The 10 Things you need to Do and Remember when Starting or Owning a Business

I started my company (one of my 3 companies,) The Health and Wellness Network of Commerce Corporation Inc (HWNCC) Two years and five months ago. It is a Platform for health and wellness professionals, practitioners, coaches, speakers, service and product providers to network with corporate professionals who can benefit from networking, collaborating and creating win/win/win situations for all.

Each day I have been working towards getting new Associated Presidents, New Members, Corporate Members and businesses on board, and now we are in 6 countries and 8 States with over 40 Chapters around the world with no marketing. Only word of mouth.

Getting the message right and then convincing a large potential population to not only see you, but purchase from you does take time.

In Richard Brunson’s last post, How to start a business from a prison cell, he spoke of the challenges he faced collating research to launch one of his businesses, but that is only part of the struggle. “You then have to actually get out there and do something about it” he says.

The business plan I initially put together has changed completely. You wouldn’t even recognize it now, and this is because I went to speak to as many people in the industry like my potential clients as possible. I heard their concerns and feedback and made the necessary changes.

Times do get tough. I have this constant little voice of self-doubt in the back of my mind telling me 'it’s never going to work', 'why would someone pay for this?' and the worst ones that I have found many entrepreneurs suffer with… 'you’re not good enough' or 'you’re a fake' or 'they will find out you’re not any good'.

I carry that little girl on my shoulder constantly and whilst a little voice can be humbling, you need other people to speak to so it doesn’t become too loud. I heavily rely on my support network of friends, family, other entrepreneurs and business mentors. They know my darkest fears and I usually have at least one person I can call in times of need.

That little voice became so loud in the past Year that I almost decided to lock myself in my room and stay in bed. I wasn’t going to attend major meetings which I had set up with the health and wellness sector, or an incredible client with the turnover of 43 Million People in a Collective reach! I just kept thinking, why would they want to collaborate or join forces with me? Am I just wasting their time?

In the past, I simply would have given up at this stage. However, thanks to accepting I need support, I called around my support network and they helped me find the courage to stop making excuses and just give it a go. Guess what? Last week has been one of the best weeks ever…

Not only I have solidified that contract but I got 3 calls from different people who would like to become Associated Chapter Presidents in their Local Community for the HWNCC.

We have had four other great organizations come on board to apply for our Corporate Membership. If this is successful, it will allow us to create a full time team to purely focus on getting more Chapter Leaders and Corporate Partners.  None of this would have happened if I had locked the doors and stayed in bed.

Here’s my advice for not only getting your first sale, but also removing those little demons from your shoulder telling you you’re not good enough.

1. Have a morning Ritual

Besides the obvious, what are you doing to prepare for your day. I am not talking about the To-Do List you never get to. I am talking about preparing your mindset for a successful day. You may have heard this before, so it just a reminder.

If you have not heard this before you may want to take a few minutes each day to write down what you are most grateful for? Write down your intentions for the day. Not what you want to accomplish, but who do you want to be being? i.e. Powerful, Memorable, Credible etc. Affirm to your self your intention for the day before you leave your house. If you work from home, affirm it to yourself before you start the day on the computer

2. Start talking about your idea

Not just to friends and family, go further out in the field to people you work with or perhaps people you don’t usually talk to. Let them know your idea and use this process to sharpen your pitch down to a couple of minutes - If you can describe what your company does in one sentence, it will put you in good and credible status when picking up the phone to potential clients.

At this stage I would also discuss my idea with a customer who is similar to my target market, but one I would not be too concerned about if I happened to mess up in my pitch and we didn’t win their business. Doing this can be brutal, but it’s a great dry run of presenting your idea in a commercial way and seeing if there is a demand for what you are doing.

3. Create a wish list of potential clients

I used LinkedIn to find the top 250 Health and Wellness Thought Leaders and chose 55 that I wanted to be a part of our Network.

4. Ask for referrals

Speak to your support network and see if they know anyone on your list. Being introduced to a potential client through a mutual contact is by far the best way of meeting someone new.

5. Pick up the phone

I could go on all day about ways to prepare yourself before talking about your ideas to clients, but picking up the phone and actually speaking to your potential clients is the best way of actually finding out if you’re on to a winner. Do your research on who you actually want to be dealing with.

I would never recommend going in at CEO level unless it’s through a referral, as no receptionist in the world would forward a cold call to the top. It’s always better to have a department you want to speak with in mind, and even better, a person’s name in that department. You’ll also become really good at sidestepping the gate keepers who are eager to flick you off with an email address!

6. Be Consistent

Most people fail in business not because they don't work hard or smart but because they are inconsistent with their behavior. Behavior is not something you do one it is in your DNA. You have programmed yourself to be either a procrastinator which is the killer of all business success or you have an inconsistent behavior in business.

What does that mean? If you are prospecting one hour a day, then every day you need to be prospecting whether it's a good day or a bad day does not matter. Weather you are feeling up to it or not does not matter. What matters is not skipping a day ever.

I see it often, where business is booming business owners tend to forget what they had to do to get there, so they stop the calls, the networking, the follow up and follow through etiquette etc.

When business gets slow again or dying they start to do all the things they did in the beginning which is a real shame. Because that means you have to start relationships from scratch and now it will take more time then the first time because your energy won't be the same.

In the beginning we have the drive and the willingness to do the work. When we are down we have less energy and less stamina to sustain ourselves. We are depressed internally and we act from a place of desperation and that turns people off.

Be consistent and don't take the good days for granted. Be thankful and stay on your A game at all times..

7. Visualize

Everyday, close your eyes for a few minutes. When you go to bed or when you wake up or a few times during the day.

Visualize how you are performing? How business looks when it is booming? How you are be being? At any given time and no matter what the challenges are you need to keep those visions as clear and as vivid at all times. That is just one more thing you need to do daily to not fall into a state of defeat.

8. Prepare everything like an important business meeting

If I were to tell you that I have a client that is interested in doing business with you and get into a contract of Three years with a budget of $100,000 a year. How would you prepare to meet that client?

You probably will be very well groomed and dressed that day. You probably will have your best attitude that day. You probably will have your presentation in written and Power Point format just to make sure. You probably will have done your due diligence research and come up with good qualifying questions and or plan to present the client. You probably will do all the right things, like pay for lunch or coffee, follow up and follow through, and even extend an invitation to have another meeting to build more rapport and trust.

You need to prepare for the day the same way. With your best attitude, your best self forward and your integrity. Because what you might not know is people are watching you all the time and are making assumptions about you before you even speak. SO if they see you at your best with some people and at your not so best with them, they might think you only care about money and only the high paying clients.

I say this a lot. Your average paying client is your bread and butter, your sustainable income that you can't count on to pay the bills and have a good comfortable life. They actually need more attention and more respect because they are present and loyal. The big clients are a bonus and are considered the fruit of your labor as a consistent business owner. Who not only does everything and treats everyone the same way, but is also consistent with the service he gives.

"The way a person does one thing. Is the way a person does everything." -Unknow

Remember that in the way that you treat people and your business.

9. You don't know what you don't know

Many times business owners and entrepreneurs tend to think because they did it before they know all about it and it does not work and its been done before blablablabla

What they fail to realize that there is more then one way to skin a cat. You just need to do it again but differently. Life is about trials and errors and hopefully we learn from each experience. What I am sharing with you is not new it is just given to you from my perspective.

So if someone gives you a suggestion just like I gave you a few, and you have done it before with no success. Guess what do it again but this time be consistent, be grateful, bring your A game, make it a ritual, share with people, visualize, and do everything like you have never done it before.

It will keep you motivated, it will bring a skip in your step, and you will see things in a different light each and every time. Oh and by the way it also keeps those demons in your head at bay.

10. And finally... Ask for help

I stress this in all my talks and workshops because it is the single most important thing you can do to ensure you and your businesses are here in years to come. I rely on quick chats with my support network more than they know, and as regularly as I can call and confide in them, they can rely on me just as much. It is so important to have those around you who have your best interests at heart and people who you trust completely.

The point to this whole article, is that for the past few weeks I was feeling insecure. This insecurity brought on the reluctance to take vital steps in growing my business, yet the week ended with fifty potential clients for our upcoming Health and Wellness Expos, 4 New Chapter Potential Presidents, 5 More potential Ambassadors and an Affiliated Partner that has a Huge reach worldwide. I proved those little voices in my head wrong because I stopped making excuses and just gave it a go.

Now, will you give Excuses or Give it a Go?