Written by: Chris McClure, Guest Writer
Entrepreneurs and content creators are never lacking ideas for new products or services. However, this can become an “Achilles heel” that hinders your success. You may wonder how offering more options can be a bad thing for your business. The answer is CONFUSION. When you confuse your customers, you lose them. Think about it. When you go to the grocery store to buy cereal and see a wall of dozens of options, your brain gets overwhelmed and can freeze up. It would be much easier if you only had two or three options to choose from. The same is true for what you offer your ideal prospects. Keeping things clear and simple can make a huge impact on their lives, but also on yours.
If you’re struggling to simplify your business, spend a few minutes answering the following questions:
1. Who is your ideal customer or client?
Many people start their businesses without understanding who their target audience is. It’s easy to get excited about products, services, or messages that we want to share. If you’re not clear on who you want to serve, you’re likely to take a shotgun approach to your marketing which is expensive and ineffective.
2. What is your prospect’s greatest need or desire?
Once you know who you want to work with, you need to determine their greatest need or desire. What keeps them awake at night? What dreams do they have? What do they want to accomplish in their life, business, or relationships? Do the research to answer these questions in detail. When you do, you’ll have a much easier time connecting with them in your marketing messages and sales conversations.
3. What BIG result can you deliver to your customers or clients?
The reality is that your customers don’t care about your product or service. They care about getting results. It’s easy to fall in love with your creations, but you need to focus on delivering results more than the detailed features of what we have to offer. Name the big result they can expect so they don’t have to think long and hard to determine if what you have to offer is right for them.
4. What are you uniquely qualified to offer?
You are an expert. You’ve had educational training and real-life experiences that can benefit others. It’s easy to discount the things that may come naturally to you, but you need to shift your thinking and become very clear about the unique value you can offer others. Define it and write it down to keep it front and center in all you do.
5. What do you love doing?
This is where your passion meets your expertise to create a successful business. There are things you love to do that motivate you each day. When you match your passion with serving your customers, your work will begin to feel like play and the dread of daily tasks will fade away. Clearly assess what excites you, then put it to work.
6. What tasks would you love to stop doing?
We all have ever-growing to-do lists, but few of us invest the time to determine what we should stop doing. As you build your business, it becomes easy to add layers of complexity to what you do. Simplifying your business requires pruning or stripping away things that are distractions. Even good things aren’t the best for you to do if they hinder you from achieving your goals. Make a “stop doing list” and stick to it.
7. What does your ideal weekly schedule look like?
One advantage of building your own business is the ability to set your own schedule. This is foreign to most people because they’re so conditioned to working the 9 am ‒ 5 pm hours that the corporate world has established. However, to build the kind of business you love, you need to determine what your ideal weekly schedule looks like. Then, build your business with that in mind.
Building a business you love that gives you the lifestyle you want requires thinking through key questions like these. Invest the time to sit down and journal your thoughts, then begin to act on what you discover.
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Chris McClure, Brainz Magazine Guest Writer
Chris McClure is a pastor-turned-entrepreneur who stepped away from a “safe” career after 20 years to start his own life, leadership, and business coaching practice. He helps business owners and executives navigate challenges and achieve their goals so they can experience professional success and personal fulfillment.
Chris has published two books – “The Way To Greatness” and “The Magnetic Leader.” He also hosts the Magnetic Leadership podcast and regularly blogs on the topics of leadership and business.
