We’ve all been there in one way or another. We’re invited to a 3-day success seminar with the promise of revealing some unknown secrets for becoming substantially wealthy…quickly. Right? You’re pumped to be attending because you’re tired of being stuck in the rat-race of chasing paychecks just to make ends meet. Or perhaps things are just not happening fast enough for you, and you’re looking for that magic ingredient that will move you into the next tax bracket.
You end up sitting through three days of proficient speakers talking about how they’ve made millions in their own business and now they are ready to share their knowledge with you. The entire weekend these speakers motivate and engage you in the dream of entrepreneurship. All you have to do is commit to purchasing their “business in a box” program. They’ve done all the work for you. Just follow their instructions.
You’re so inundated with business ideas that seem exciting and feasible, and you’re afraid that you will miss out on an opportunity if you don’t act now. At the end of the three days, they throw in the unbelievable offer that is sure to get you to take the leap into entrepreneurship.
Sound familiar?
If not – good for you! These success seminars are wholly designed to tap into your emotions. They are professional at understanding exactly what will motivate you to buy into their programs whether you are prepared for it or not. But what happens once the seminar is over and it’s time to go back to life as usual?
What happens is that you return home with every intent on building your new business. But you realize very quickly that you don’t know what to do. What do you do first, what is next, etc? For that matter, these “business-in-a-box” programs are simply the business model. Meaning it’s the idea of the business and they only provide the guidelines for that particular model. It’s like deciding to start a podcast business. The package provides instructions on what equipment you’ll need, what podcast streaming provider to choose, how to run a podcast, and how to build an audience. What it doesn’t teach is how to build a successful business around your podcast.
It doesn’t tell you how to do a market study, or build a sales funnel, or even how to ensure that your subject matter is viable. It doesn’t tell you how to market your podcast to bring in additional listeners, or how to build a support team around you to ensure everything runs smoothly. It also doesn’t tell you how to plan for the growth of your podcast and set goals and objectives that will take your business to the next step.
The fact of the matter is, although the idea behind what is presented at these success seminars may be exciting, what you are purchasing is a business! Therefore, you need to run it as a business. The business model that you purchased is the beginning of the growth stage of your business. Most refer to it as the napkin stage.
There are five phases to early-stage business growth. The first phase is “See It.” This phase is where you have the idea for your business. Very similar to what you bought at the seminar. The second phase is the “Prove It” phase. This is where you confirm that your target market even wants what you’re selling. Is it a viable product or service, or in the case of the podcast…subject content? The third phase is the “Build It” phase. This is where all the hard work happens. It is where you actually build the business, its systems, and processes, and figure out milestone dates and budget costs. The fourth phase is the “Fund It” phase. This is where you figure out how you will pay for everything. Now that you have a budget, where will the money come from? Finally, the fifth phase is the “Grow It” phase. This phase is where you take your business and grow it year after year.
So before you jump in and spend thousands of dollars on the so-called proven “Business in a box” programs, make sure you know going in what you will still have to accomplish to make that business thrive and product revenue.
MarketAtomy has developed an online learning management system (LMS) called MarketAtomy.Academy is specifically designed to help you learn the skills and knowledge needed to grow your new business. Also, by clicking here, you will receive a FREE report on the 5-steps to taking your new business to the next level.
MarketAtomy, LLC is a growth development-learning environment for small and medium business owners with one goal in mind…to empower them with the tools and knowledge needed to build their business on a rock-solid foundation. Through foresight and fortitude, entrepreneurial dreams become a reality. For more information, please visit marketatomy.com. Visit MarketAtomy.Academy to find out about the only Learning Management System developed for early-stage business growth.
