~by Haley Lynn Gray~
When you leave corporate and enter into the world of entrepreneurship, the first thing to become obvious is that no one tells you what to do or how to do it. You are the one expected to make all the decisions.
That means you get to decide when you’re going to get up in the morning, when you go to bed at night, how many hours a day you work, how you work, which tasks you perform, and every minuscule detail that pertains to your business.
The number of decisions you have to make is, frankly, overwhelming. Payroll, insurance, bonding, licensing, phones, answering service, office environment, what color of pen you write with, what order of tasks you plan to do, and more.
The easiest thing you can do is to create a list of goals. By goals, I mean measurable, attainable, realistic, goals that are results-oriented. You will acquire X number of clients in a month and you will make X number of calls on prospective clients or complete X number of calls.
There will be thousands (literally thousands) of things demanding your attention, so you’ll have to decide which things are most important. Focus on the things that bring you money or have the most potential to bring in money. For example, you should make a point of spending a set amount of time each day selling. That means you have to make contacts with a certain number of prospective clients each day.
I’ve seen some people make goals to get a certain number of contacts per day or a certain number of “Nos” each week. Whatever you do, focus on obtaining clients first, as the rest of the business depends on getting clients.
Additionally, you need to find clients wherever they tend to live. For instance, if they live online, you should go fishing online. If they live offline, you should put yourself in their way in the offline world. I put myself squarely in front of other business owners online and offline and offer strategy sessions. I get to help people and sometimes I even get a client out of the deal.
The reality is you don’t have to make all the decisions at once. Just focus on getting clients for a good portion of each day. You don’t have to have a killer website, Facebook page, thousands of people on your email list, and more. You just have to get clients, and that is what’s most important in the early days of your business.
Meet the Author: Haley Lynn Gray
Haley helps female entrepreneurs create a strategy plan for their businesses – so they can make enough money to spend quality time with their family, pay for their children’s dance lessons, pay bills – and not worry about where the next client is coming from.
Haley is a serial entrepreneur and founder of Leadership Girl. She helps other entrepreneurs build their businesses by sharing the benefits of her business education and experience through Business Coaching. Whether you want to get a new business off the ground or expand an existing business, Haley can assist you.
Connect with Haley:
- Work with Haley
- Facebook Page: @Leadershipgirl
