There are many business success tips that entrepreneurs need to know to succeed in business, and many of them come from people who have been on this road for decades or even if it has been a few years; they sure have learned a lot.
Being an entrepreneur is one thing… Being a successful one, well, that’s another story.
It is never easy to dive into this journey since it requires even more work than many belief. But if you’re going to do it, the first piece of advice we can give you is not to do it half-heartedly.
Otherwise, what is the point of starting or trying to set this as your goal? None, if you ask us.
However, many have followed over the same years to ensure their success and bring more recognition their way. Since they have proven to be quite useful, we decided to compile the most relevant and effective ones for you to take on the road to being a successful entrepreneur from now on.
Select the Right Niche for the Business
It sounds unbelievable, but many people often make a mistake when choosing the niche they want to focus on. They usually end up failing or changing it midway, which involves more expenses and time to be invested.
The main reason for a niche to fail is that you might not be able to identify your target audience if you are too broad in your business, or you might find that your niche is too narrow if you are too specific about the business you are trying to start.
If you don’t understand this so far, just think about the famous “seasonal” business that performs incredibly well on Christmas or other holidays but finds it hard to get clients during other seasons due to the products or services it offers.
You should also consider whether your customers will be able to remarket for many years.
When choosing a niche to focus on, make sure it’s popular throughout the entire year, so you don’t have to work around months, seasons, or based on how much people use or need it.
Google Trends will show you how stable the niche is in case you aren’t aware of the best ones you can choose and how to focus on them.
It’s also important to pick a popular niche, such as a fashion, beauty, or home decor topic, with at least hundreds of thousands of monthly searches.
Conclusion? Aim for long-term ones and avoid short-term niches that can be successful only for a very specific period of time.
Find the Solution to a Problem
A key business tip for entrepreneurs is to start a business that solves problems; not that sells a product or service only.
Most failed entrepreneurs can’t answer the question of what problem they solved or how they actually help their buyer persona. So, if you want to be successful, you have to include this question among the ones that need an answer.
Now, you don’t have to solve a complicated problem like curing an illness or finding the immediate solution to renewal energy and saving the planet. You can make it simple.
For example, if you are a company in the entertainment industry or niche, you could say you’re trying to help people get out of their boredom (which is plausible).
The thing about this is that you must know what your business is trying to achieve. To help people understand your solutions, it’s important to identify the burning problem that you are solving.
If you are selling anti-snoring products, your ad should show the stress that snorers can cause to a person’s sleeping patterns. Then, show your product as the solution that will allow them to rest through the night.
The same applies to any other product and service you come up with and decide to provide to the audience.
Always Focus on Customers’ Needs
Unmet needs are the leading cause of business conflict and why entrepreneurs fail over and over again.
If you didn’t know, unmet customer needs can lead to frustration and cause customers to feel disappointed if they don’t receive the product or service they expect from you. As a result, there’s no way any of your businesses and entrepreneurship will thrive.
When it comes to customer relations, the most important tip is to empathize and understand each one of them.
Your road will be ten times easier if you are able to identify their pain and address it instead of focusing on how much they complain about some products and services.
You shouldn’t take those complaints personally or to heart since they are out of frustration, one that you could take to your advantage to come up with a great business idea.
You will eventually find a solution that addresses their needs and makes them feel heard. This is a way to build a lasting relationship with them, even if they are upset by their first encounter with your brand.
Remember: You Need to Invest Hours
You need to be ready to work harder than ever, whether you are attempting to leave your job and become an entrepreneur or consider entrepreneurship as a side hustle depending on the business and niche you choose.
But for this dream of yours to be possible, you will need to put on the hours, and although it will be exhausting, you need to add persistence and determination to this.
Business owners work twice as hard as employees. Around 25% of entrepreneurs work more than 60 hours a week, and this is something we have to mention no matter what because it is believed they have complete freedom with their time.
This isn’t that inaccurate since you can reduce how much you work overtime, but you need to have the mentality of hard work before aiming for working less in the future.
What we can tell you is that this may allow you to have a better work-life balance. However, if you want to make a business a success, it will take your sweat, blood, and tears.
You should be familiar with the basics of business management before you start a business. This will ensure that you don’t waste time, effort, or resources trying to figure things out.
You can find short courses online that will help you expand your knowledge in the field of business management.
You are now the HR, marketing, and finance manager for your company. You are the boss now, which means you’re everything and everyone in the business and entrepreneurship.
Always Stay Motivated as an Entrepreneur
It seems simple, yet it is one of the hardest parts of becoming an entrepreneur or just being alive.
Failure and challenges are almost inevitable. Sometimes, you may feel discouraged in your efforts to achieve your startup goals. Thus, we decided we would take this space and tip to bring up a couple more related to it.
First, always remember to do what you love and work hard to achieve your goals.
Take the lessons from both the good and bad experiences and remember that your dream is possible as long as you work towards it. We know this is easier said than done, but we’re confident you will be a bit more motivated by thinking about it.
Keep your eyes on the present. It is essential to define your long-term goals, but you must also determine your short-term goals.
Keeping your eyes on the current situation will make it easier to cope with unexpected obstacles and to be flexible and well-prepared.
Learn from others. Successful entrepreneurs never stop learning. Maximize your time, and you will learn all the skills that are necessary to run your business.
Take the rewards of your hard work, and you will enjoy some perks when your business is successful. You can travel and meet new people by taking time off, for example.
Finally, a healthy work-life balance is a key to your overall health. This will keep you motivated to work meaningfully for your startup.
Start Trusting a Mentor to Believe in Yourself
You can find and have a mentor from your family, a former boss, colleague, or even someone you trust online as long as it is someone who can also make you feel confident and has perks and good aspects to teach you during your road.
Mentors are a valuable resource, and you shouldn’t skip having one if you consider they are someone who has been there in your road or similar situations, someone with whom you can share regular, non-judgmental check-ins.
Over 68% of entrepreneurs have found themselves or had a mentor during their journey and even continue to have one after decades in this field.
Why? Because mentors push them to be better and to aim for more than what they have been achieving so far.
After all, it isn’t about teaching only but also having someone who can push you further and for more goals.
Being an entrepreneur means you need to be ambitious in a good way, and many people don’t reach this point unless someone is there to open their eyes.
With a mentor, you will be able to be the best version of yourself through this journey.
Write Everything Down
Everything is exciting when you start a business, and we understand it quite well since we have more than one of our own.
However, we all know it isn’t simple either, and we believe this isn’t necessary to mention.
Thus, when your business makes a lot or little money, things can turn around, and you won’t know what to do regardless of the phase you are going through with your business or how many years you’ve been working on this road.
This is why it’s important to discuss all possible scenarios and make sure everyone is comfortable before you start with a specific project or, more importantly, and the main reason we are mentioning this before you sign a legal agreement.
If you are the founder of the business and will be paying the money, ensure that the agreement clearly states your control and benefits as the owner.
You must ensure that all partners you bring in have a noncompete clause so they can’t quit or start a new company.
Make sure you define “sweat equity,” which is doing more work than the other partners in return for investing money. It will help you save time, legal fees, and heartache if your circumstances change.
In other words, what we refer to with “write everything down” is to ensure you have registers and specific details during every agreement and deal so you won’t have to deal with any issues related to partners or people involved with your entrepreneurship.
Of course, this also applies to your plans and anything in your mind related to your business ideas.
Do Networking (Take Time for It)
It’s challenging to find the time to network when you are so involved in your business. However, you have to.
After all, it is impossible to work in isolation in any niche you think about since entrepreneurship is about partners, ideas, relationships, and contacts.
You might start alone, but this won’t stay this way if you are aiming for success.
Networking allows you to learn more about your industry and helps you develop your business.
It isn’t only about finding new clients and customers, as most people see networking. It is also about learning as much as you can since there’s always something you could be missing and won’t be able to find on your own.
We couldn’t recommend something better than taking the time to meet new people that are worth your time and effort.
You Should Try to Own a Business that Suits You
According to many entrepreneurs, the product or service you offer shouldn’t be aimed at your clients first but rather at you. What does this mean? Simple: It should meet your expectations, needs, and likes.
What does this guarantee? You will be working with something that will be done perfectly because you aren’t thinking about money only but also something you desperately like.
You should create a business that reflects your skills, experience, and personality. This is more than just following your passion; it’s about doing what you are destined to do and that you know you are the only one that can do it well.
What can your business do to make a difference in the world? You can leave a lasting legacy by doing something only you can do, which will allow you to impact the world.
This business tip summarizes: Start the business you are capable of starting, you can do the best, and you enjoy. All together.
It Doesn’t Need to Be Perfect
You know that great slogan Nike created? How was it? “Just Do It.”
Well, as simple as it seems, it is very effective because it summarizes very well what every person, not only entrepreneurs, should be doing.
If you aren’t that confident about it, allow us to translate it in a different way: Stop worrying about whether or not you are making the right decision. Just do it.
Sometimes, new entrepreneurs may be on the right track with their business, but their thoughts get in the way. If you are one, this only slows down your progress.
Are you going to make mistakes? You bet. Will there be challenges? Absolutely.
However, have you heard that “overthinking is dangerous”? We have, and it is quite accurate for this situation as well.
Entrepreneurship means putting your all into it, and it is about taking risks to live the life you desire. So, even when you should think things carefully, it doesn’t mean you should go overboard with this.
It is not about winning the ultimate award. It is about helping people solve a problem. The sooner you do this; the more people will be able to benefit from your business.
Thus, if you start soon and have some faith in yourself, your success will come quicker.
You Need a Strong Work Ethic
It kind of sounds unbelievable, but many people don’t know or think about work ethic nowadays, even when it continues to be key for anything related to businesses and simply work.
Is this true that serious? Absolutely.
Many people wouldn’t consider how their behavior can influence their employees or partners. Just think about this: Your employees are supposed to start working at 8 o’clock, and if they don’t, you discount part of their payment.
However, it results that you don’t follow this either and by far. Instead, you start at noon just because you want to sleep more. In this, there’s no work ethic at all.
The entrepreneur and owner of the business need to work more than the rest, and this is something you might not be aware of.
Despite the freedom you earn, you have to prove to be an example and work harder than anyone else.
An entrepreneur is a good manager, boss, and leader. They are punctual and work hard, and unlike what you thought, entrepreneurship is not about working less. You work more when you are accountable only to yourself.
This is the trap that many young entrepreneurs fall into. They start spending more than they earn, think they are on top of the world, and stop taking their job seriously when they see the results of their work.
Take the Time to Plan Everything
We know some people get lazy about this, but you wouldn’t complain about planning things if you knew how useful and necessary it is when it comes to entrepreneurship in particular.
Many people plan for the future, while others act from their gut and make decisions without second thoughts. Which one of them do we believe is the best? The one that is right in the middle of both personalities.
There isn’t a real difference in how you handle the two sides since planning too much can be very bad, while not doing it enough brings the same result.
However, what we can recommend you here is to find that middle point we mentioned briefly.
You need to be someone who cares enough to the point of planning yet still going for it.
Remember what we said about just doing it? You should still have a plan written down and take some time for it.
Yes, we know. Finding the middle will be kind of hard (and confusing).
You Should Know It Already: Always Love Yourself
We know you probably didn’t expect it, but you will understand why we are mentioning this in a bit (though you should have an idea already).
Self-love is a sign of great self-confidence, so when you translate this into entrepreneurship, you know it is part of what leads to success.
If you didn’t know, there are many benefits of loving yourself besides the simple yet important and crucial fact of feeling good with yourself:
- You can attract people with your self-confidence.
- Natural charisma is a hallmark of successful people.
However, how can you reach the point where self-love is possible? After all, this is clearly one of those cases when it is much easier said than done.
Well, believe it or not, everything is about working hard on yourself.
Start by taking care of your body and exercising more. Also, it can be exhausting to be a leader, so it is important to have the ability to persevere through each day by sleeping well and eating right.
You can get energy from food and rest to complete your daily tasks. Therapy can help you to understand yourself and get rid of any difficulties.
Take Breaks & Don’t Go So Hard on Yourself
Remember that last part of sleeping well and working hard? Well, we are going back to that “middle point” we mentioned as well.
We want you to remember from now on that you must be patient and realize that success does not come overnight.
You risk becoming overwhelmed if you demand everything immediately, and it is typical for young entrepreneurs to fall soon just for exhaustion.
Breaks are beneficial for many reasons, not only to keep you from overworking but also because you can breathe and let the information guide you. It allows you to take a step back and reflect on the past.
For this, you shouldn’t reach the point when you are extremely tired but rather take regular breaks that can satisfy your resting needs.
You can schedule breaks in advance. Sometimes you might feel so passionate about your job you don’t want to quit or that you simply don’t have the time.
It is important to get the best out of those moments, but you can relax if you’ve been working hard and just pause things for a bit to avoid future complications.
Spend an hour each day doing something you enjoy. You don’t have to work every day.
Learn to Manage Your Fear
It can be frightening to start a business or dive into a new adventure, and if we consider that over 50% of entrepreneurs fail, you know there’s a high chance you will end up in the same number as well.
We’re not trying to bring you down, but it is kind of a reality you rather need to face from now on.
To do so, you need to start thinking about fear in a beneficial way, not as something that will limit your interest and ambitions.
When you are, somehow, scared, you are more attentive and pay more attention to details so that you don’t miss anything. Even when this can be the opposite of efficient yet, it tends to be more productive and effective than anything else.
Of course, fear can become overwhelming, which is why it is a matter of conquering it to the point of making it excite you in a good way only.
If you’re having a hard time with this, just think about it in this way:
- It is part of the job to take risks.
- You need to take big steps no matter what you do.
- Be aware that there are no major risks, and you will be fine.
- You will be more than fine if you measure the pros and cons and listen to what your gut says.
The Local Lead Generation Process for Your Business
All right! So, everything is about building properties and generating leads. But how does the process actually take place? Are there other steps I need to know?
The steps I mention below are what students from our local lead generation program follow to generate leads for businesses like yourself. So I’ll help you see what we do. And how if you join our program, you can simply generate leads for your own business (unless you want to start a side hustle and build a laptop lifestyle business).
Essentially, our lead generation can be divided into four steps:
The first is prospecting. You need to take the time to do market research on a niche (industry) and determine how many phone-driven businesses are there.
Keep in mind that this is local research as you need to know how many companies need leads. For example, you may search for “plumbing services Youngstown OH.”
You will find dozens or even hundreds of businesses trying to get themselves in front of the customers by ranking on Map Listings, organic results, and even Ad.
The second step, building. When you find a niche (plumbing, tree services, a software company, real estate…), you will need to start building your digital properties. You don’t need to be an expert in HTML or coding. It can be easy with the right tools.
The third step is now taking time to rank your lead gen website. With the site done, you need to work on SEO strategies and start dominating those Google search results. If you’re new to SEO, it stands for Search Engine Optimization.
To keep it simple, it consists of the entire process of growing a company’s visibility on search engines like Google and generating organic traffic. And remember this, local lead generation is part of the strategies.
Moving on to step four, once you rank the site, you will start getting your ROI and profits. You only need to rent it out to a local business interested in the leads the site generates. You can offer a couple of free leads to their move on with the actual pay per lead.
To review steps 1-4 above, I described it to a normal student who is building a lead gen business to help local service providers generate more calls. But replace the student with you as the business owner. And replace sending the leads to a business to simply siphoning the leads to your personal business.
By the way, fun fact, about 20% of our students in our local lead gen program are actually business owners who went through the program. And they use the skillsets we teach to generate leads for their own business.
An Example of Lead Generation: Home Advisor
You must be thinking, “if lead generation sounds so good so far, how come I haven’t seen any company?” That’s the thing; there are many out there. You just don’t know they are dedicated to it.
HomeAdvisor is one of the best examples you can find on the Internet as it is a top lead generation company that has spent millions building its brand but also earned even more zeros for this same reason.
They started small as everyone else but invested in building their brand awareness to make people who are looking for home services go to their website and find what they need. They are over 75% of people’s first choice when they need those services.
If you don’t get HomeAdvisor that much or need a refresh, users need to submit their information to request a service and get a professional or expert who can provide it.
HomeAdvisor’s job is to share your information, which makes you a lead, with local companies so they can contact you and offer the service you’re requesting. For sharing this lead information, HomeAdvisor gets paid by the companies. This happens for every single lead they send to multiple businesses.
Business owners who don’t have marketing skills or don’t even know how to have any online presence will always rely on those pages to list their services. They will save time and effort, but companies like HomeAdvisor can make them spend lots of money as leads aren’t exclusive (one lead is sent to multiple companies after all).
Using Facebook Ads aka Paid Ad Platforms: Do They Generate Leads?
They DO generate leads. If not, no one would use them.
However, you need to remember two facts:
- Paid ads or platforms can be expensive.
- They don’t generate “natural” leads.
Whenever someone sees or clicks in one of those ads, over 80% of them did it by accident or are trying to close/report it.
Why? Because they aren’t looking for those services. At least not at the moment.
What those ads do instead is interrupt their time on the platforms. Users aren’t there to find companies or businesses unless they are searching for a specific company’s user, and for that, there’s a search bar. This is why it is hard to convert them to actual customers who will show interest in the companies’ services. Also, you’re limited by a budget.
When using lead generation, everything is organic. You aren’t forcing others to pay attention to your business but rather being there when they need you. This is why Google’s organic traffic will always beat paid ads, and the reason companies continue investing in it, which is a lot cheaper as well.
What Is Local SEO?
Don’t worry… I didn’t get it at first either. Following the short explanation, local SEO focuses on scaling businesses’ visibility on search engines. However, this is only for those who serve their communities face-to-face.
What does this mean?
Experts and professionals like painters, plumbers, and dentists (but not only them) offer their services to their local customers. Why? Because they can’t deliver them unless they are located in the same area of their customers.
To make sure those businesses get more leads, you need to rank them locally by claiming the business listing on Google to place them on Map Listings. Local SEO also involves online reviews, citation management, and how you manage your entire online presence in the local area.
If you are going to bet on lead gen, you need to adapt yourself to today’s world: The Internet.
Keep in mind that although traditional channels and methods like billboards, warm calls, and pamphlets still work, they aren’t part of your tools. Whenever someone needs a service, they go to Google and search for it.
“Dentist in Miami” or “plumbing services in Orlando,” etc. And you can keep coming up with services or professionals people need and look for. Thus, you need to make sure you’re using Google to get the companies in front of their clients.
Users will always click on the first search results (those near the top), and many of them will be either Ad links (people paid to place their websites there), Map Listing, and then you get websites. Almost all of them are your goal and where you should always aim to place yourself.
Can My Business Utilize a Local Lead Generation Strategy?
If you want customers, you better know you need it. Following the previous explanation, lead gen is all about placing businesses in front of their customers, choosing them over their competitors.
Put it simply – it’s all about closing deals and having clients for those companies to make money. The main difference with the usual methods companies use for this is how lead generation approaches different channels to get them in the right place of the market to get customers.
Those channels are all focused on the Internet as most people are searching for products but also services across the net. The issue is that the Internet is way too broad, and businesses don’t know how to place themselves. They usually try, but they get one common result: losing money and time.
How Powerful Are Organic Leads from Google?
For companies looking for customers, it’s everything. For you? Pretty much the same. When you build a business with digital properties, you get to make thousands of dollars a month.
This isn’t a “get started today and get rich tomorrow” thing, but it is HIGHLY scalable, and ROI + positive results are guaranteed. Learning a fairly decent and very needed set of skills to create your digital properties and start ranking them on Google is required.
I have invested in several online businesses over the years, and if there’s something uncertain, whether you will get your ROI or not, even more than the actual profit.
However, this business moved my earnings from five figures a year to a month in ONLY passive income while sitting comfortably at home.
On my laptop. Anywhere. Anytime.
You can look at one of the first sites I built back in 2016, and it continues making me over $1.000+ every month. The best part is that I don’t need to touch it or the rest I’ve built over the years, just like this digital property.
What Makes Lead Generation SO Alluring?
Here it goes: you can work from home.
The main issue with regular business opportunities is how much you need to invest in staff, equipment, or rent to have a place to sell your products or offer your services.
We all know the hassles of traditional businesses that involve regular expenses, which are extremely high. Can you afford it? I don’t think so, and even if you can, is it worth it? Now, it isn’t only about the money. You also need to put in a lot of work, and it isn’t only during the first couple of months or years. Usually, it is as long as you continue running it.
You can save yourself those headaches and bone-breaking tasks and expenses with lead gen since it is more about generating leads with digital channels—mainly websites.
Websites can be VERY cheap to build, and with many tools online, you get to do it in a couple of hours instead of days. Any virtual or digital business is scalable and won’t need constant maintenance.
So, let’s summarize this:
- You save money in regular expenses with traditional and most online businesses as what you need is yourself and digital properties (websites).
- You can bet on passive income.
- There’s no need to hire more people to get started.
- You can generate leads in multiple industries, which allows you to work on any niche you want.
How Can I Get Started in the Local Lead Generation Program?
Anyone can start and learn. That’s the beauty of this business model. I knew nothing about SEO, Map Listing, and everything I’ve mentioned so far. It is all about learning the skills, gaining experience, and deciding to take the step.
Remember that this business model will never get old as business owners are always looking for leads. They need to do business and scale their companies. Why not do the same while helping others and still making money?
You can start with this local lead generation course highly recommended for anyone wanting to grow in the business. It is a close training that will take you through each step and make sure you are able to get your ROI, profits and take control of your life.
You will be added to an incredible lead generation family ready to help you 24/7 when asking questions on the group. Anyone is welcome who’s willing to put in the work. Click here to watch the lead gen webinar.