Like many new online entrepreneurs, when I first started my business I wanted to believe that simply being good at what I did would ensure that I had a successful business.
As I’ve said before, I eventually got a good smack upside the head (not a literal smack, don’t worry) and realized that I needed to be a business owner, not just a coach. I needed to take charge of my business and my marketing in order to make money.
Once I did, my business took off.
It’s a good thing, too. If it hadn’t, I’d still be pulling change from between the couch cushions to buy dog food or worse, crawling back to a soul-sucking cubicle job.
The linchpin
The critical point about this shift wasn’t that I simply embraced the idea of being a business owner; I embodied what it meant to be a business owner.
This means that I took the time to learn about and test marketing techniques. I made more accurate financial projections. I started to make smart investments.
Ignoring marketing and financials means that you have a hobby, not a business. (When I used to heard other people say that, oh brother, did it piss me off… even if it is true.) If you’re doing your gig to make money, you want to treat it like a business, not a hobby.
Start here
If you’ve been taking your business as lightly like I used to, and if you’re ready to change your ways, here’s where to start.
First, focus on what you love. Who do you love to work with? What do you love to do?
(This isn’t so hard, right?)
Second, think about your favorite clients or customers. Who are they? Why do they want to work with you or buy from you?
Third, take the above information and weave it into your website and into everything you do. Talk about what you love to do. Tell people how you can help them. Live and breathe what you already love!
Take it further
Once your website reflects what you already love, challenge yourself to connect with your ideal customer even more.
As many marketers teach, including my mentor, your marketing begins with learning how to talk to your ideal customer.
To get into their heads, you need to imagine what it’s like to be in your ideal clients’ shoes. What is bothering her? What is she worried about? What solution does she long for?
On your website and when you talk with others, use your ideal clients’ language to explain what you do and how you help others. This, my dear superhero, is where it all begins… making money and making a difference in the world.
If you skip this step, well, … we won’t go there.
Take action now
Taking action and applying these concepts is what makes all the difference for your success.
Tweet that!
Connect with what you love. Connect with your customers’ needs. Use their language. Have that language permeate your website.
You can do this. And it will make all the difference in the world for your business.
In the comments below, tell me…
What action are you going to take right now to apply these concepts to your business?
I appreciate the reminder to “Connect with what you love. Connect with your customers’ needs. Use their language. Have that language permeate your website.” Can’t be said too many times.
In addition to your notes above I’d add one more tip that I’ve heard from you before, which is that you can infuse your web presence with your personality and character. Much more attractive.
You’re totally right, Ali. Infusing your web presence with your personality and character is also key. It’s a magical combination of both YOU + YOUR CUSTOMER that makes it all work!
We all need the reminder that when we build a business and bring in more revenue and abundance we can then give back and pay it forward.
Yes–it’s what makes the world go ’round, as they say. 🙂
I absolutely love this! I just had a fantastic coaching session (due in part to your offer with your Charity Water!) and this is some of the first stuff we talked about – who is your ideal customer … what are all the details about them? I had long avoided that because in business plan making it just felt so forced, taking a personal approach was much easier and flowed well!
But like Ali said, I can’t hear it too much! (I even went so far as to put it right under my monitor’s screen so I see it constantly!) I think I have the first part down. I love creating and I’m always thinking of new & fun ideas and combinations of elements for my work. Since I am sort of the type that would buy my own work (as far as personal taste goes) I can more easily imagine my ideal customer types. I just need to get the language down 🙂
I know what you mean, Aradia! I used to feel like the “ideal customer” stuff was BS, too. The ways I had read about it didn’t jive with me. Once I connected to the idea that getting into their heads would help me market my services better, I felt like I had been hit over the head with the biggest business a-ha ever!
Keep working on finding those right words. It’s amazing the difference it makes to everything!!
Great ideas for creating a business you’re passionate about (which helps sales!). I tweeted your post 🙂