Freedom Blog

Friday, December 16, 2011

Reboot Your Business!®| The Freedom Coach

Written by Steven Griggs | thefreedomcoach.com

25 Mistakes To Avoid, #1


Excerpted from my coming book: “REBOOT YOUR BUSINESS! How to Restructure Your Business to Survive and Thrive in Today’s New Economy”

1.     Failing to Plan

This essentially boils down to three areas of focus. Here are a few thoughts:

1.     Capital: Do you have an accurate budget for the business? Have you been realistic in your income and expense projections? Have you budgeted out far enough into the future? When will you start to make money? Can you wait that long?
2.   Customers: Have you defined your ideal customer? Have you researched the viability of this group of customers? Is this a profitable market to target?  Is there real demand for your products?  What is your marketing plan?
3.     Product: Have you researched that there is indeed a need for your product? Can you create the product at a low enough cost to create sustainable and realistic margins? Have you done enough research to know what volume you will need to sell, and is it realistic?

Today’s entrepreneurs need to have a detailed, intimate understanding of all aspects of their businesses.  This includes marketing, selling, accounting, legalities, and web marketing, to name just a few.  The Business Reboot Questionnaire, Breakeven Analysis, and the Profit and Loss Projection worksheet (forms included in my book) will help you gain clarity about where your business stands right now and also give you insights into  areas of your business that you need to work on.

As an entrepreneur you may have the passion and energy to start the business, but you may be lacking in knowledge in one or more of the areas mentioned above. You don’t have to be the expert, but you do need to have a basic understanding of these areas.  If you lack such knowledge, your task then is to seek out mentors or experts in these areas and obtain the information you need.

Important: Be clear about your motivations.  Are you passionate about your business and products?  Or are you in it just for the money? This is a crucial question. Doing it for the money alone is not enough, because  you will quickly lose interest if the business is slow to make money or it takes longer than you expected to become profitable. Be clear about where your passions, interests, and true motivations lie.

Remember: Passion first, Action next, then Money…



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