to talk topeople.
Seriously, it's that simple Getout there, show up in spaces
where your ideal clients hangout, show up where people who
(11:06):
will be valuable to your networkare spending time and really
put the effort into buildingthose relationships.
Telling people what you do, whoyou help, how you help them,
learning about what other peopledo and who they help, how you
can collaborate with them, howyou can support each other.
Building your network at thisstage of the game is one of, if
(11:29):
not the most important thingthat you can do.
But before you go out there andstart meeting people and talking
to them, you have to do thepre-work to be very clear on who
you are, what you do, who youhelp, how you help them and what
sets you apart from otherpeople that do the same thing as
(11:50):
you.
If you're just another lifecoach talking about helping
people get into alignment andfind the flow and live more
purpose-driven lives, you aregoing to blend into the
background.
If you are just anothercopywriter, another VA, another
business coach, people are notgoing to pay attention to you,
and it's not because you're nottalented, it's not because you
(12:12):
don't know what you're doing.
It's not because you're notamazing.
It's because they have noreason to pay attention to you
over the other hundred peoplewho are doing the same thing.
So your job, before you go outand meet people and start
talking to them, is to make itincredibly clear to yourself why
you are the right choice andwho you are the right choice for
(12:35):
.
This means getting really clearon what makes you and your
approach unique.
Are you a no BS person in aspace where usually there's a
lot of yes, people?
Are you more on the spiritualside?
Do you blend business and humandesign?
Do you have a proven methodthat other people out there
(12:58):
aren't using or even aware of?
What is it that sets you apart?
The other thing that you wantto get really clear on is who
exactly you help, because ifyou're trying to help everyone,
if you're trying to speak toeveryone, you're going to end up
talking and helping no one, andthen what is the real
transformation that you provide?
No one cares about yourcoaching package, nobody cares
(13:20):
about what's included, nobodycares about your 24-hour Voxer
support if they don't alreadyknow what changes, after they
work with you what your life islike right now.
This is what your challengesare.
This is how you're thinking andfeeling and what you're
(13:41):
experiencing, and this is whatwill change after you work with
me.
This is what will change afteryou start using my product.
This is what will change afteryou attend my event.
Whatever it is right.
Be very clear on that so thatyou can clearly communicate it
to people when you are outhaving conversations with them.
Instead of dumping money intothings that might work down the
(14:03):
road, try these things instead.
Get on social media and starttalking to people, instead of
just posting pretty graphicsthat you made in Canva that make
your Instagram grid lookaesthetically pleasing.
Join communities and actuallyengage in them, not in a spammy
way, but by being helpful, beingcurious, being interested in
other people.
Go to networking events,whether they are virtual or in
(14:26):
person, and practice introducingyourself.
Practice talking about who youare, what you do, what sets you
apart because that does takepractice and then spend some
time intentionally following upwith people that you already
know and letting them know whatyou're up to.
Now.
Your first sales are going tocome from connections.
They are not going to come fromGoogle SEO magic or some super
(14:50):
secret ad formula.
They're going to come fromconnections and relationships
that you can start buildingright now.
And then the third reason that Isee most frequently that
businesses don't succeedinitially is because they don't
have a business plan.
They don't have any idea wherethey're going and or they have
(15:11):
completely unrealisticexpectations.
A lot of people think that abusiness plan is this big,
complicated document that youonly need if you are pitching to
investors or going in aboardroom to present it to
people, or you're this big,fancy, multi-level,
multi-million business owner.
But the reality is that if youdon't have a plan, you are just
(15:33):
winging it.
Winging it does not pay thebills.
Winging it takes a lot longerto get to where you want to be.
This is an analogy that I usedto use with my dating coaching
clients a lot, because I wouldsay, if you don't know where
you're going, if you don't knowwhat you're looking for and what
your end goal is, if you're notsuper clear on who that person
(15:53):
is and what you want with them,it's basically like getting in
the car and starting to drivewithout actually knowing where
you're going.
You're going to find some coolplaces to stop.
You're going to find some funplaces to eat.
You're probably going to stopmany places that you're like oh
my gosh, why did we stop here?
There's not even anything tosee.
Or I can't believe we paid $20to get into this museum.
(16:15):
It's literally the worst museumI've ever been to.
Right, eventually, you mightget somewhere that you're like,
okay, this place is cool, maybewe'll stay here, but if you want
to get to where you want to bein the fastest, simplest,
cheapest, best way possible,you're going to need a plan.
You're going to need a map.
(16:35):
At the very least, your businessplan should answer these
questions.
Number one what is your offer?
What exactly are you selling?
And I'm not talking about thefeatures of what you're selling.
I'm not talking about what'sincluded in the package.
I'm not talking about what theactual product is.
I'm talking about what is theoffer that you are selling in
(16:57):
terms of the experience, interms of the result, in terms of
the change that your client isgetting.
Number two who is your audience?
Who are you selling to?
Number three how are you goingto get in front of those people?
That's your marketing strategy.
Number four how are you goingto make money?
So this includes things likeyour pricing, your revenue goals
(17:19):
, your expenses, the moneythat's coming in versus the
money that's going out.
And five, what is your plan forgrowth?
How are you going to scale orsustain this business over time?
All of these things areimportant to know in the
beginning, and that doesn't meanthat your answers aren't going
to change as time goes on, butyou do at least need an initial
(17:41):
roadmap before you get in thecar and start driving.
And I also want to touch on onething that I mentioned, which is
managing your expectations.
So many new business ownerscome in thinking that they're
going to make six figures in sixmonths because that's what some
influencer on Instagrampromised them.
That's what some celebritybusiness coach said that if you
(18:01):
paid them $5,000, they wouldgive you the formula for making
$90 million in 90 seconds.
Right.
And then, when they'restruggling to make even $500 in
their first few months, theypanic, they think they're
failing, they think they'redoing it wrong, they think
something is wrong with them.
But the reality is thatbusiness takes time.
You are not going to haveovernight success.
(18:24):
You will have slow months.
You will learn things throughtrial and error.
All of that is completelynormal.
So if you set realisticexpectations and you have a plan
to sustain yourself while yourbusiness grows, even if that
means you have to keep workingat your full-time job or taking
on a part-time job.
(18:44):
You are much less likely toburn out and quit when things
don't happen as fast as you wantthem to.
So we've talked about some ofthe big reasons that businesses
fail.
Let's talk about how to actuallymake it past your first year.
Here is your simple roadmap.
Number one validate your offer.
Before you start investing inbranding, websites, pictures,
(19:06):
anything fancy, make sure thatpeople actually want what you're
selling.
Number two prioritizerelationships over random
marketing tactics.
If nobody knows that you exist,nothing else matters.
Marketing tactics.
If nobody knows that you exist,nothing else matters.
So focus on getting in front ofreal people and building real
connections from the beginning.
Number three make a plan, evenif it's not perfect, even if it
(19:29):
changes.
You don't need a 30 pagebusiness plan, but you do need a
simple roadmap with clear goalsand strategies as a starting
place.
Simple roadmap with clear goalsand strategies as a starting
place.
Number four be willing to pivot.
I know people are so sick ofthis word, but I don't have a
better word for it.
So be willing to pivot.
If something isn't working theway that you thought it was
(19:51):
going to, you don't have to keeppushing it.
Some of the best advice I evergot in business was don't keep
making the same mistake over andover again just because you
spent a lot of time and moneymaking it.
Be willing to adapt, to tweak,to improve as you go and to say
okay, I thought that was goingto work that way.
It didn't.
(20:11):
What is something that I canchange, rather than just
throwing the whole thing out andstarting over and see if that
works?
And number five is stop tryingto be everywhere all at once.
Choose a few specific marketingstrategies to go all in on in
the beginning, rather thanspreading yourself thin by
trying to do all of the things.
(20:33):
If you need to reference mypodcast episode about shiny
object syndrome, you might needto go back to that several times
, because this is a very normalpart of entrepreneurship.
We say I'm going to grow mybusiness on Instagram and
in-person networking events.
That's where I'm going to focusright now.
But then we see that Susielaunched a podcast and she's
(20:53):
actually doing really great withher podcast.
She's getting tons of downloads, she's converting it to paying
clients and you're like I need apodcast.
And then so-and-so shows you aFacebook ad about how you can
skyrocket your business bygetting speaking engagements,
and they will book the speakingengagements for you.
You don't even have to doanything, they'll just do it and
(21:13):
you just get the clients.
And so you're like I need tohire them and start doing the
speaking engagements and beforeyou know it, you've completely
forgotten about Instagram andin-person networking events
because you've gotten sodistracted by all of these shiny
objects.
So pick a few things to go allin on and stay the course on
those things.
All right, that's a lot.
(21:35):
You might have to, when yourwalk is over or your drive ends,
go back and fast forward tosome parts and write some of
these things down, because I'vegiven you a lot to think about
and I gave it to you reallyquickly.
But hopefully there were somethings in this episode that hit
home for you and I would lovefor you to share it with a
fellow entrepreneur who needs tohear it, maybe somebody you
(21:57):
know who's just getting startedin business or considering
starting a business.
It's important information thatI sure wish I would have gotten
in the very beginning Couldhave saved me a lot of time, a
lot of money and a lot of stress.
All right, friends.
Thank you so much for hangingout with me today.
Now turn your phone off, go outthere, talk to people and make
(22:18):
some money.
I will see you next week.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
That's a wrap on this week's episode of Powerful
Women Rising.
Thanks for hanging out with us.
If you love the podcast, makesure to subscribe, share it with
a friend, write a review or buyus a coffee.
Your support helps more womenlike you step into their power
and grow their businesses in away that feels real and true to
them.
Want to keep the party going?
(22:43):
Check out the show notes fordetails on our next virtual
speed networking event or joinus in the powerful Women Rising
community.
Until next time, remember thatbuilding a business your way is
the best way.
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