Nicole Liloia is a former therapist turned accidental entrepreneur who does business strategy for other accidental entrepreneurs looking to scale their businesses and have multiple income streams. An accidental entrepreneur happens when someone starts making money doing something they enjoy, either through a hobby or side-hustle. They do not intend to start a business; they just start making money doing something they love and it evolves into a business. Nicole loves the business of owning a business, but it happened by accident. She thanks her batch system for keeping her business successful.
The Internet has given birth to many new types of business, it has also seen many new businesses fail because they do not have the systems and plans in place to make that business sustainable. Some of these businesses start off lucky, but then they end up spending more money then they are earning, but it you’re committed to running a business long term then you need to make it work.
Mindset and Strategy
Business owners need to understand that business has ups and downs, highs and lows. You need to know this and be okay with this. You need to know this is a regular business cycle and not to get upset and quit during the downs and lows. You have to have a positive mindset to deal with this.
You also need a strategy. You need to strategize for today, tomorrow, this month and the entire year. You do not want to be caught flying by the seat of your pants. If you do you will be wondering where your next income is going to come from long term, instead of working to grow your business with intention.
If you have a strategy then you can work to grow your business and make a long term plan.
Understand your numbers
The amount of time you put into your business will bring in an income, but it may not be profitable right off the bat. You need to really think about your metrics and figure out how many people you can work with in a day, week or year. How can you reach your income goals? Do you need to create passive income streams or other ways to earn money? You need to also account for the time you have available and how many people you will need to talk to make a sale. Track all numbers – how long it takes to convert a potential client, the length of your sales conversations, etc. How long are these people remaining in your pipeline? You need to take all this into account when looking at your income long term – each month contributes to your overall income goal.
Passive income is one possibility, however it is much easier to be successful with passive income once you already have a steady income flow. Passive income is generally a lower income source and needs a large audience to sell to. Many passive income sources need to be created and generally cost money to complete, i.e. due to graphic design, web design, etc. Passive income should be incorporated into your long-term business strategy.
Stay Visible
It can be hard to be and stay visible as an entrepreneur. You need to market yourself and be consistent with your visibility. You need to find a pattern of visibility that you are comfortable with. Nicole sets aside 90-days in which she does hard core marketing and then backs off the rest of the time to focus on her clients. Again, you need to measure what works for you and your business day-to-day and for your overall income goals. If you batch your marketing efforts and repeat it over a specific amount of time then you don’t have to be in selling mode all the time if you don’t want to be. You can let people know ahead of time when you will be accepting new clients (in advance of your goals), which gets us out of being an accidental entrepreneur and into an intentional, strategic entrepreneur. This will help you get and stay ahead.
Batch Activities
If you’re organized then you can take a step back and look at your goals and make sure you have enough money to run your business. This also allows you to batch your activities so nothing important is forgotten. For example, set aside a day and time a week or month where you can follow up with people. This way no one is forgotten. You will be able to build relationships this way and not forget about a potential client.
You can get a lot more done if you set aside a specific time to accomplish something rather than constantly stopping and starting again. You are also in the right frame of mind to stay focussed and be confident with the task at hand.
Nicole has a tool that helps people batch their business activities. Batch like a Boss helps business owners get ahead of stress, content, deadlines, and whatever else you need to do and start feeling accomplished and confident.
In order to be successful in business, be consistent, take action and have a clear, identifiable goal that can be measured and work every day to reach that goal and avoid panic mode.
Resources & Links
Nicole's Batch Like a Boss worksheet
Join the Free Facebook Community
Subscribe on iTunes
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