Once upon a recent time, there were 3 women who left their jobs to become entrepreneurs seeking control of their time, the desire to create more income and freedom to live their lives.
Their names were Rachel, Linda and Mary and this is their story.
At first, each did well. They weren’t buying second homes or traveling 8 months of the year, but they had good revenue coming in. Let’s take a look at their specifics:
Rachel, a marketing coach, started seeing her revenue slow down and met an online guru who promised 6 figures in 60 days if she’d just follow these simple steps. So she handed over her credit card, followed the guru’s advice about launching her programs and kept looking for the revenue. 30 days later, she launched something new, still looking for the revenue as she wondered why people kept unsubscribing from her list.
Then the big bad wolf came in the form of a recession economy and started knocking on her door.
“No, no, no, it can’t happen” said Rachel as she poured her life savings into her business and created and launched several more programs.
Then “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll close your business” said the wolf.
So the wolf huffed and puffed until it became clear that the recession was the new economy, her list was completely burned out and Rachel had to close her business, close to bankruptcy.
Linda, a mindset expert, was questioning whether she had a mindset issue when her revenue dipped and so handed over her credit card, joined several masterminds and looked at what everyone else who proclaimed to be successful was doing and she copied them. She never considered what she wanted her business to look like and whether what was right for others would work for her as she searched for the revenue and wondered why she was still at her desk at midnight every day, missing her life, while her role models professed to work part-time.
Then the big bad wolf came in the form of a recession economy and family strife and started knocking on her door.
“No, no, no, I won’t fail. I’m here to make an impact and I know I’ll be successful” said Linda as she charged up her credit cards on new “miracle” programs and pleaded with her family to be patient, describing the joys of her impending success.
Then “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll close your business” said the wolf.
So the wolf huffed and puffed until it became clear that the recession was the new economy and her family couldn’t handle the financial or emotional stress anymore and Linda had to close her business.
Mary, a consultant, decided up front that she was in it for the long-term and wanted to design a business which would generate profits for years to come in a way which allowed her to be fully present for her family and her clients. She was about substance. And so she set about designing just such a business, each year steadily increasing in both revenue and profits.
Then, can you guess? The big bad wolf came in the form of a recession economy and started knocking on her door.
“No, no, no, I won’t fail. I’m here to make an impact and I’m set up for success” said Mary as she emailed her mentor and updated her business and marketing plans.
Then “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll close your business” said the wolf.
So the wolf huffed and puffed until it became clear that the recession was the new economy and Mary kept tweaking and adapting so that no matter what the wolf did, her business held strong and, in fact, even prospered.
My Request To You
While the above may sound like a fable, it happens all too often and to people you know. As you likely know, according to the Small Business Administration, 63% of all businesses fail within the first 5 years and the number is closer to 95% for online-based businesses.
They fail due to 5 primary reasons:
- A lack of vision and systematic strategy
- No marketing plan or systems
- No client follow-up systems
- Trying to do too many things at once
- And doing everything ad hoc
These reasons can be traced back to not having a clear design and plan. And for those who have the plan, not taking consistent action on achieving it.
If you’re concerned the big bad wolf is going to break through your door when, not if, he visits your business, you’ll want to see if the SMAC — Where Results are Created Program is right for you.