Piggybacking on the business plan discussions of late and looking forward to 2009, I would encourage all moonlighting entrepreneurs to at least sit down and sketch out where they would like their moonlighting ventures to be by the end of next year. As you know, I plan three years at a time, because that way I can break down my HUGE goals into smaller goals and really make progress during each of the three years.
I was talking to a moonlighting franchise owner yesterday and they have a huge goal too. They’ve been in business about two years, have a great mailing list (this is a huge plus) and offer a top-notch product and service. However, they told me yesterday that they wanted to see that huge growth instantly, which in my opinion was just too fast. You need time to implement these marketing plans and grow at a nice steady pace.
Most moonlighters have limited time to work on their businesses and thus, limited time in which to market. They always want quick results, but expend too much effort to get those results in too short a time and always fail.
So, how does a moonlighter do it?
1. Give yourself three years. At least, if you have mind to double your business and open two more locations, give yourself five years (especially in this economy). Better to slow down your growth and make sure you have sufficient cash flow, otherwise, you’ll need bailing out soon and trust me, there will be no more bailout left by then. Natch.
2. Set up a multi-step marketing funnel. Remember, you may need to sell your product/service to a prospect about seven or eight times BEFORE you get a sale. Each time, you need to offer more of a value and solution so that your prospect trusts you more.
(lifted from Michael Port’s Book Yourself Solid, buy the book here)
Step 1, drive people to your web site.
Step 2, offer a freebie and capture contact information.
Step 3, continue contact and help find a solution so they buy a low-barrier item from you ( not your most expensive package)
Step 4, over-deliver on the step 3 purchase, and give your client incredible value for his money
Step 5, help customers move to the next level of your sales cycle by offering a higher-level product or service; this takes time and might not happen immediately, you may repeat steps 3 and 4 several times before a prospect purchases your higher-end offerings
3. Keep your product and service offerings top-notch and offer impeccable customer service. This is not time to fudge your obligation to your clients, nor a time to kick back and enjoy the riches you’ve made by selling to more people. Remember, a business never goes into neutral and runs itself. Someone is always running it, and each new success brings with it new challenges. Prepare yourself for the long term position of providing solutions and proving to your clients that you are worth every penny.
4. Break down each goal by year (three-year or five-year plans) and then each of those by month and by week and by day. That way your HUGE plans actually require a little bit of action each day. Say you want to increase your monthly revenue. Taking three years, that can be divided up by three, so that your increase each year is smaller, but will add up at the end of the three years to the total you have planned for. Then break down that growth number into the number of clients you must gain, the amount of sales you must make each day without fail, the amount of projects you must take without fail.
5. Stay inspired every day. Don’t let a day go by without you renewing your inspiration somehow, whether it’s by reviewing your business plan or three-year plan, or some sort of marketing inspiration that you trust to get you revved up again. Get your must-do items done in the first part of your day if you can. That way you feel accomplished and in good spirits to deal effectively with your clients. For moonlighting entrepreneurs, that means very early mornings. Or if you work better at night, do it late at night and then go to bed knowing you’ve prepared for your following day. Whatever keeps you feeling good, this you must do.
Have a great day everyone! Keep those businesses going. Free enterprise is the backbone of this country and we need you.
