When it comes to running a successful business, you’ll find entire libraries full of basically the same advice.
But what if you’re tired of hearing the same thing over and over again? Are there other types of tricks that you can employ instead? Ones that are rarely used?
These tips and tricks are tried and true by successful businessmen and women who experimented with all sorts of strategies before settling on these unusual ones.
From a trick that can help you make an amazing first impression to just the thing you need when you don’t have the budget, let’s get started!
Good to Great
by Jim Collins
⏱ 14 minutes reading time
🎧 Audio version available
You Have 90 Seconds to Make an Impact
This impactful tip is credited to Robert Herjavoc, who has built and sold several companies to global brands. But you may recognize him more for this award-winning show for new entrepreneurs, Shark Tank.
Throughout his years in business, Herjavoc realized that you only have 90 seconds to present your case to your clients. Ninety seconds to make an impact. And 90 seconds to show your expertise and confidence.
Facts and figures do matter, but confidently presenting your pitch in such a unique way is key. He believes that unless you’re capable of persuading your clients quickly, they’ll just ignore you or forget you.
Now, how can you apply this tip to your own business? Catching a client’s eye can be in the form of creating memorable visuals such as a logo design.
Other than that, you’re a business owner! And you get to design your business however you want. You control everything from the aesthetic of your brand to what your products and services are.
Yes, sometimes, making decisions can be daunting. But you know what?
As Herjavoc advised, even if your decision fails or succeeds, it’s crucial to stand behind it with confidence. Once you start carrying yourself with confidence, others will recognize it, including your clients, employees, and investors.
Your Network is Your Net Worth
This advice comes from Tim Ferriss, who’s a successful author with three best-selling books and an investment portfolio in his name. Ferris is also responsible for the number one ranked business podcast show.
Having a successful business comes down to how your friends are. Ferriss also puts it down to there being five people who you frequently associate with– those are the ones who make the most impact on your business. Put all of them altogether, and you have the “average” of all their influences.
You can have the best product in the world, one that will solve a person’s every problem at a crazy affordable price, but you won’t be able to sell it without having connections. While connections don’t necessarily mean having Mark Zuckerberg eyeing your company, those you surround yourself with matter.
In fact, according to Ferriss, this is the most important aspect of success. Revenue may be your priority at the moment, but looking up from your accounting books to focus on lesser-known elements of business may just save it.
Hang out with the best people who are in your field and network. The people you end up connecting with can be assets, and that relationship can evolve into having a loyal customer who recommends the next person. Or you can meet a fellow business owner who helps you in the long run.
Success is 80% Psychology and 20% Mechanics
According to renowned business strategist and philanthropist Tony Robbins, an expert on leadership psychology, success depends on your mindset. That 80% is what’s going to transform your business completely.
Concepts and business plans don’t make a perfect foundation to build a business on. It’s your mindset that’s the fundamental element here.
Once you have the correct mindset to build a business empire, then the rest easily falls down to mechanics.
Passion and Wisdom Go Together
Every successful business idea is built on passion. It’s the passion that pushes and drives you to improve constantly as your business grows or meets obstacles.
However, passion may push you forward, but there is no guarantee that it will push you in the right direction. But you know what will? Wisdom and knowledge.
A lot of advice tells business owners to either forgo their intense passion altogether, or they say to keep holding on to it as tightly as possible. But finding a balance is the key.
Think of this trick as driving a car. Your passion is the one controlling the gas pedal, but your mind is the one operating the steering wheel. You’re focused, and you’re confident. You know which direction you’re taking, and you have the passion-driven momentum you need to get there.
Pitch Your Product Early
Do you have a new product or idea in the works, but you’re just waiting for perfection? According to Lewis Howes, the host of the popular podcast ‘Lewis Howes’ and the author of the best-selling book, The School of Greatness, success may be launching your product early rather than waiting for perfection.
Looking for perfection is a mistake. Whenever it’s ready, you should launch your product– perfect or not. A lot of people wait until some level of perfection is achieved, or some goal is met. But it’s best to present your product as it is, get some constructive feedback on it, and fix it now rather than delaying it.
Not only is this how you build a successful, working product, but this is also how to build your brand identity. You test, get feedback, learn, and improve. That innovation-perfection scheme is delaying you.
Take it from Syed Balkhi, the founder and WPBBeginner and Optinmonster, and several successful online businesses. Being in the industry for over 25 years taught him that innovation is “messy” and perfection is a “curse.”
People wait for too long to launch to go into the market because they don’t think their product is perfect or innovative enough. As soon as it’s physically possible, it’s best to test with customers. Once you see what the world has to say about it, you can improve and learn from their reaction. Now, you have the edge over your competitors.
Related: How to Grow Your Business Faster by Doing Less
View Your Competitors As Friends and Colleagues
Viewing other businesses as your competitors, your enemy, is a mistake. Everyone advises business owners to see competition as their enemy.
Still, Michelle Schroder, who runs the successful lifestyle and financial blog, Making Sense of Cents– which brings her a revenue over $70,000 per month, by the way– says that the key to success is to stop this mindset.
Schroder believes that viewing others in your industry or niche will only hold you back. This sort of behavior won’t allow you to learn all the secrets and tips of an industry. Budding entrepreneurs should aim to learn from experienced and successful people in their area.
Hire Freelancers
Our number one trick that can completely transform your business is a little unorthodox. Every business owner knows that it’s all too easy to get up caught up over your head when you’re running a business.
The front desk needs to be manned. Back-office tasks are piling up, recruiting, marketing, accounting, arranging for deliveries, paying invoices– the list of tasks goes for a mile. And while it’s important to have a perspective of your company and “keep your boots on the ground,” you don’t want to get overwhelmed.
And as your business grows, it’s impossible to do it all alone. And sometimes, it’s nearly impossible to find adequate talent and people who share your passion. And you may not even be able to afford it at times.
But you’re not alone. An extra set of hands can join you on the deck, but not in the form you may be used to. In this day and age, partnering up with freelancers is the way to grow your business.
There are freelancers available for every sort of company and industry, and they’re a budget-friendly way to have part-time experts whenever you need them.
Depending on what you need, one freelancer or several can fill in the gap between employees or whenever you need someone to do just a few tasks.
Now that you have extra time on your hands, the more pressing matters can be handled– and no quality has been compromised.
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