5 Things You Need for a Quick, Successful Startup

We are inundated with information about how to start a business. Unfortunately, it’s all bits and pieces of information that don’t fit together. Build a list or start a course, high ticket program or kickstart offer, speak on the stage or start a membership, and that’s just a small sample of what’s out there.

And to make matters worse, much of what is available that is called ‘business startup advice’ is incomplete, wrong, and taught by people who do not know anything about business, have no business experience, and don’t have business degrees. I have heard plenty of horror stories, you probably have too.

Startup advice should be simple, straightforward, affordable, and easy to implement. Where do you start? In this week’s podcast I talk about 5 things you need for business startup success. 

Thinking about starting a business? Here are 5 things you need to do for a quick, successful startup. The GPS Business Podcast is your business training resource with tips, tactics, and training to start your business the ‘cash flow to profit’ way, with Jennifer Hoffman,  the iconic business expert and cash flow catalyst with the intuitive advantage.

1,  Implement a cash flow plan from the start. You do not have to provide expensive courses, programs, and coaching. In fact, it’s better that you don’t. Instead, focus on high volume, not high prices. You’ll create a better cash flow stream with more consistent and predictable revenues, and you will provide affordable solutions for your customers. It goes against every economic principle to think that there are throngs of people wanting to pay thousands for your programs. It’s fine to have a passion and a vision to ‘help people’ but you are in business to make money and earn a profit. If you do not have your revenue and cash flow as prominent goals you will not make any money in your business.

2.  Start small and build up. Houses are not built from the top down, they are built from the bottom up. Every house starts with a hole in the ground (for a basement) or a concrete slab on the ground. Don’t focus on high prices or high value clients, there are not that many people who will pay you thousands for your solutions.

3.  Do your marketing diligently. Marketing is not sales but marketing leads to sales. While you cannot sell to your audiences all of the time, you do need to promote your products and services regularly. Whether you launch using webinars or live or online events, marketing is an important part of your business.

4.  Stop fearing the competition. There is no competition on the internet. That’s why we focus on building your platform in the GPS Business Academy programs, and not your niche. If you think you are not making as much money as others, don’t be fooled. There are a lot of deceivers out there, not being mean here but it’s the truth. The people who tell you they make millions probably do but what they do not tell you is 80% or more of those millions are spent on advertising. No one ever shares their profit margins. Look at their engagement numbers on their social media sites too. Someone with 5 million followers who only gets 36 comments or likes on a post has paid for their following and their numbers are fake.

5.  Be confident in what you know. People will follow you because of a shared experience, relevance, and resonance. They want to know you are authentic and you understand them. When they are in a tough place they don’t care how many millions you make, that’s like telling someone who is thirsty that you just had a glass of water and it was great. Give them the water, let them experience you as a teacher, mentor, and friend. That begins the journey to loyalty, not showing them your million $$ house.

And the most important thing – focus on your cash flow. You cannot manage a business if you are not making money and while everyone likes to teach all about business strategies – like building your list, creating a course, creating different revenue streams, speaking on the stage, it’s all part of a ‘hit and miss’ strategy that never really addresses the core steps to start a business that reaches an audience and generates revenue on a consistent basis.

Authenticity is the name of the game. You are authentic in your story, your experience is your expertise, don’t doubt yourself and no one else will doubt you. Be confident, your story is your ticket to business success, market yourself with clarity and confidence, and focus on cash flow because you are in business to make money.