E8: Let's Talk About the Foundations

Winging it is absolutely ok but it will not work forever.

So in this episode I talk about some of the things we need to put in place in order to grow a long term sustainable business and yes these things are for everyone.

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Transcript

Hello & welcome to Dream Business Dream Life, helping ambitious people, like you, to grow a business they love.

I’m Emma Hine and I’m on a mission to show you that it is possible to grow a business without sacrificing your life.

Having experienced the rollercoaster of making millions of pounds, but feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and totally unsuccessful, I know first-hand the importance of growing a business on your terms. 

On this podcast I'm going to share with you lots of tips and advice that will enable you to grow a business that gives you the financial freedom to live the life of your dreams while sharing with you some inspirational growth stories from other fabulous business owners.

Ready to live the dream? Then let’s get stuck in…

Hello & Welcome to today’s episode of Dream Business Dream Life. 

I was going to start this by saying this episode is for those who are in the early stage of their business but then I realised that actually many of my clients who are already making regular income in their business, who wouldn’t consider themselves at the start up stage are struggling to hit the next level of growth because they do not have some of the stuff I am going to talk about in place.

 So, this really is for everyone.

 And the reason I have just shared that with is that I think that in itself is something I need to talk about first.

 When we first launch a business, most people, me included, wing it.

 Back in 2006 when I started my ecommerce business, I had no idea what I was doing so I totally winged it; I grew it to multi 6 figures still winging it.

 When I launched this business, yes, I had lots of experience by then, but I still winged it in many ways as the 2 businesses were so different, I had lots I needed to learn.

 Most people do ALL the things and hope that something sticks.

 Most people find their way as they do the work.

 Lots of people have a plan but they have no idea how to execute it and they have no idea if it is the right plan, quite often it is a duplicate of someone else’s plan so it often stays unopened as it feels unachievable.

 Winging is ok; it is absolutely possible to get your business off the ground by winging it. I always say done is better than perfect and I absolutely stand by that.

 BUT at some point, you will become stuck, your business will plateau, you feel overwhelmed and despite trying everything you will just not be able to push it to the next level. 

So today I wanted to talk through some of things that we need to get in place in order to build a long-term sustainable business and these things are for everyone not just for start-up businesses.

 And these are things that we don’t see spoken about much at all because people think they just are for big businesses…but they are not.

 Every single person who specialises in something, be it sales, messaging, mindset, tech, operations will be able to give you an absolutely legitimate reason why the thing they do is the thing you need; why it’s the missing piece to your jigsaw.

 Now I am not saying that you don’t need ALL of these things; that your business would not be stronger if you had them but what you actually need at the beginning of your journey is something different than you need further down the line. What you need may be totally different to the next person as it depends on what skills and gaps you have.

 So today, we are going to talk about the foundations…the things we all need that we can build upon as our business grows.

 People often think that because they have a marketing plan that says who they are selling to, what they are selling, when and how that they have a strategy, but they don’t; then only have part of one; an important part of course but only part none the less.

 So first up we need to know where we want to take the business, we need a vision. A dream. A goal.

 At the start of your journey this vision may not be the ultimate long-term vision as you may not know what that is at the start and yes it may change as you grow but for now you at least need to know where you want your business to be in 2-3 years’ time.

 But why do we need to start with a vision? Because without a vision you will constantly be winging it.

 Without that vision how can you know what you should be doing today, tomorrow, next week?

 How can you know what goals to set, what actions to take and how can you know you are on the right track? 

 How often do you leave your house without knowing where you are going? And when you do I guess it is just for a bit of fun, an adventure.

 Business can and should be fun and it absolutely is an adventure but the difference between growing a business and making a bit of extra money is strategy and strategy has to start with a vision. You have to know where you are going.

 You also need to know what your values are as these will underpin everything you do in your business; from the way you show up to the products and services you sell.

 Your values are one of the things that make your business unique and making sure that everything you do aligns with your values will really help you to build a strong and sustainable business.

 People can copy your offers, but they cannot be you; your values help to shape who you are, which is why you have to make sure they are built into everything within your business. 

 People will notice if you do something that is not aligned to your values which is why there is no such thing as a one fits all strategy.

 Next up is market research.

 Market research gives you information that you may not already have that will help you with lots of decisions in your business, what you are selling, how you are interacting with your audience, your pricing structure and so much more.

 Market research should be an integral part of what you do within your business all the time.

 But what I am talking about here is specifically market research that will help you to fully understand your industry, your audience and where your business sits within your niche.

 I’m talking about SWOT analysis, research that will help you to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that your business has.

 You need to be very clear on where you want to position your business and this research will enable you to do that.

 Everything you do, every decision you make, needs to target that exact position within your market.

 So, for example if you are a high-end party planner; organising parties for the rich and famous, you need to be focussing on high end products and services, high end venues and your connections need to be in the high-end market too. Your branding, your content, it all needs to be high end. You need to show up like a high-end party planner not someone that can pull off any party.

 Now that does not mean you can’t pull off any party of course you can, but you are positioning yourself as high end, so you need to be high end.

 What market research gives you is how you can best do that, how you can stand out from others in your market and where the gaps lie that you can look to fill. 

What strategy will then go on and do is give you laser focus on who you are a business.

 Who you are as a business is the one thing that needs to be constant, the products and services you offer can be totally changeable as can the way you do your marketing and selling.

 The one other thing I want to touch on is operations.

 Very few business owners have proper operations in place within their business.

 Now, what operations are actually needed really do vary depending upon your business but the sooner you start to have some of this stuff documented the easier and quicker you will be able to adapt and grow your business.

 The operations I am referring to here are things like processes and the customer journey.

 One of the biggest mistakes I made in my ecommerce business was not documenting processes, so when we reached the point of needing staff, which happened really quickly for us, it was a real struggle not only recruiting the right people but also training them to do the job efficiently.

 We were so busy trying to keep up with what we needed to do it literally took years of having a team before we were able to even start to think about documenting the processes, which is crazy.

 If we had documented them earlier; before we really needed them, we would have been able to recruit the right people for the right job, we would have been able to train people with a standard process not processes we all did slightly differently, we would have been in more control of what was going on where and our team would have felt more in control of their job.

 But beyond that we would have been able to spot the gaps better, we would have been able to improve efficiency, reduce costs and step back from some of the day to day doing so I could focus on what I should be doing as the CEO of the business. 

Maybe, just maybe, the business would never have become the monster it did.

 So yes, you absolutely can start to earn money without processes, but I would recommend you get them in place well before you think you need them.

 As a minimum, you need to know the process your clients have to go through to work with you; from when they first find you, until they buy from you and beyond.

 My top tip for today has to be to map out your customer journey.

 To work out exactly what it feels like to be a client of yours from how they find you, to how you nurture them and how they buy from you. To what happens once they have bought, how do you service them and how do you maintain that relationship.

 This will help you with lots of things but the main 3 being consistency, efficiency and ultimately happier clients which means more sales.

 Now there is a lot more to strategy than the things I have spoken about today and I will delve into some of the other stuff in future episodes but the stuff I have spoken about today is stuff that so many people do not have in place, and it is the stuff that really can make a massive difference to your long-term sustainability so make sure you spend some time thinking about what you have in place for your business.

 Thank you for listening; see you next time…

You have been listening to Dream Business Dream Life with Emma Hine. If you want to know more about how I can help you to build your dream business and your dream life, then visit my website emmehine.co.uk. Until next time remember you really can have it all!