Today we are answering the question on every entrepreneur’s mind: How much money do I need to begin building my business?
And to that question I say: Do not make the mistake that SO many entrepreneurs are making by assuming that it takes a lot of money to begin. You are ready right now. You can begin. In fact, please begin ASAP because the world needs you—especially now in 2021. I’m going to give you The Top Three Most Effective and Economical Things You Can Do to Start Your Business Now. So, let’s jump right in, right now with
#1 Start Building a Relationship with Your Future Brand Community.
Every dollar your brand earns will be a direct reflection of how well you know your Ideal Audience. Listening is everything to brand building; it’s never too early to start getting to know your customers, and it costs nothing. Even if your product or service doesn’t exist yet, your customers do! And you can learn more about who they are, what they stand for, and what they will never stand for—by researching your competitors, reading their reviews, joining the conversation in their social media groups…Because look—you can have googoo bucks—you could have unlimited funds to start a business now, with a product or service that the world really needs, and it could still totally tank if you don’t know your customers. And it happens ALL THE TIME.
Remember Quibi? Yeah, neither do I…suffice to say that they lost $1.75B within 6 months because they launched a social media platform without listening to their ideal audience. Whoops.
And just like that, a brand new social media platform with MASSIVE financial backing and the added advantage of launching during a worldwide pandemic that had the entire world sitting at home socializing only online…just disappeared in a blink because the creators failed to listen.
Listening is free, and it will be The Thing that makes you money. The brand that knows them best will be the brand that wins brand loyalty. And whether your brand is a 20K start-up, or a $1.75B international launch—Brand loyalty is your business plan.
#2 Name Your Brand’s Values and Ethics, and Start Upholding Them in All Your Affairs.
Before you have a brand, before you have a fully operational business, before you even have a prototype for your innovation—You can create the foundation upon which everything else can be built: Your brand’s values and ethics.
Before you have a brand, you have your values and ethics that guide your daily decisions in regards to just about EVERYTHING you say and do. How you choose to react to daily situations that arise in life, how you respond to crises, how you treat other people, how you conduct yourself in relationships with the people you love, the people who work with you, the people who work for you…and these guiding principles provide you information and direction throughout every single day. Most people don’t realize how often they rely on their values and ethics throughout the day in order to weigh pros and cons, and make the best decisions possible. Sometimes our values and ethics express themselves wordlessly, in the form of “getting a gut feeling,” or “following your heart,” and sometimes our values and ethics make themselves the clearest to us in the aftermath of situations where we didn’t “trust our instincts,” or “use our best judgment,” because the aftermath of the situation can leave us feeling like we’ve taken ourselves out of context, betrayed ourselves in some way, or missed the mark in terms of showing up as the best possible version of ourselves. The guiding principles of our personal values and ethics give us the foundation for our character, our personality, our humanity.
Right now, you have the power to build that solid foundation for your business; the values and ethics that will inform every single decision your brand should be making in order to establish and maintain happy and healthy human relationships with your future brand community. In order for a business to Come Out of Nowhere in 2021, your brand needs to have an authentic human voice. It needs to be able to reach the hearts of your ideal Individuals, and relate to them compassionately and authentically— and it will need to inspire love and connection from not only your customers, but from your employees and suppliers as well. Your future brand community needs to get to know and love who your brand is, as a person.
What does your brand stand for? What will your brand never stand for? And can your brand be trusted to show up consistently? We choose the brands we love best using the same principals we use to choose the people we want to keep close. (Our own personal values and ethics!) We ask ourselves: Does this brand get me? Do I like the way this brand makes me feel? Does this brand see eye-to-eye with me on certain issues that are important to me?
Know your customers best. You can start laying the foundation for building authentic relationships between your customers and your brand by creating your brand’s values and ethics to align with theirs. Create that connection between you and your customers NOW.
The Answer Key for Passing the Blink Test includes an in-depth overview of the Ten Landmarks of Branding which are the guidelines for Building Your Brand like a Hometown— Including insider information for how to create your brand’s name, tagline, and logo— Which is the first impression your brand will make, it’s the handshake that introduces your brand to your customers. It’s often referred to as “the dreaded” Blink Test because you only get about 3-5 five seconds of a person’s attention before they decide in a *Blink* whether they want to delete or dive in. But you don’t need to call it “the dreaded” Blink Test, because I’m going to give you the answer key. You’re going to love it, so be sure not to miss out. It will really give you some rocket fuel for naming your brands values and ethics in a way that connects best with your Ideal Individuals.
#3: Craft a Stellar Business Proposal, and Get It Submitted to Potential Investors
Want to inspire investors to believe in your brand? Right now, you can go online, find a great example of a business proposal, and then follow it like a template to create your own. You can keep adjusting it and personalizing it as you go; but just get yourself out there, and start submitting your business plan ASAP.
Want your proposal to stand out from the crowd?
The answer is once again, and ALWAYS: to listen to your Ideal Audience first, use that knowledge to align your brands values and ethics with your future brand community, and when you craft your business proposal— be able to communicate to investors the specific ways you plan to represent and serve the community you aspire to reach through the expression of your brand.
It’s a solid start that has nothing to do with your budget, and everything to do with your income. Begin your journey there, and investors will notice. Your customer-centric approach will stand out and the potential of scaling your innovation will really shine with an authenticity that many business proposals lack.
Have you ever heard of Humanco.? They are just one example of an investment firm who is right now—actively seeking to fund new ventures in 2021. Specifically, they are seeking to affiliate with new businesses that are aligned with their values and ethics in regards to global conscientiousness and sustainability.
See? In 2021, your brand’s values and ethics are big ticket items that don’t require capital to establish. They will connect you to your shareholders in advance, and they will eventually endear your brand to the hearts of your future brand community.
It’s all about the heart. And if it ain’t got heart go back to the start.
So there ya have it! The Top Three Most Effective and Economical Things You Can Do to Start Your Business Now.
Thank you so much for joining me! If you enjoyed this article, follow me on YoutTube and FaceBook so you don’t miss a single thing. I release new videos every Tuesday and Thursday, so keep treating these episodes as a masterclass for becoming an Inspiration to Millions with Branding. And as always the way to becoming an Inspiration to Millions starts with our motto: Love What You Do and Love How You Do It.