A large percentage of LinkedIn members are entrepreneurs and have their own businesses… whether it be products or services…
…we’re basically on our own.
And we all know the percentages of small businesses that fail, right?
But we’re optimists…and we think that success and the next home run is right around the corner.
Again and again.
I watched my grandfather succeed after he lost his farm during the 50s and moved to town and somehow talked General Motors into letting him have the Oldsmobile dealership in a small town in Iowa.
But with him, it was work… and he worked 70-80 hours a week because he didn’t want to fail again. I loved him and everyone knew him by what he did…his business was WHO he was.
Back then, it was easier.
And in most cases, all it took was hard work.
No social media, no internet… and we weren’t besieged by emails written by copywriters who made their offers seem like they were spun of gold and promised us almost instant success… all for less than $10!
Today?
Almost infinite choices… and no doubt about it… it is almost impossible NOT to be overwhelmed.
We have all bought the courses… the push button tutorials and methods that sound like they absolutely cannot fail.
We try Facebook, Twitter, video marketing, lead generation… and sometimes they work. At least for a while.
But why isn’t it easier? Why aren’t the courses more clear cut?
WHY isn’t it as simple as it used to be? Why can’t we get ahead by simple hard work… just like grandpa did?
For me… I am almost 70 and I fully admit that it is all I can do to turn on a computer. And finding people to do the basic technical work… well, even that is a struggle. My grandkids can do the basics better than I can.
I work with small businesses and the common complaint with at least 90% of them is that there is not a playbook or manual that lays out simple and easy to follow directions. Most owners have tried almost everything and had little success with any of the so called “methods” or “systems” that are virtually guaranteed to work. Everything you study or read is a “part of the whole”… not the entire system itself.
I am a big believer in keeping things simple.
I am also a big believer that you have to try one system or method at a time instead of 5 or 10 and becoming totally confused.
It really was easier with my grandfather’s car business… everyone knew where he was and what he sold. His competition was Ford, Chevrolet, and Cadillac… no foreign cars then either.
He advertised in the local paper and in the Yellow pages.
Grandpa made a lot of money… and he worked hard… but his choices were simple.
Now… I would bet that you are going to guess that I am going to tell you to “keep it simple” and you would be right…
But with one main caveat…
You need to define your goals and you need to pick out the most important things and stick to them.
I have found that it is useless for most people to be talking about Pinterest, lead generation, or video production if they cannot even define why people should buy from them over the competition.
Define your business… who are your buyers… and WHY are you better than the competition…
You need to absolutely make certain that your own marketplace knows and understands EXACTLY why they should buy from you. Do that, and that alone…and you will never want for buyers and money again.
And if you need help I would be happy to send you my book, “The Reinvention Protocol” …it will explain how I did it and what kind of effect it had on my business.
We all need a playbook … this was mine… it might help you.
It’s a start.
And yeah, it’s simple.
Read it… I think you’ll be surprised.
Just go to my profile, message me and ask for my book… I’ll send it out right away.
Keep it simple.
That’s a heckuva good start