Opportunities for Growth


Doesn’t this just sound better? Opportunities for growth, or areas for improvement? I had the very distinct pleasure of being on a call with Lori Minky Radcliffe, fitness nurse advocate and entrepreneur where I discussed some of the mistakes that new entrepreneurs make when trying to start their businesses. Instead of a mistake, I’ll refer to it as an opportunity for entrepreneurs to rework things and evolve as business owners.

By all means please listen to the teleseminar for the full discussion, but some of the points that I discussed are bulleted below:

  • Identity Crisis—Don’t offer so many services out of the gates that you create confusion with your target market. Brainstorm about the problems that exist, and the solution(s) you can provide. Narrow it down and find your niche. From here you can build your brand and narrow down your focus.
  • The employee mindset—You may clock in and out at work. You may have this “hourly rate” mindset, or you continually think of great ideas (products or services) and then you wonder if the hospital would re-hire you or create a position so that you can provide these as an employee. Stop it! You have to start thinking of yourself as a business. If that hospital wants to be a part of what you have to offer, then you can create a corporate-corporate agreement. The only employee you should be is the one in your own company.
  • Where can I find you?—Get a platform to showcase your brand, your story, and most importantly your services. A simple website will suffice, and start familiarizing yourself with social media and how to jump on it so you can start building community.
  • You mean I have to charge for my services?—Do you want to stay in business? Then yes! You’re a professional aren’t you? You’ve done all of the research, put in the energy, started your business, and now you’re providing a valuable service. What’s next? Get paid for it. Enough said.
  • It’s mine, all mine!—Do you want to fail fast? Then don’t collaborate. You’ve heard me talk about this ad nauseum. Collaborate people! Help a fellow entrepreneur. Share ideas and help each other grow and cross promote. If a client comes to you with a problem that you can’t solve and you know someone that can, then refer out. I’ve gotten so much business because of this due to either having referrals coming back to me from those being referred out to, or clients coming to me appreciating my honesty about my limitations. Not to mention I really do enjoy the success of others and if I had something to do with it, then that just rocks.
  • It’s just a flesh wound—Another talking point that I often discuss is that I’ve left plenty of skin in the game. As an entrepreneur you will bang yourself up a bit, but you can minimize some of this by streamlining the process. If you have the resources to do so I recommend seeking the help of a mentor. Sure, if you want to do your own search on “business 101” concepts and you have the energy to do so, I’ll point you in that direction. Heck, if you know where you’re headed then I’ll even Google Map it and send you the directions to save a step. A coach however will save you quite a few steps, dramatically decrease the learning curve, and exponentially increase your revenue growth much earlier in your business. Just saying.

Look, if you didn’t get this from the teleseminar I’ll reiterate it here. I honestly want you to succeed. If I get the pleasure of helping you launch your business, this would be great. If I get a chance to promote your business, awesome. If we have an opportunity to collaborate on a project down the road, even better.

If none of the above happens and I’m at least able to call you a friend and fellow entrepreneur, well that’s good enough for me. Now go work your potential.

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