Three weeks ago, 70 of your Maui Mastermind peers joined us in Orange County, CA for a 3 day workshop on business planning.
One of the things that really came clear for me was how important it is to focus in your business on the things that make the REAL difference, not just the sexy, glamorous things we want to focus on instead.
I’d like to take a stab at “bottom lining†your focus as a business owner—Level by Level—today.
Level One: 4 things you MUST do…
1. Clarify your business concept and do your market research.
2. Create your draft business plan.
3. Test market your offer so you get REAL feedback from people in your market.
4. LAUNCH!
Early Stage Level Two: Sell, sell, sell, sell. All kidding aside, if you’ve got an Early Stage Level Two business, no need doing fancy systems or planning 5 years down the road. You’ve got to make those early sales that ensure you have the cash flow to survive!
Middle Stage Level Two: Build out your core system(s) in four areas:
1. Lead generation (so you have a baseline system for reliably generating a minimum level of leads).
2. Lead conversion (so you have a baseline system for reliably converting your leads into paying customers.)
3. Fulfillment or production of your core product or service.
4. Your accounts receivable system to collect on the money you’re owed.
Advanced Stage Level Two: Finish fleshing out your systems, controls, and winning management team. This is the time you’re scaling your business and you need these building blocks to do it well.
Level Three: Deciding, planning, and executing on your exit strategy… whether that be to sell, to own your business passively, or to scale it much larger.
These are the bottom lines by Level and Stage. Don’t make things overly complicated. Building a business is a known equation. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
I hope these ideas sparked you today.
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