This is a Part II of blog post series highlighting excerpts from my forthcoming book Be Your Own Boss! How to Quit Your Job and Start Your Own Business in 12 Months or Less! The book will be released in February 2010 by Adams Media.
What can this book do for you?
Be Your Own Boss! is organized by month to lead you step by step through the process of how to transition from a job to small business ownership.
The bookcovers everything from life planning and personal finance, to marketing and business plans, to financial management, opening your business, and how to handle customer complaints.
Be Your Own Boss! is designed to help you lay out your personal long-term goals, get clarity on your personal and business financial picture, understand your personal strengths and weaknesses, lay out timelines for your transition, focus your activities to achieve your transition, set business goals and measurement, and anticipate obstacles that you will likely come across in your business and how to manage them. One of the best chapters in the book is 10 Things You Must Never Forget In Business.
Here’s the link to Part I The First 5 Things You Must Never Forget in Business https://succeedasyourownboss.com/07/2009/first-5-things-you-must-never-forget-in-business/
Now here’s Part II: 5 More Things You Must Never Forget in Business
6. Time – Your most valuable resource
As an entrepreneur, your time is the most valuable thing that you can give anyone, so treat it as such. Qualify prospective clients before you agree to meet with them. Have a clear timeline that you clarify up front with goals and objectives for the meeting. If the client does not have a budget that may suggest that they are not really ready to buy. Conduct as much pre-work over the phone as possible, and develop a check list of things you need from the client prior to developing a quote or attending a meeting. If you can, make the meeting in your office, so that you do not lose opportunity time if they do not show up.
Here are some general hints to manage your time more effectively.
- Be early for appointments
- Plan each day – make a “to do” and a “call list” list with priorities
- Never say “yes” when you need to say “no”
- Be strategic about what fundraisers and social events you attend
7. Get it in writing
Confirming the deal – My brother is an attorney and he has a saying, “a conversation never happened until you get it in writing.” There will be times in your business when you deal with clients who promise you things or tell you it’s a deal and then things fall apart. Do yourself a favor, never start any work or ship any product until you get a signed contract or purchase order.
8. Use reference letters as a report card
Ask for a reference letter. There are several reasons to do this:
Helps to build your business – if a client won’t give a letter, you need to know why. To date, I have always been given a letter, but that is a good door to open to make sure you are doing an excellent job.
Provides constructive feedback – No business is perfect, especially when you are just starting out. The letter will help you understand what you could have done better.
Creates a “positive buzz” -Asking for a letter is particularly important when you are first getting started. People need to see a good track record because they don’t want to risk dealing with a bad vendor.
9. Manage your client’s first impression
There is nothing worse than calling a place of business and having someone unprofessional or rude answer the phone. Think about how you get treated when you call a phone or cable company? They don’t seem to care very much about you. Well, that should not be the case in your business. The person answering the phone is your brand and the first line of offense when closing a new client. Your receptionist is the first person that really indicates the culture of your business and you must make sure this person is polite, friendly, and helpful.
Here are some hints to make that telephone call as impressive as a face-to-face meeting:
- Invest in a decent phone management system
- Answer promptly
- Identify the company, then yourself
- Use the “May I put you on hold” Policy
For home-based businesses, here’s a word of advice for you. Get separate phone and fax lines for your business and use voicemail.
10. Always fill the pipeline
No matter what else is going on, always need to know where your next bit of business is going to come from. In the fourth quarter, I’m already working on contracts for the first quarter of the next calendar year.
Here are some strategies you might find useful:
- Get information on your client’s budget cycle
- Nurture your relationships
- Prospect everywhere and all the time
This blog post is just a sample of information in my book, Be Your Own Boss! How to Quit Your Job and Start Your Own Business in 12 Months or Less! Look for more inside tips and giveaways as we get closer to the release of the book.
If this series of blog posts were helpful, I want to know about it. Please leave a comment below.
Hi Melinda
I am really enjoying your articles..Thank you.
Karen