There’s good business, there’s great business – and then there’s kick-ass business. The business that gets out there and just keeping exceeding targets, building teams and connections, and making money (don’t forget money).
The best-selling author of The Art of Kicking Ass Elegantly, Michelle Hext, outlines the five rules she’s followed in her 23 years as a thriving entrepreneur.
1. Start with the end in mind
Don’t feel as though you need to start small and work your way up. Whether you launch with a $2,500 product or a $25,000 product, the risk is still the same. So if you dream of creating a high end program that combines travel to exotic locations, start there.
When I launched my Art Of Kicking Ass Elegantly brand, I launched with a $25,000 mastermind program. I was far more inspired to push through any hiccups along the way because my desire to run this program was high, far higher than if I had decided to launch small and hope to one day launch my dream program.
2. Get your ducks are in a row
Entrepreneurs have a tendency to be impatient. It’s part our genetic make-up, and which it serves us well in some instances it can also set us on a path of chaos. Don’t rush just to get things done so you can meet a self-imposed deadline.
In my experience, planning a launch always takes much longer than you could imagine. There are always many more moving parts than you first anticipated and often these details don’t surface until you’re in the thick of it. You need to give yourself time to complete, test, tweak, re-test and re-tweak if need be.
It also pays to be mindful that even when you do meet deadlines, some of the people you’re relying on might not. So building in a time buffer pays dividends in terms of sleep not lost and grey hairs not gained!
3. Go Profesh
We’ve all seen those videos or sales pages that make us cringe. Don’t be that girl! If you don’t feel a deep and profound sense of pride about the thing you’re about to let loose into the big wide world, don’t release it.
Be sure to only get your best thinking, presented in the most professional way possible out into the world. Videos made with the washing basket on the bench behind you or sales pages that in no way match the rest of your website will do your business harm.
Always ask yourself “is this my best work” before you send it out there, if not hold on to it until you can do it better.
4. Know your pitch
Ever sat at a networking event where everyone gets 60 seconds to pitch? Have you noticed that at the end of 60 seconds you’re often no wiser about what the person does than you were before they started? Sometimes the pitch is simply so beige that you tune out 3 seconds in!
If someone asks you what you do, you want to be able to knock’em dead with a pitch that has them saying “wow!! Tell me more”.
The key here is to succinctly and powerfully spit out a sentence that engages and also encapsulates the essence of what you do – your hook. If you do that right the questions will keep coming and you get to share more of the good stuff and earn the opportunity to sell your wares.
5. Stay within your zone of genius
Feeling the need to offer services outside your zone of genius in order to win a client or keep them happy is a trap. You’re brilliant at what you do so stick to that and only that.
If you’re not exceptionally good at social media marketing don’t offer it as a service to your clients. If you’re not an excellent copywriter don’t offer to write copy for your clients’ sales page. When you start to offer things outside your area of expertise it can quickly become a monkey on your back that you cannot shake no matter how hard you try.
Stick to what you’re good at and refer someone else who you know is brilliant at the ‘other’ things. Or, alternatively, bring someone in to those ‘other’ things you want to include but aren’t awesome at.