6. They focus on fixing their weaknesses. Forget your weaknesses and focus on enhancing and blowing up your strengths so your weaknesses become irrelevant. Put in the hours of “Grind Time” honing your strengths, business expertise and building your brand. Your brand is simply the personality of your product. Allow people on social media and other mediums to get to know your brand and build a relationship with your target market first, before asking them to buy from you. Why not give them something FREE, intriguing and of value first! If your product is really that good, prove it and give away some samples and if really is that good people will talk about it and demand for it will increase.
5. They don’t understand and underestimate the power of marketing. Most entrepreneurs think their product/service is so much better than their competitors. But what they do not understand is that their product does not have to be the best to be successful. As long as their potential customers “perceive,” or think and believe that their product is the best, it will sell. Marketing is not about who has the best product, it’s about who is perceived to be the best or one of the best. There are so many people that I am sure can make a better sandwich than Subway or better burger than Mc Donald’s, but the rest of the world will never know or buy their product because of their failure to market effectively. You may be good, your product may be spectacular, but you will stay broke and your product won’t sell unless you have a ridiculous and relentless marketing plan.
4. They immediately seek grants, investors or substantial loans,without testing and proving their basic business model (or how they will make money) actually works. Every business can be started on a small scale for about $1,000. Apple, Dell, Subway and myself all started with about $1,000. Start small, perfect it, then you deserve to expand.
3. They don’t have enough come-up capital. I have seen many beginning entrepreneurs open up lavish spectacular storefronts, but nine months later they are closed down. Why? They ran out of come-up capital to keep it going. They assumed that customers would just run to their doors dying to buy their products. You must test your business idea first on a small scale. Build your brand and customers base. When I started selling from the trunk of my car, I knew it worked but I also built a huge customer database list so that once my new store front opened, I could announce it to a constantly growing customer database list to make sure cash flow kept coming. I also did not stop selling from the trunk of my car (don’t you dare get comfortable) to keep cash flow consistent and I saved thousands for a cash cushion.
2. They don’t develop the essential qualities of successful entrepreneurs: discipline, perseverance, vision, creativity, a “Grind mentality.” If you currently have a 9 to 5, start operating your personal life like a business. Focus on making “You Inc.” profitable by trying to increase your income or reduce expenses to free up extra money that you can use as capital for your part-time hustle or full-time business. If you cannot make You Inc. (yourself) profitable, how do you expect to make another business profitable? This will also prove if you have developed discipline.
1. They start a business for the wrong reasons. They do it because they are excited about the opportunity of making lots of money, instead of starting a business based on who they are and aligning the business with their passion. Grind for Greatness!
Speaker, trainer, author & entrepreneur, James “Bird” Guess went from homeless to building a half-million dollar business from the trunk of his car, starting with only $1,000, poor credit and a dream to become a millionaire. He is now the founder of JBG International Success Academy, a personal development company that conducts seminars and training programs for working professionals, entrepreneurs and students to achieve their greatest potential using a success process called “Grinding.” James is the best-selling author of the book How I Made a Quarter Million Dollar$ From the Trunk of My Car, and his blog is www.jamesbirdguess.com/blog and you connect with him on facebook at www.facebook.com/jamesbirdguess
