Chapter 13: Launching Your Business
Make sure you register your EIN number, completed the relevant business licenses, set up a filing system, have a safe to keep critical documents, purchase business forms, set up IT, hire a lire to draft templates, a bookkeeper, conducted background checks on people handling things, send out invitations to openings, set up a website, and get to know your suppliers.
For professional services businesses, you want to have a lot of face-to-face meetings. Things like open houses, setting up Zoom meetings, and working with a trade show can help. For online businesses, you want to increase visibility on 1-2 target social sites. You want to have events on Facebook, a site-warming party, to comment on other blogs, and to post a launch video. For retail businesses, you want to offer special opening day discounts, hire teens to hand out flyers, partner with other businesses to do co-branded, take out ads, or make radio ads.
Generally, you want to host a grand opening, have a membership program, get a site-warming party, and become good at PR. Some PR things you can do: Create a great gurantee, try a sports gimmick, develop special sale items for charity, invite community, throw some contest.
Chapter 19: Your Leadership Matters
The better you are as a leader, the easier it is for your business to grow. Good leaders can develop a vision, and inspire others to follow. They should set clear goals, communicate effectively, and consistently push people forward. It helps to be accountable, approachable, and effective.
Every leader has a unique style, for better or worse. The tone you set for yourself will be the one you set for your team. Main leadership styles: Visionary, Coaching, Harmonizing, Democratic, Pacesetting, Coercive, and Commanding. You may be a combination of these types- and it’s good to know what you’re good at, and work around that.
On communicating clearly, you want to recognize which methods you learn best from, and what your employees and customers benefit most from.
It’s good to active listen, and ask questions of people when it’s your turn to talk. Sometimes, inquiring about someone’s concern will make you seem compassionate.
Regarding feedback, receive criticism gracefully. You can solicit feedback, and being accessible to customer feedback is good for your business, and can make customers’ feedback more favorable. Keeping feedback factual, rather than emotional helps a lot.
Good questions to ask to get honest feedback: What do you hear others saying about our company? What do you like most and least about your job? What would you do if you were in my position?
Consider how creative you want your staff to be. Do you want to leave the ‘how’ to do assignments? Make sure to be a role model. Can you mentor people?
Be reasonable, and set your team up for success by giving clear guidance, adequate resources, and keeping humble. Set aside your personal frustrations and keep staff positive.
Give yourself grace to build your leadership skills. Every time you have a new challenge, you become closer. It will take time to create better habits.
Chapter 20: Fifteen Things You Must Never Forget In Business
Know that your deals are profitable and by how much, make sure your prospects are serious before meeting with them, anticipate marketing trends, use accounts as advisors, keep your documents accessible, continue to learn throughout your life, have great customer service, create partnerships, protect your line of credit, emphasize high-value activities, respect everyone’s time (especially the customers’), be early for appointments, constantly be selling, handshake deals aren’t real, and always control your attitude, behavior, and commitment.
Be grateful for the journey, and be a happy warrior.
Chapter 21: Final Thoughts
Don’t tell lots of people about your businesses. Become a networking machine. Keep entrepreneurial mindsets, use strict fiscal discipline when approaching operations, keep an advisor, maintain a brand, niche down, customer service is great, and manage your banking aggressively.
Give yourself a theme song!
Measure everything: marketing, profit margin, cash flow, website traffic, email list, overhead expenses, and sales. Finally, save for retirement.
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