In this video, I’m sharing the key lessons from Donald Miller’s Book, How to Grow Your Small Business, that are going to take years off the learning curve of building your business.
This isn’t your typical book summary, though.
I’m giving you tangible takeaways that you can begin implementing in your small business right now to take it to the next level.
Whether you’re a business veteran or just starting out, these insights are tailor-made to elevate your journey.
Click play and get ready for your business to get a serious boost.
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Imagine you could trade brains with a Business owner who's already had tons of Success you'd pretty much be set for Life you know you wouldn't have to take Any business courses learn lessons the Expensive way or go through any of those Business Growing Pains okay maybe you Can't switch brains but you can download The experience of a hugely successful Business owner in Donald Miller's newest Book how to grow your small business and In this video I'm going to sum up the Most important lessons from the book for All you small business owners if you Could just Implement one or two key Lessons from this book you could Honestly shorten your learning career by Years and probably save tens of Thousands of dollars as the author says He's made about 500 mistakes in his Business but he's gotten these six Things exactly right that's the idea Behind how to grow your small business And the book is structured all around This Central metaphor of your business As an airplane Summer big 747s capable of flying over Entire oceans but others are single Engine prop planes designed for short Recreational flights but every business Like every plane needs a flight plan if It's going to successfully move from Runway to Runway now I'm not just going To summarize the book and leave it there
There's just way too much good stuff in Here to do it justice like that what I'm Going to do instead is give a brief Overview of the structure of the book And then I'm going to share my favorite Takeaways from each section so you'll Have some really good ideas of things You can start improving right away in Your own business and grow just like the Title says Miller says that any successful business Just like an airplane has six key Components in the cockpit you have Leadership AKA you probably so this is The brains of the operation it's the Place in your business with all the Buttons and the switches and great Businesses are built here it's also the Place where you'll make your biggest Mistakes and the right engine is your Marketing generating thrust and the goal With good marketing is to clearly Communicate the value that you offer to Your customers a good jet engine pulls Air in one end and back out the other But a lack of clarity in your marketing Means it gets gunked up and the engine Just doesn't work properly then the left Engine is your sales so you generate Leads and sales by always leading with Your customers story with the customer As the hero of Their Own Story your Business is just the tool that those Customers use to solve their problems
Then each engine rests on the wings so These are the products or services that You're selling just like raising or Lowering flaps you have to optimize your Offers for revenue and profit so that You can have liftoff The body of the plane is your overhead Employee salaries if you have employees Taxes fixed expenses all that kind of Stuff so if your body gets too heavy You're going to find yourself needing More and more lift from your engines to Make up for it and finally you have the Fuel tanks so rather than jet fuel your Business always needs a healthy cash Flow and the more you have coming in the Higher your plan can fly so those are The Big Ideas here but what are the most Important tidbits from the book that you Can actually use to grow Donald Miller's take on leadership is That when you start it's all about the Skill of the pilot in the cockpit you Know before you can get up in the air And hit the autopilot switch you've got To take some manual control in other Words how well your business takes off Is all about you the owner and what's One of the first things Pilots do while Prepping the plane they review the Flight plan the top mistake The Business Leaders make from the cockpit of their Business is similar they don't create a Clear Vision so if you want to avoid
This mistake Miller recommends a few key Steps first create a clear and inspiring Mission statement Miller recommends Getting hyper-specific here with a Formula so you want three distinct Details here X Y and Z we will Accomplish X by y because of Z that Means that every mission statement has a Specific goal x a specific deadline why And a reason for doing it Z so you need All three elements if the mission Statement is going to be both clear and Inspiring and customers buy from you to Solve a problem so that means you have To clearly Define both the customer's Problem and how your solution fixes it For me personally the most important Parts of this section relate to Specificity and Clarity those are two of The most important things you need to Get right if you have a team and you Give them an unclear Mission it's not Their fault if they produce the wrong Output and if you're running a micro Business with no employees you might be Wondering you know what this has to do With you you're not commanding an army Here but when you're your own business You also have to lead yourself and Clarity up here in your head is the same As Clarity in your business here's one Tip that any solopreneur can use start With what the author calls smart goals And smart goals are specific measurable
Actionable realistic and time sensitive So every variable here is essential Because using smart goals gives you ways To to measure your daily tasks against Your bigger Mission so don't just say I Want to make more money this year Instead say I want to bring in fifty Thousand dollars in additional Revenue By December 1st be as specific as Possible so if you can measure your Goals you won't have to wonder so much About which steps come next Now let's talk marketing and sales so Donald has a really unique take here he Says that too many businesses focus on How their logo looks or the color of Their website and I can tell you as a Former designer this could not be any More true you know people love to start With this stuff but they shouldn't get Too bogged down with it what really Matters in your marketing is how you Position yourself as the customer's Solution the really valuable stuff in This section is that Donald gives you Really clear examples of how to use Marketing effectively I personally love The idea of a three-step process plan so The customer has a problem and your Business is the solution present that Problem in solution in just three easy Steps so that working with you sounds so Simple it's basically a slam dunk Decision let's say you offer a service
With lots of complicated steps like an Extermination business you may have like A 12-step checklist to work through for Every job you take on but all your Clients thinking is I've got bugs and I Want those bugs gone so you present a Three-step framework invite us in for a Consultation to check out your bugs We'll assess the problems at your house Or business we'll give you a free Estimate including a plan of action for Getting rid of the bugs the client Doesn't have to know what goes into that Estimate or what the estimate even says Not at this stage anyway you've just Created a three-step process plan that Takes them from having bugs to having a Safe healthy place to live or work Problem and solution but the first step Should always be how to get the ball Rolling toward working with you which is The call to action you'll always want to Include that CTA in the process plan Because it gives your prospects a really Clear First Step don't make it Complicated for them you know if they Like the sound of your solution they Just need to know one thing what do I do Next Foreign ER also points out here another mistake That businesses make they don't generate Urgency you know great sales people Create a sense of urgency and Stakes
With their services so what are Stakes Simple just the negative consequences if Someone doesn't buy from you if you Don't hire that exterminator maybe Termites at your house and it collapses So those are pretty high stakes if you Define a clear problem a specific Three-step solution then highlight a few Consequences that the customer doesn't Act you have a great recipe to make Sales but most businesses don't sit down And work out any of these things so Before you create your landing page you Want to get in your customers head a bit You know what's the main pain point that They have and how can your business Solve it no business ever lifts off the Ground until you have a product or a Service that actually solves your Customers problem Thank you Miller's opinion here is that what you Sell not how you sell it works the way That Wings do so a product with a really High profit margin is giving you plenty Of lift right you don't need to go very Fast spending all sorts of money on fuel To keep the plane in the air but you Also want to minimize the downside you Know avoiding products that cost you too Much time money and energy and it's true If you can sell one product at a higher Margin than another you should probably Keep on selling it personally I'd rather
Sell my digital course for a hundred Percent profit than a book that I would Have to have printed and then Mark up Like 30 so imagine you're running a Small lawn care business you know your Services range from lawn mowing and Hedge trimming to more specialized tasks Like landscaping and tree surgery now You notice something your general lawn Mowing services take up 70 percent of Your time but contribute less to your Overall profits compared to the more Specialized tasks on the other hand Landscaping and surgery though they take Less of your time they generate a higher Profit margin so you decide to make a Shift you know you start promoting and Prioritizing those specialized Services More you start advertising your Expertise in landscaping and tree Surgery positioning yourself as a Specialist rather than a generalist in The market and as a result you start to Attract customers who are willing to pay For these higher margin Services your Profits start to rise without adding Extra hours of work or expanding your Team you've effectively lifted your Business higher just by focusing on your Most profitable services so the wings of Your business could already be there in Your service lineup the trick is just to Identify which one gives you the highest Flight aka the most profit so just ask
Yourself now which service is your jet Engine And of all the 17 business and marketing Books I read last year there are three More that were true game changers for my Business and I'm going to show you all The big lessons I learned in those books In this video right here so there's one Part of one of these books that I can Literally never unsee now that I know About it so click right here trust me You want to see this
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So, you have a website. You’re now ready to get into internet marketing of it, correct? Well, now is a great time. You probably have a lot of questions on how to start and what to do, but don’t fret, this article can help. Listed below are some tips that will help you get started with your internet marketing.
It is essential that you compile a mailing list containing your clients’ information. Consider making it a setting on your webpage that in order for someone to purchase something, they have to use their email address or consider adding a sign- up box. This address can be then used for either sales letters, promotions or seeking feedback on their recent purchasing experience.
Re-evaluate your website periodically. What’s working? What’s outdated? What can be changed? Don’t keep your website the same, because visitors have no way of knowing what is current information and what no longer applies. Making changes and freshening up things a bit keeps visitors aware that there is someone there, and that can build interest in what you have in store for them.
Be responsive to your readers. If someone emails you, don’t keep them waiting. Make it a point to respond to inquiries within a respectable time, typically within forty-eight hours. Remember, it is easier to lose your customers’ trust than to gain it back. Being communicative and offering timely responses is an easy marketing win.
It is important to put real effort into your photography for your product or service. Amateur-looking photography leaves a bad perception with your website visitors. It says to them that your brand is not professional and that their money is, more than likely, better spent elsewhere. Invest in photography and the images you use. They are the doors to your business.
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