The Steps

The Steps

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I’ve followed The Shoestring Steps time and again to take a “Bizness” from ZERO to Five Figures a month.

They’re based in reality; my own experiences plus those of dozens of entrepreneurial-type folks I’ve spoken with over the years.

Here’s a five-Step “TO DO” list that has come out of that. Doesn’t matter if the Bizness you want to start is an actual sticks-and-bricks establishment, a network marketing biz, a service, or internet marketing. The Steps all end up being the same:

Get OFF Your ASS. Cute? Heh… I know. Offensive? Maaaay-be. 😉 True? Every day and twice on Sunday! The biggest obstacle to making great things happen is sitting and thinking about it without ever actually taking the first Step. So get your ass in gear. Ahem. Lotta people have great ideas. But most folks get the ‘paralysis of analysis’ and wait til everything is perfect before doing anything… which is never. Actually START doing SOMEthing and you can clean up your mistakes later.
Find Out Some W’s. The two most important W’s on this Step are What people Want. So much time is wasted by entrepreneurs when they skip ahead to Step Three and create a product or service, THEN try and figure out who they might sell it to. No, instead try finding out what problem people in your niche are trying to solve. Come up with a solution to offer them. Then find out the other W‘s: Who and Where they are, Why they want what they do, and hoW and When to get your message to them.
Learn To Create Value. Now that you’ve identified what people want, start learning how to package and deliver it them. “Value” is the only thing that human beings actually create. Here’s an example: “Would you like to buy this beautiful painted rock? It can be used as a doorstop, paper weight, or bookend.” “…uh, isn’t that the rock from my porch?” “No, it’s different now. I painted it red.” The six-year old that delivered that speech as he walked door-to-door selling ROCKS became a millionaire at age fourteen. I have an excellent worksheet here that will give you some ideas on how to create value and charge more than you might think a thing is ‘worth’.
Measure Whatever You’re Doing. Now that you’ve gotten off your ass, collected a list of customers and developed a service or product that’s of great value to them… it’s time to find out the most effective ways to deliver that value. A real simple example of this idea happens any time you call a bizness – if they know what they’re doing. “Hello, Widgets Incorporated, this is Sally, may I help you?” “Yes, can you tell me the price of blue widgets?” “Just a moment and I’ll have that information for you. How did you find out about Widgets, Inc.?” This phone script captures the info that Widgets, Inc. needs to find out what advertising is most effective. By measuring and tweaking key elements of your marketing funnel you get the best results. Note: I never personally hit Five Figures per month income until I took this Step.
Now Write Everything Down. Tedious (at least for free spirits like me… some folks love to document things), but perhaps the most important Step. Do you have all of your customers’ contact info and details about all your transactions written down? How ’bout checklists for every task related to your bizness, especially the ones you don’t do ever day? More time is wasted in bizness ‘reinventing the wheel’ than anything else. Is your accounting and forecasting in order? Can you take a glance at a sheet of paper and have your finger on the very pulse of your bizness? Whether you’re saving checklists for yourself, training a new employee or selling (or licensing) your bizness, Write Everything Down. Clear documentation makes difference between flying by the seat of your pants and OWNING your bizness… instead of it owning you. You’ve gotta do this Step to make the big time.