Experiencing starting a business.
Ian Macbeth
“I help people & estate agents become profitable business owners” ? Business Founder. ??Podcast Host. ?? Author. ????♂??? Ultra Marathon Athlete. ??Dad. ??Estate Agent. ?? Marketing.
What a week and our second week in business! So today I wanted to share in summary my feelings and experiences from creating a new business, a new brand, the boring stuff & the sexy stuff.
How did it start? I started with a need, a need to create a business that was better for the people using the business and better for the people in the business. A need turns into a passion and with passion you can create anything.
Then in a ￡2.99 A4 scrapbook I started to write down ideas, solutions, goals and questions. With that information I needed to research businesses, research people and talk to people who are skilled in the areas I am not. This for me is the most important part of starting a business; let your passion create ideas you believe in and let the people skilled in the areas you are not turn your ideas into answers.
From talking to successful businesses owners and unsuccessful businesses owners it was very clear why people could fail. They had focussed on survival; to use a football analogy they had started the season with the mind-set and single goal, to be one place above the relegation zone. Well run businesses had goals of consistent improvement; focus on what they are doing more than the competition and a desire to be better daily.
Then there are the elite, the uncommon within the uncommon and the 1% of the 1%. This conversation is for another time… But it excites me and Avocado Property was not made to sit in the ‘average’ or ‘good’ bracket. Why not set a goal or vision so big that people laugh at? When you feel deep down that you will and can achieve it; it just becomes fuel.
Be ready to do boring things! AML Checks, subscription forms, on hold to the bank for 100hrs (ask Mike!) and CRM/software training. This part of making a business is not fun but you feel like you are making headway each time you tick a new box and that is a big motivator for anyone. Listing out the boring tasks and ticking them off makes boring things more motivating (For me anyway. Yes I am that competitive I compete with myself too; sorry).
Then the theory is over, the research is done, the forms are signed, the brand is built, the idea is now a business and it is time to let the world know. What a feeling that is! Excitement and fear... Two things that we should go through life embarrassing, both are positive feelings, we are meant to be excited about life and we are meant to use fear to ensure our body is ready for what comes next.
Your wedding day, the day your first child is born and the day you launched your own business – special days in anyone’s life.
If you have read this then chances are you have watched, experienced or been a part of the business launch. So thank you.
Ian Macbeth
High ROI video production and digital marketing for businesses and entrepreneurs looking to scale up successfully.
4 年Love this, Ian. People looking in often don’t see the boring stuff that business owners have to go through, how their minds are split in a thousand thought processes, and how they have to find ways to make their brands not only survive, but to flourish. Enjoyed the post, most of it will resonate with other business owners, I’m sure. Keep on growing ??
Sales Director at Hoopla Digital Ltd
4 年Good post, like you say business growth & survival go hand in hand with continuous evolution to always be pushing yourself to that next stage. One of the biggest things I’ve found is that it still all drives back to customer care, go above & beyond for them building your offering around there wants/needs not your own. Put them first & you’ll go far
Co-founder of The Best New Model estate agency in the UK. I’ve helped over 30 Estate agents start a business, and hosted over 100 episodes of ‘The Investors Corner’ podcast
4 年So we’re rounding down to 100 hours?! ?? Friday was probably the first time I felt at home. 6:30am start and a 10pm finish but every single person I spoke to was friendly, enthusiastic and engaged with you/ me/ the brand. Being a career estate agent I didn’t know that world existed due to the culture created within the businesses I has worked. It’s refreshing, there’s no high fives or sense of entitlement though. We’ve just been born, but we all know it’s the young who have all the fun right....
The Brand Within Me is a ground-breaking book on Personal Brand.
4 年Learnt more about you Ian, from this simple post, than I could from any number of adverts. Great job.