How to fail at Business

I'm a little bit of an expert at this one so let's dive in. 

Alright, how to fail at running a business. 

This is part of the how to fail series so we're going to talk about what to do and what not to do to grow your business, communicate clearly, and find really good clients. 

A couple of things you can fail at: this is what we're going to cover in today's video. 

One major fail is trying to do it yourself with all the important stuff. I'm going to explain that in a minute. 

Going solo on everything is another way to fail. 

Take it from me, this is a tough one.

Also playing loose, not being really serious about your business - it's gonna fail. 

How to win: having a quality UX or User Experience is one way to win at business. When your clients are happy, your business thrives. 

Finding support is going to help you win. 

And using contracts.

Let's dive in and talk about how to fail at business. 

These are some of the fails that I know personally.

Of course, there are lots of other things you could do to fail your business but this is what we're going to cover today and I encourage you to learn from my mistakes so you don't suffer the same fate. 

But the good news is that these are all solvable problems. 

So the first one is marketing. 

I have heard from so many people "oh I've got other things to do in my business besides marketing." 

Honey, you don't have a business if you're not doing marketing. 

Ignoring marketing is a surefire way to fail but marketing doesn't have to be a chore and something awful. 

It can actually be really fun and connective if we do it in a way that's authentic to you and really connects to your ideal clients. 

Marketing is going to be fun and it's just going to bring in so many more people to your business. 

Being old-fashioned about how you're running your business about how you're doing marketing, that's going to help you fail. 

Sticking to the old ways of sending a newsletter or writing on social media, video, all of this stuff... being stuck in an old-fashioned mindset is is not going to help. It's going to fail. 

Similarly, having a wrong focus about not only your niche and what you offer them, but the wrong focus in your copywriting. Focusing on the features and not the benefits. 

It's a tricky distinction but it's really really important. 

And focusing on the wrong thing, which is super easy to do, is actually going to help your business fail. 

Another way to fail… this is the one that I know personally and most deeply is staying solo. 

Trying to do everything yourself. It's just not gonna work. 

It's exhausting. It's lonely. It leads to burnout. 

Don't stay solo. 

You can't do everything yourself and it's not fun anyway. 

It's so much better to have some collaboration and some partners in your business. 

When you do have those partners and that collaboration, even clients, you want to be sure you have contracts and legal documents in place. 

Not having contracts and legal documents is a good way to fail at your business and I do have some resources about that as well. 

Also bootstrapping, trying to do everything cheap and easy and free. 

Not investing in your business is a good way to fail at your business. 

Trying to do everything on the cheap it's not going to work in the long run. 

Your clients are going to see through it and you're not going to be happy with the results. 

So no bootstrapping. 

Here are a couple of essentials for a business. 

Technology. That's a big one. We want to set up systems and tools for onboarding your clients, for supporting your clients.

Things like your email, your product delivery, payment systems, all of that stuff can be automated so that you're not manually doing things in your business. 

We also just want to use the most updated technology so that your client experience is smooth from top to bottom.

Marketing. I mentioned it before. This is essential to know your niche not only your ideal customer avatar but the problem that you solve. That's your niche. 

Understanding your niche and speaking right to them on social media, in your email sequence... those things are essential. 

If you don't have an email sequence, you've got to get one immediately. I can help you put that together but I really believe in an email sequence not only because it has sustained my business for nearly 10 years but if you're running ads or doing any kind of marketing and you're not capturing those emails and nurturing those new subscribers, you're just leaving money on the table. 

They're gonna forget about you. 

Having an email sequence that nurtures your ideal clients is gonna really help your business thrive. I believe in the email sequence more than anything. 

Client support - UX - I've mentioned it before, the user experience. 

We just want to make sure that that is absolutely professional and really takes care of them from top to bottom.

Legal documents are essential. You've got to have client contracts, partnership contracts, disclaimers, and other documents on your website. All of that stuff - those legal documents are essential to protect your business and protect your energy.

Get support.

Look for done-for-you resources and templates you don't have to create everything yourself. 

I love Canva for that. I created this presentation in Canva.

I made a couple of changes so that it matches my branding and my style but it's already done for me so I don't have to invent everything and come up with this whole system. 

Those done-for-you resources and templates are so helpful for your business so take advantage of them whenever you can.

Speaking of templates, contracts, legal documents, Lisa Fraley. She's my friend, she's a lawyer, and she has written the most amazing contracts and documents.

It's such a funny thing to be like so excited about, but her documents are in real English so everybody knows what they're getting into, what they're agreeing to. It's not in legalese. 

These documents and contracts are really kind. I can't talk enough about how much I love Lisa Fraley and her documents. 

You're going to find a link for her stuff right here. I really suggest you take a look at it.

It's gonna make you feel so professional and supported in your business when you've got those strong contracts and documents in place.

Also under support, collaborate with somebody. 

Don't do it all yourself. 

Don't do the bootstrapping thing. 

Collaborate with an expert like me who can help you elevate your business and support your business for the long term. 

I’m going to help you upgrade all these elements of your business so you don’t spin your wheels and eventually fail at your business. 

I’ll help you upgrade your website, create a content calendar, set up an email sequence, and anything else you need. Book a call with me and let’s talk about how we can help you win.