How to Cure the Epidemic that is Killing BusinessesI’m about to demonstrate for you what I think is one of the biggest challenges that a lot of business owners face.
In the best case scenario this makes life in business a lot harder than it has to be. And worst case scenario…it can have a crippling effect.
Not to get all new age and fluffy on you…but I’m talking about mindset. And in this case, it’s a specific mindset. If you’re in it, and you can get out of it, you’ll be shocked at what a difference it makes.
I’ll start by demonstrating an examples, tell you why it’s a huge problem, and show you how to fix it:
The Scenario
As you may (or may not) know, Content Strategy Hub is not my only focus.
I run several businesses focusing on several different industries. I use a variety of different marketing methods across the board (although content often seems to be a big focus).
After writing a blog post for one of these industries, and sharing it in several LinkedIn groups, this was one of the responses:
How to Cure the Epidemic that is Killing Businesses
A few things stand out for me right away…
The commenter understands that what I’m sharing is true and valuable. But he quickly follows it up with a reason of why he personally can’t pursue the advice I’m giving.
On a side note: With a bit of creativity the advice I gave could be implemented for free. The part that wasn’t free (the service I mentioned) cost only $37/month. The value of the service was A LOT more. That cost is a lunch out or two.
This raises a slew of issues. And here are five mindset shifts that will help you cure this “epidemic”:
Epidemic Cure #1: You are in the Business of Marketing
This is one of the first things I tell people I work with:
Every business is in the business of marketing.
Accountants aren’t in the business of accounting. Yes, they have to be good at accounting. But good service is just the price of entry. They are really in the business of marketing their accounting services.
Without the marketing you don’t get in front of clients. And without clients you don’t have a business.
This is the first thing you have to realize. And once you have, everything else becomes easier.
Epidemic Cure #2: You Need a Budget
So now that we’ve established that you need to be marketing your business, that leaves you with the reality that you need to budget for it.
Keep in mind, however, that a budget doesn’t have to be monetary. If you’re bootstrapping your business, there are a lot of low cost (or no cost) methods of getting in front of customers.
If you don’t have the money to spend, then budget time to work on marketing that makes sense for you.
Epidemic Cure #3: Prioritize
A lot of business owners bootstrap and cut costs. Bootstrapping is perfectly fine. I do it wherever possible myself. But you have to make sure you’re strapping the right laces.
Cutting out paper purchases and going to a digital office? That saves money and makes sense.
Cutting out marketing that will cost you less than $100/month and bring in new customers? Well that’s a serious issue.
Cut where it makes sense, and not where it doesn’t!
A lot of small businesses and solo entrepreneurs have this issue. But a lot of large companies are pretty awful at this as well (I’ve experienced this first hand).
Epidemic Cure #4: Be Aware of Cognitive Bias
Our brains are freaking weird. And the more that we can realize this and be conscious of it, the better off we are.
I know plenty of people that will hesitate to purchase certain products or services that will benefit them in the long run, while not thinking twice about dropping way more money on a bar tab. I’ll admit to being one of those people on occasion.
Take a step back every once in a while to put things into a proper perspective.
This will help you get out of analysis paralysis, make decisions and get moving forward faster.
Epidemic Cure #5: It’s an Investment
It’s very easy to look at every dollar you spend as an expense. After all…you just had that dollar, and now you don’t.
But if it’s going to bring you more than $1 in return, it’s not longer an expense…it’s an investment. If it’s going to streamline, make things easier, and save you time…it’s an investment.
Marketing education, services and tools are investments. They aren’t expenses.
Start for Free, Here’s How:
The cost of marketing should not be an excuse…because that is the cost of doing business.
No marketing means no customers. No customers means no income. And no income means no business.
So I put together a short mini-course that you can go through absolutely free of charge. The only investment required is the short amount of time to read through it.
In this three-part series I’ll show you a marketing method that I used (and that many leading marketers use) to pump leads, customers and sales into their businesses.
Best of all, this is adaptable to pretty much any business.
You can access it out here: Marketing System Mini-Course.
Seriously. Check it out. You won’t be sorry.
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