One of the things that I love to talk about more than anything else is the personalization of business. How you can make your business custom and unique to you. You do not have to be like everybody else, but what I'm going to talk about today in today's show is the basics. I want to talk about the things that are the non-negotiables in business that yes everybody should have. So join me today and let's take a look at what these things are.
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I'm Jen Argue, I have been leading masterminds for the past five years for six and seven-figure entrepreneurs, and I would love to help you start your own mastermind as well so that you can create a really big impact with those around you and work a lot less and make a lot more at the same time.
There are four things that every business owner needs to think about and should have incorporated into their business in some shape or form. So number one, the biggest non-negotiable is everybody needs to know their numbers. I remember when I first started my own business and somebody said, if you don't know your numbers, you don't have a business.
And you might be surprised. But when I was starting to do masterminds and I was having, once my masterminds had grown to the point which they grew pretty quickly to the point where I was getting in entrepreneurs who were making at least $5,000 a month up to $15,000 a month or more. A lot of them didn't know their numbers, and some were even still using their personal bank accounts for their business.
They would just get the money in. It would go to their personal bank account, and then they would just spend it. Without really keeping track in an official way, and it's not surprising sometimes if somebody grows really fast, I totally get it, you know, you're focused on the business. But that's one of the first things I would do with all of my clients is let's look at all your legal and financial aspects.
And it's not that uncommon for somebody not to know their numbers. And one of my really good friends is bookkeeper and she has a business all based on helping entrepreneurs with their bookkeeping. And that's where I learned my bookkeeping was from her Courtney Boudet, if you want to look her up. And this is one of the hardest things I think for entrepreneurs because we are the visionaries.
We are the dreamers, we are the people who are focused on ideas like a lot of abstract things, and to be super focused on details and systems that are involved with financials is...pretty much not our wheelhouse [laughs] most of the time, but it needs to be part of your wheelhouse in the sense that you at least know your basic numbers.
You know your profit and loss statement. You know what your revenue is compared to your profit, so that when you want to spend money and you want to buy or invest in something to help take your business to the next level. You can actually consider what the ROI is of that, the return on investment, or even when you have your programs and you're looking at what each of your products and offers and services make every month or over the course of a year.
Then you can decide which ones are worth keeping and which ones aren't, and if there's one that doesn't look like it's worth keeping, but you really love it and you want to keep it, how you can change it up to make it worthwhile financially for you as well. So number one, knowing your numbers is something everybody has to do, and I rarely say that.
I rarely say that there's anything you have to do, but knowing your numbers is definitely one of them. Number two, setting up systems, systems are what are going to save you and are going to give you the freedom in your life, which is all why you started this entrepreneurial dream. I'm guessing you not only started this entrepreneurial dream in order to change people's lives and to make this world a better place, but you also, I bet, wanted time freedom.
And you wanted more control of your schedule so that you can take your kids to the doctor when they had those appointments in the middle of the day instead of having to ask off for work, or you want to be able to call your own vacation instead of being on somebody else's schedule, or you wanted to be able to work abroad or work while you're traveling instead of not being able to.
Be paid while you travel. There are all these things that we want, and when it comes to freedom and having systems is part of that. For me I really believe that you can build a successful business on any platform with any type of product. Believe me, I have seen just about everything.
As far as people building successful, profitable businesses in all different ways, but there is one thing that the most successful people have in common, and that is systems. Without systems and schedules or things that you have set up in your business in order to run more smoothly.
Even SOPs - Standard order of Procedures, which is just like a routine. It's a routine of how you do something. Without those things in place, you are not going to have as much freedom as you could. And so that is another basic that every business needs.
If only you could tell that I am just getting goosebumps right now because I am not a half-two person. I am a rebel. I'm a person who...if you say you have to do something one way, I'm going to say, oh yeah, I bet I can prove it to you, that I don't. I am a resourceful, creative person and I love to do things differently.
But these are the things that really you have to do, that everybody has to do to have the best high-performing, profitable business that you can. These things you really cannot get around and systems are one of them. The third thing that you cannot be without is a lead gen system. So some type of way that you are creating leads in your business.
Now, what a lot of people will say is the money is in the email list, and yes, the money is in the email list, but I'm going to say something that is unpopular and that is that. You maybe don't need an email list. An email list is not a non-negotiable in my mind because I have seen successful multi-seven-figure businesses, even eight-figure businesses that frankly don't operate off of the growth of their email list.
Instead, though they do operate off of very effective lead generation. Which typically either has to do with their marketing direct to customer, whether that is a customer or a business, or it has to do with their strong affiliate partnerships. So, whether it's an email list, whether it's direct marketing, or whether it is affiliate marketing, they do have a lead generation system set in place.
There is a way for customers to find them and want them. Some type of attractive marketing. So one of the businesses that comes to mind is this fitness program. I just love it. I'm in it myself, and this fitness program just operates off of Facebook. It is the most mind-blowing thing possible when they have a closed membership, which means they only open their doors at specific times, so you cannot get in the program when the doors aren't open, but they're not collecting emails.
In the closed time, they are not. I actually asked if I could get on a waitlist before they open their doors so I wouldn't forget. And they said we don't have a waitlist. Still to this day, they don't have a waitlist. They just say their doors are open, they post it on Facebook. They're primarily running their entire business on Facebook.
They do have some marketing on Instagram as well. But they're not heavily marketing it. [laugh] They are truly relying on the people within the program to talk up the program and invite people in. And they're not even rewarding people really for bringing their friends into the program. It's just the results of the program speak for themselves.
The people are very hyped. They have built a super strong community. And they are a thriving multi-seven-figure business. It is truly amazing and mind-blowing to me that they do not market to their email list. Now, they might start a little bit, but I don't see them in my email box and they have my email because I used it when I paid for the program.
So that's interesting, right? But I'm debunking the theory that you need a big email list in order to grow your business. You do not, but you do need a lead generation system and that is a non-negotiable. Whether you are using the email base to grow your business. Or you are using affiliate marketing or you are doing direct marketing to your clients via, you know, organic type posting and going live, doing some type of launch or not, or just using affiliates and using, you know, people to talk about your program and bring it in, like this fitness program that I'm in.
So a lead generation system is definitely something that you need because that whole adage of...And I'm going to say it wrong because I know there is a very specific way to say this phrase. If you build it, they will come that whatever that quote specifically is, we all know in the entrepreneurial world that that is not true.
If people do not know about you, people are not going to come to you. Maybe if you have really good SEO but other than that, it does take some effort to get visible and be seen and to get your marketing across. The message of what you have to serve people is something that they desire and can really help them solve their problem.
The fourth element that everybody needs in their business is a way to create reoccurring sales from your current customers. That is a key way to keep your business alive and growing. If people come into your business and they just buy once and there's nothing else for them, then that takes a lot more effort than to create something else for them to want to buy.
The people who have already bought from you already know, like, and trust you, and most likely want to buy more from you. So it's up to you to find out what it is that you can continue to serve your existing customers with in some way that they still need. And doing that is the easiest sale. The easiest sale is from the person who's already bought from you than from somebody who hasn't.
And so think about your business. What is some way that you can create that reoccurring sale from your current customer base? When I was referring to that fitness program before, They didn't have that. It was the type of program where you buy once and you're in for life, even though they close the doors and reopen the membership.
People who have bought previously, they just join in the next round with all the new people who have just come in and there's no way to continue to spend money. Well, now they have offered something new. And now you can purchase more things from them, which serve their fitness goals that they know you have and they have for you.
So they have figured that out and they have started to implement that and it is working. And so think about for your business, how can you do that in your business? So again, you know that I rarely say anything has to be done in a specific way, that to have a successful thriving business, that you have to do it one specific way.
No, I do not believe that at all. I have seen so many successful businesses run in completely different ways, but these four things truly are non-negotiables for having a profitable, thriving business. You definitely have to have your numbers under control. You have to know your numbers. You have to have your systems set up in order to give you more freedom.
Systems equal freedom. You have to have something that generates leads in your business so you can make sales to new people. And you have to have some type of way of selling again to people who have already bought from you. So reoccurring sales from current customers. If you just have those four things in your business, you are going to do great.
And I wanted to do a special show on that just today because it's just important to remember what the basics are and to always come back to the basics so that we can make sure that we are staying on track to a business that is healthy and profitable. If you would like to talk about your business, I would love to hear about it, give you feedback, see where you're at, and help you see your business with eyes that are a little bit more objective than what you're seeing your business through because we know it is hard to read the label from inside the jar, right? When we're so close to our own things.
Sometimes it's hard to just think. It's like genius blindness, right? It's like we can't, we can be geniuses when we're looking at other people's businesses, but when we think of our own, it's sometimes hard to see what is actually quite obvious to people looking in from the outside.
So if you would like some fresh eyes on your business, give me a call. I will put the link wherever you're listening, and I would love to connect with you.
Thank you so much for listening today. I hope that if you found value in this that you would subscribe to my podcast and share it with a friend and leave a review.
Thank you so much!
