One Producer in the City

Lessons from my first year of business: The 5th P

As we come to the end of our series, here is the last P and the one that in essence started my business:

Produce 

Your business will only be viable if you produce something. Be it a product, content, an event, or a result, if you produce something, people will pay attention. All of the seeds for my current business were planted when I satrted writing this blog and sharing my insights with others in the producing world. That lead to networking, panels, conferences, and more opportunities. Had I never produced this blog, I'm not really sure where I'd be right now. 

So with that said, here are five things you can produce fairly quickly to start bringing people in. 

1. A blog- Duh. Right? But seriously, I'm always amazed when someone says that they are so impressed with the fact that I blog regularly. It takes 15-30 minutes out of my morning and usually sets me on the path to a more productive day.  You can write yours once a week or once a month. It's really up to you. And don't worry if you don't write. You'll get better as you go. I have been published three times and even my mother thinks that this blog is the best writing I've done!

Hi Mom :) 

2. A Twitter/FB campaign- This can be really great if you are someone who is always on the run. Sign up for a hootsuite account, set up your postings for the day and watch the comments, likes, and retweets come in. If no one responds at first, it's cool. It takes time. A note of caution: Don't be salesy. People hate that. Use twitter and facebook to promote other people and to give snippets of your content. Every once and a while, feel free to throw something in about your own projects, but remember that being generous is the key to online engagement.

3. A video- If you have a flip cam, webcam, or an iphone you have a camera and it is easier and easier to upload that material. Don't worry about all the bells and whistles. Set up the camera, talk about something cool, and upload. People will watch and if it's really good, they'll share. 

4. A seminar- Ready to slam on the brakes yet? This is also not as scary as it sounds. Remember this Derek Sivers video? It really only takes one person to believe in what you have to say. You have valuable information no matter what you do for a living. You have expertise that you can share, so why not put together your own seminar? It's fun and you'll gain new supporters, some of whom turn into clients. 

5. A monthly newsletter- This is one of the most effective marketing tools you have. You can see if someone opened your email, clicked a link, or never opened it. This is valuable information about your customers. Also, the list is a way to engage with your client base and supporters on a monthly basis and build a relationship. Similar to what I said about facebook and twitter. Do not spend your entire email selling yourself. Give great information and more people will want to sign up. 

So there you have it. 5 Things you can produce very quickly. You could even do all 5 things this week! That would make you a very special P:

Productive

Excelsior! 

Lessons from my first year of business: The 4th P

Partnering

It's very easy when you get started to be attracted by the concept of being the lone wolf. You're on your own, you don't need anybody, you can do it all yourself, etc.

WRONG. 

When you start your business, you want to identify potential partners as quickly as possible. Now it's important to note that I am not referring to actual business partners who have a controlling interest in the company. I'm referring to partners who have services that amplify your own who you can work with to create package deals or create a referral system with. 

For example, if you are starting a printing business, see if you can find a graphic designer, an event planner, and maybe a restuarant owner to partner with. When customers come to your business, you have people to refer them to or you can structure a package price and give each of your partners a cut. There are also companies that are willing to do revenue sharing models where if you send them a customer, they pay you a small percentage of the referral. 

NOTE: Only accept a referral model after you have gotten to know the business and the owner. Your referrals are key in the growth of your business and when one person has a bad experience, it can ruin your reputation, so do not take giving referrals lightly by any means. 

Not sure who the partners for your business are?

Here are five questions to help you identify them:

1. Who is your target customer?- Defining the customer in detail will help you identify the type of person you are looking for and also what services they would need, which then helps you identify who else they need that you can partner with

2. Who do you need?- One of the best ways to identify partners is to think about what you need right now. A partnership could mean lower costs for you on a service you want. So think about the things you need and think about good partners.

3. How are you grouped?- Most of your customers put you into a particular group as far as your service goes. Find out what group that is and see who else is in there. Ex.) Legal, Health and Wellness, Retail, etc. 

4. Who's hungry?- Early stage business owners will often make themselves known at conferences, online, and through email. Identify who is advertising to you and see how you can work together. 

5. Who do you like?- This is probably the most important. If you like someone's business or style, chances are, partnering with them will be easier for you. I personally only partner with people I like and respect. No referral fee is worth working with someone you hate and it will always show through. 

So there you have it. If you are starting a business, go out and find some partners. You'll feel less overwhelmed and you'll get the most important P.

PAID

Excelsior! 

 

 

Lessons from my first year of business: The 3rd P

Planning. 

There is a reason that the quote " If you fail to plan, plan to fail" is so popular. 

Your business cannot run for very long without strategy. It is important to take the time to look at your existing system and plan for the inevitable changes. Below is a list of five things to take the time to plan for:

1. Growth- It's awesome when you grow. It means more clients, more exposure, and more revenue. It also means more questions and needs from clients, more scrutiny from the public, and more money to manage properly. Do you have a plan in place if your client load doubles or triples? What about if you got national tv exposure? How about if you took on a high end client? Without a plan, you risk being able to take advantage of those opportunities. 

2. Loss- If you were injured today and couldn't get out of bed, what would happen to your business? How about if you have a sudden drop in your clients? What if someone asks for a refund? Without a plan, any one of these situations could cripple your business. Take the time to devise action plans for loss. Put some safeguards in place. You'll be glad you did. 

3. Alternate markets- If your business was to serve a different client, what changes would you need to make in pricing, approach, and marketing? The last thing you want is to stay in one market until it dries up or someone comes along and takes your customers. You may also find that what your current client can afford is not enough to cover your costs, never mind profit. Take the time to plan for new markets and you'll always have another ship to jump to if the current one is sinking. 

4. Customer service- Your customers can grow your business or crush your business within seconds. I know it sounds extreme, but it is true. If they are ticked off, they can tweet, facebook, yelp, blog, or youtube their discontent. You need to plan for how you will deal with their questions, concerns, and complaints. Ignore them when they are unhappy and it is bye bye business. Have a customer service plan in place and listen to your customers. All the clue for fixing the problem are in their comments. 

5. Time Management- You're the boss, but when do you work? 9-5? 10-6? 8am-12am? You need to plan for when you work and when you stop. The 16 hour day may seem like you are truly devoted to your business, but when do you recharge? Your time is so precious, use it wisely and plan for when you work and stick to the plan. Otherwise you will always feel like you have no time. When it hits that point it's impossible to be effective. 

So why tell you all about this? My first year of business I struggled with each of these things and I lost out on opportunities. I want to make sure others don't miss out because they have convinced themselves that they don't have time to plan. 

If you have a friend starting a business, share this.

If you are running your own business, pay attention to it. 

I only want one P from all of you:

To Prosper

Excelsior! 

Lessons from my first year of business: The 2nd P

Continuing with the series, is the 2nd P which stands for: Pleasing customers. 

This really should be a no brainer, but you'd be suprised at how many people forget about this one. The customer is the life blood of your business. No customers: No cash. Your customers are also your best referral source so you want to make sure they are delighted with the service you provide. 

Why delighted?

Because they can get satisfied anywhere. 

If you are a producer, entrepreneur, or business owner, you want your customers to feel like they have to shout about your service to everyone they know. So how do you do this? 

Here's five tips:

1. Track them- Take the time to punch the names of your current customers into a spreadsheet. Keep track of when you last emailed or called. Check in periodically to see how they are doing. It's refreshing when a customer hears from you to see how things are going. They'll become that much more loyal. Think of it this way: You can teach a class by handing out papers and making the students work on the papers, but you need to move around the room and answer questions or the students will feel lost. Your customers are the same way. Keep track and check in.

2. Surprise them- We all love to be surprised with something cool. Take the time to think about what would surprise your customer and be of use to them. Maybe one customer mentioned needing pens and you sent a fountain pen. Maybe one loves cats and you sent a funny picture. The best way to establish a relationship is by giving even when nothing is asked for. 

3. Listen to them- Your customers may sometimes not be happy. The worse thing you can do is ignore this. If they are displeased, find out why. Ask them for specifics and work to get better. They will appreciate the fact that you took the time to validate their feelings and are more likely to give you that chance to make things up. If you get that chance, make sure you do your absolute best to solve the problem. 

4. Be a resource- If you are only a service provider, your customer will come to you solely when they need the service and the relationship will not go much deeper, but if you are a resource who can provide advice or referrals, they are much more likely to stick with you. We all want to be seen as more than just our money, make others feel that way by offering them help in areas where you won't be paid. You'll build good will that will establish stronger relationships. 

5. Take an interest in their future- Regardless of the service you provide, make sure that you are asking what the customer's long term goals are. The more you can help in achieving those goals, the better it is for everyone. Frame the work you do around what they want and need and you'll always come up with winning service and also a testimonial or two!

So there you have it. I'll be back tomorrow with the third P.

Staye tuned.

Exclesior! 

Lessons from my first year of business: The five P's

The first year of business is always hard. You never seem to have enough time for your clients, administrative duties, meetings, or development. After my first year I realized that there are 5 things you absolutely need to keep your business running and you must budget time within your day for each of them. 

So this week will be devoted to the Five P's essential for business survival.

First up: Prospecting

One of the biggest mistakes I made when I started was ignoring the importance of seeking out customers. It's very easy to say to yourself that referrals will just start to come as you do good work for one or two of your clients, but the numbers will tell a different story. Even if you get a referral, there will be the chance that the referral will not work out and you're back to square one. This is why prospecting is so important. 

Not sure what to do?

Here are five simple things you can do NOW to prospect for new customers:

1. Find a panel and speak on it- People gravitate to panels because it is an opportunity for them to learn something that they don't know. They see the people on the panel as experts and will often be interested in products and services from those experts. This is your opportunity to show your knowledge and skill. After the panel, stick around and talk to those who are interested in meeting with you. Many of these people will be interested in becoming a client or referring one to you. 

2. Host an event- Bringing people together is one of the best ways to forge strong relationships. Think about what everyone needs and invite all of those people into one room. You'll not only find great partners for your business, but the people attending the event will be naturally interested in hearing more about your services and willing to tell their friends. 

3. Create Content- There are so many new platforms out there that allow you to tell people about your business for free. The market has become overcrowded with people trying to sell. Don't sell! Instead create content that people want to read and spread. You'll almost always strike a nerve with someone who believes in what you do and they may be interested in your services or be an advocate for them. So start that blog or write that newsletter. Tweet. Facebook. Let the world know about your awesome content. 

4. Go to events- Think about the types of people who are looking for what your business provides and then find out where they gather. Go to fundraisers, parties, mixers, and let people know about what you do. Don't run around slamming a business card in everyone's hand, but do take the time to show your expertise in your field as it relates to the concerns of the people there. When you return home from the event, sit down and follow up with the people you met. Don't let the food get cold. 

5. Galvanize your existing customer base- Your current clients are thrilled with you, so give them ways to tell the world. Have a testimonials page, ask them for referrals, have them post about you on facebook, twitter, youtube etc. Your current clients will sell you far better than you'll sell yourself. Let them.

Every day you need to focus on prospecting because you want to have enough clients to eventually have to expand or turn people away. The more you do to fill the pipeline, the more likely the business will remain healthy. Make sure you devote a portion of your business day to prospecting or you may end up with a different P

Poor.

Excelsior! 

Stanislavski was on to something: But not what you think

If you have done any work in the theatre, then you most likely have taken at least one class that addressed the man in the picture above. What I have found very interesting is how applicable his teachings are to business and entrepreneurship. His system dealt with some very specific points that you would address in every scene you worked on and each of these steps has its own life in the world of business. 

To start with, he was obsessed with the objective of each character in the scene, and would ask each actor what in essence they "wanted" 

In business we do the exact same thing. We decide on a financial or personal goal and we state it. We write it down.

Then there is the idea of the strong action verb for what the character is doing to get what he or she wants. Each actor is encouraged to really think carefully about this strong action verb as it helps sharpen the focus of the scene. 

In business we also make the decision to act on particular things over others. We decide if we are adding more focus to our marketing, content creation, customer service or development etc.

Next comes the obstacle. The actor is asked what is getting in the way of the thing he or she wants. The actor is asked to specifically define this and that information informs the rest of the scene. 

In business we constantly have to ask what is getting in the way of us hitting our revenue projections, benchmarks, etc. The more specific we are the easier it is to solve the problem. 

Finally, once all of this information is accumulated, the scene is broken down into beats each with their own objectives, tactics, and obstacles. 

In business we break each project we are doing down into beats and continuously explore what is working and what is not.

Each stage of the business is in essence a scene and we are asking ourselves what we want, what we're doing to get it, and what gets in the way. 

The real magic for both the actor and the entrepreneur comes when we answer the final, most important question:

Now that we know all of this, what do we do next?

What do YOU plan to do?

Excelsior!