Every great business starts with a winning idea, but you cannot simply ride your concept to the finish line. Even the best ideas can go bust if you don’t employ all the right tactics and put your all into bringing your dream to life. Thankfully, you can get the inside scoop on how to start a successful business by looking to mentors like LifeWave CEO, Inventor and Founder David Schmidt. Ready to get going on turning your idea into a profitable enterprise? Here’s a look at his advice on just what you need to do.
Build a Strong Professional Network
When it comes to making it big in the business world, David Schmidt believes your social network plays a big role in your chance for success. By knowing or getting to know the right people who have certain types of expertise, you can get helpful insights and perspectives that help you avoid potentially costly pitfalls.
On top of that, amazing deals might even come your way as people in your social circle introduce you to material suppliers, service providers, and other key players. As you get going in offering your own products and services, your network may refer your company to other people in their lives, letting you enjoy the benefits from what can be powerful word-of-mouth marketing.
Define Your Mission, Values, and Goals
To build a profitable business, you need a roadmap to follow, so you can stay the course no matter what comes your way. You can create that roadmap by clearly defining your company’s mission, values, and goals.
The mission should explain why your business exists and whom you aim to help with your products and services. As for values, spell out the guiding principles that will help lead your company to greatness, like integrity, boldness, and fun.
Your company goals are the achievements you hope to earn by running your business. Although profitability is important, think beyond money alone. Why are you choosing to embark on a certain entrepreneurial path? What is your ‘why” for doing what you are doing? Do you want to solve a problem that would have great benefit if you did? Make the world a better place? There’s no limit to what you can do, so think big and reach for the stars.
Scope Out Your Top Three Competitors
You cannot build a successful business in a vacuum, so look to your top three competitors from the very start. Learn what they are doing, what their reputation is, what people are saying about them, how successful they are. Then, continue to check back in to see what they’re doing through the months and years to follow.
You’ll want to check their:
- Websites
- Social media accounts
- Search engine optimization efforts
- Press Releases
- Annual statements if they are a public company
- Articles written about them
- And more
Whether your competitors have built a big brand presence or never made it out of the gate, you can learn from their journey and apply that knowledge to building your own company.
Figure Out How to Stand Out from the Crowd
Once you have a good idea about what your competitors are doing – and what’s working and not working for them – you will need to figure out how to stand out from the crowd. There’s only one you, after all, and the unique approach you bring to the table can help launch your business and can even bring more success than you anticipate.
In the end, you’ll want to stay true to your own perspectives on how to do things even if it takes a little while for your way to catch on. As David Schmidt always says, “Be yourself. Never give up on your dream. You will make it despite what people tell you, and despite the fact that most people fail. You will win.” So, don’t be afraid to set yourself apart from your competitors and see where your unique journey takes you.
Meet with a Lawyer for Contracts and More
No matter what approach you decide to take, always have the nuts and bolts of your plan looked over by attorney specialists. You can avoid serious legal issues by having them assess your business plan, draw up your contracts, and look over documents you’ve signed in the past.
If you’re starting a business in the same industry as you worked before, you may have signed non-compete agreements, for example, barring you from launching your own enterprise. By making sure that’s not the case ahead of time, it’s possible to kickstart your company without any legal complications standing in your way.
Create Your Procedures and Processes
Upon getting the green light on your project from an experienced lawyer, it’s time to start creating your procedures and processes. Although your company may launch with just you alone, standardizing your approach will allow you to scale up in the future.
Beyond that, clearly defined procedures allow you to offer your clients a consistent experience and the highest quality of service. You can then rest assured that all your clients get the best your company has to offer through every interaction with your brand.
To start, simply write down what you do and how you do it. Then, continue to hone your processes to best suit the needs of your clients.
Focus on Meeting Goals Each and Every Day
Achieving business success is rarely a linear journey. It’s common to experience setbacks that take the wind out of your sails and leave you questioning what you’re doing. As that occurs, you absolutely have to regroup and focus on continuing to meet goals each and every day – even when you don’t want to.
As LifeWave CEO and Founder, David Schmidt has pushed past setbacks and experienced the magic of staying on the path to success. Through that, he has developed the mantra, “Do the basics over and over and you will succeed.” As long as you’re just putting one foot in front of another, you’ll eventually land where you want to be despite the obstacles along the way. Of course there is more to it, but pushing ahead with persistence and a positive spirit, seeking help from others and leveraging the members on your team who are in it with you, can really tip the odds in your favor to succeed.
Make Excellent Customer Service a Top Priority
You cannot achieve true business success if you don’t wow your customers with quality service and support. Even if you have the best products and services on the market, bad customer service will send customers out the door in search of a better buying experience. People want to feel valued, after all, so it’s important to consistently show your clients how much they mean to you.
To do that, you’ll need to personalize your customer service and bring a lot of empathy to the table when handling concerns. Then, go above and beyond in adding value to the customer purchase experience with quality packaging, loyalty rewards, and special offers.
After your customers enjoy your excellent service and support, your products and services need to exceed their every expectation as well. If you can hit the target across the board, then you’ll earn many repeat customers without having to spend tons of extra money marketing to them.
Plan to Take Calculated Risks for Big Rewards
Although it’s tempting to play it safe as you launch and grow your business, taking risks offers the biggest chance at great rewards. But before you take the leap, just ask yourself what you stand to gain and how things might go sideways.
With that information, you can weigh the risks and benefits to see if it’s worth forging ahead. If not, then perhaps you can revise your approach to risk a bit less without compromising too much on the rewards.
Over time, as you take calculated risks, your efforts may end up paying off big time. You can then use your wins to decide how to scale up your business and reach even greater heights than ever before.
As you work through LifeWave CEO and Founder David Schmidt’s tips on how to start a successful business, you’ll move ever closer to creating the profitable company of your dreams. Even when things seem rather bleak, just remember to always keep moving one step forward each day. Before you know it, your efforts will undoubtedly be rewarded as you start achieving your goals one by one.
