I Lost a Client

I lost a client this month.

Usually, that’s one of the most challenging realities of a business owner. Losing a client can be discouraging.

But in this case, it was a victory! No, it’s not for the reason you think – they weren’t a difficult or overly demanding client. They didn’t leave me for a competing firm or suddenly stop paying bills or replying to messages.

Instead – they were successful.

That’s right. Successful. Our past year of taking intentional photos of their products, strategically targeting their social media audience, and even taking advantage of Facebook algorithms led to so much success that they decided to hire a full-time employee dedicated to 24/7 digital marketing.

Is there a better way to lose a client? Probably not. It was an honor to serve their business and help them better communicate with their clients. Our efforts were rewarded in a very tangible way.

So many businesses are still struggling to invest correctly in digital marketing. Many business owners don’t understand why it’s such a powerful influencer. Or they may see it working for their competitor but they haven’t invested enough time for it to work for their own business.

In just one year, we were able to help one of these businesses learn the value of using social media strategically. One of my goals is to see other businesses succeed. Even if that means helping train my own replacement once they’ve expanded to the point of hiring full-time employees. That’s quite the testimony of success!

Majoring in the Minors

When you’re starting a business, it’s incredibly easy to get caught up in what I call “majoring in the minors.” What I mean by that is, you get so focused on the minor details of the business that you neglect the most crucial element for success – does this business concept work?

Don’t misunderstand me, “minor” details have an important place in business. Successful companies get every last detail fine tuned. But at the start, your energy needs to be focused on the viability of your product or service. Ask yourself questions like, “How will the market respond to this?” or “What will cause people to buy this product?” before you ask yourself, “Should I be an LLC or sole proprietor?”

Responsibilities such as filing your business license are not your first step. After all, what good is a business license if no one wants what you’re offering? There will be time later to buy your super expensive website. The most important resource for your energy to flow into is making your business viable. Don’t be afraid to change or tweak your business model to match what consumers want or need.

 I’ve personally witnessed more than one business that I thought had tremendous potential for success. But instead of the idea person hustling on the idea and starting to sell it, they got bogged down in the minors. They were good details, but not the best details. Important later – but not crucial at the start. And the opportunity slipped right past them. Rather than continuing to build on their momentum and craft a terrific company, they ended up paying lots of bills for websites, edits, logos, and samples that never got to market. They exerted a tremendous amount of time and energy on the minors before nailing down the majors.

So my advice to you is: if you’re thinking about starting a business, prioritize your steps and stages of growth. Don’t abandon the minor details but keep them on the back burner until it’s their time to shine. What’s important is to make certain your business concept works. If your business concept doesn’t work, there’s no point in doing the rest.

Start your business. Sell a product or a service. Find a customer base. Once that gets going, then start thinking about the infrastructure around it getting built. Obviously there are some exceptions to this. But largely I think people would be better served using their initial energy to make certain their idea is viable and that people will pay them for their product.

How the Best Self Journal used social to make me a customer

This month’s social media win goes to the Best Self Journal. The Best Self Journal is a product that I would normally not buy, however, their social media marketing convinced me.

Let’s go back a few weeks. If you don’t know me well, you might not know that I try to squeeze every second out of most days. My days start at 4:30 in the morning so I can accomplish all the things I want to each day. Every day I go to bed and wake up at the same time, 4:30, even on Saturdays and Sundays. I draw attention to that because it points to my desire to optimize myself. If you wake up and go to bed at the same time every day, it actually makes waking up at 4:30 natural and not a problem. I know if I do that, not only do I gain time on the weekend, but I also make Monday morning easier.

I started seeing ads for the Best Self Journal a few weeks ago. I wish I had a screen shot now, but it was a pretty simple ad talking about making the best of life and working toward goals. (Social Media Move #1: They targeted me based on interests, probably liking Entrepreneurs and Gary Vee) The thing that caught my eye was that I had one friend who liked the page. That friend is a high achiever and works for one of my favorite companies in America. (Social Media Move #2. They targeted friends of people who like their page, adding social credibility to the product.)

When I saw this ad, it told me I could accomplish more and that my high achieving friend, whom I have lots of respect for, also liked their page. So I ventured in. They had a good website, but I was still not sold.

So I left. And I forgot about it.

Then this ad came through my feed:

This ad was targeted to me because I had visited their website or interacted with their page. I had expressed interest and they were reminding me of that. (Social Media Move #3: Retargeting based on interaction)

Best Self Co. also makes available their entire book, the product they sell, for free. In a printable PDF format. I was impressed by their belief in the product. What they are saying with this is that they are so convinced it will work, we will want to pay for it if we try it. (Social Media Move #4: Give something away, building rapport with customers.)

I started looking again and reading reviews and decided it was worth a try. (Social Media Move #5: Don’t give up after showing your ad once to someone. It takes time to sell someone.) I convinced my wife to join in as well and we ordered two books. Today was the first day of us trying them out. So this post is not a recommendation yet, but an impressive look at an effective social media sales funnel.

 

 

New Employee Introduction: Renae Adelsberger

I still remember the day – well, not the time and date exactly – but the emotions and scenario. My father was on the back patio throwing water balloons at our roof. I walked outside to find out what was happening. He had filled them with bleach in an attempt to get the black mold stains off our roof. He thought it was brilliant; I thought he was crazy.

Little did I know, that moment in my dad’s history changed my family’s future. He decided to begin his own Roof and Exterior Cleaning company. I spent the rest of my teenage years in the middle of the business. My first job was to help pressure wash and seal decks and patios. On the weekends, I helped mom with paperwork. The business was central to our lives. Everyone had a role that we each learned to perform.

During these years, I fell in love with small businesses in the community. I learned firsthand how much of a family’s life is devoted to them. So when Kevin began tinkering with marketing for small businesses, I supported him. In the beginning, he worked for free food until, one night, I had to put my foot down and say, “no more Mexican restaurants! I can’t eat any more tacos!”

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Freedom, Permission, & Motivation: Three people who helped me start BONUS!

I would be remiss if I didn’t write a blog about a person who embodies the freedom, permission, and motivation that Seth Gary and Dave have given me. This person has been with me since day one of the business and has allowed me to thrive as an entrepreneur. That person, of course, is my wife Renae.

Those of you that have met her, know she is awesome. But knowing what I know now about starting a business, a supporting spouse if critical. If your spouse was not supportive, it’s easy to see how entrepreneurship could lead to some serious marital troubles.

Sure, Renae was nervous when I told her I wanted to quit my job and start this business. There have been times where it was stressful. There are many Saturday mornings that I am not around because I am working or evenings I am not available to watch TV with but she has soldiered on.

We had to change our lifestyle when the business started, nary a word was spoken from Renae. We have had good weeks and bad months of the business but through it all, she has maintained her support. Never having to worry about coming home to a spouse who was angry about working a lot because of the business or a slow month is hard to place a value on.

When I talk to soon to be entrepreneurs, I usually tell them: Bring the boat close to the dock, the trough of sorrows is real, and that especially early on, the answer is yes to clients. But I need to add, “Make sure your spouse is all in, or you will be in trouble.”

Thank you, Renae, for making this challenging thing easier!

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 of this series.

 

Freedom, Permission, & Motivation: Three people who helped me start Pt. 3

The last personality that I want to give a shout out to is Gary Vaynerchuk.

Gary Vaynerchuck is one of the hardest working people in marketing and documents it every day with his DailyVee video blog. That is why I have named him the motivation in this three part series. Regularly watching DailyVee shows me and reminds me that it takes a lot to start and grow a business.

I mean, I know it takes a lot to start a business, I live it every day. But it’s easy to get lax in the effort. Watching DailyVee reminds me that someone who has found success like Gary still can work like crazy and make progress.

It’s not just that Gary works, it’s how long he is able to keep it up. All day ever day.

I also want to say, that I do not want to be Gary.

I want to be able to go home and see my wife and kids for dinner. But what watching Gary does challenge me to do is work like a madman during the day. I watch Gary Vee during my lunch break to get me psyched up to work again all afternoon.

Gary Vee helps me with motivation to keep working on the business and you can check out DailyVee here.

Freedom, Permission, & Motivation: Three people who helped me start Pt. 2

One of my favorite phrases about being an entrepreneur came from reading Seth Godin’s last book: What to do when it’s your turn, and it’s always your turn.

“I’m no longer quite sure what the question is, but I do know that the answer is Yes.” – Leonard Bernstein

This quote is stark on a bright yellow page shortly after starting the book. This is the kind of thinking that makes me love Seth. Seth is one of the most prolific minds in marketing in our age. He started email marketing as we know it today. His book permission marketing is one of the seminal texts in how marketing works in the 21st century.  His DAILY blog is always insightful and challenging. 

But most of all he gave me permission to go and do.

One of the things that Seth harps on, in a good way, is that you no longer need permission to do things. The internet has destroyed the gatekeepers. The internet is the great equalizer. Because that is gone, we no longer need permission to do our best work or the work we want. We just have to go and get it.

After months of reading Seth’s books and even doing a program called “Krypton Community College”, GO NARWHALS!, I realized the only person standing between me and doing good work was me. This belief in my freedom, or permission to do it, played a big role in the mind shift that allowed me to quit my job.

Believing that you can is half of the jump to starting self-employment. I am honestly not sure if I would have had the courage to make the jump if it had not been for the permission that Seth Godin gave me.

 

Part 1 here. 

 

 

Seth Godin

Social Media Win: Wendys Twitter

It’s a jungle out there on social media. Between countless United meme’s to even beloved celebrities getting called out for seemingly innocent remarks, it can be a minefield for big companies navigating the social jungle. But one company has recently been killing it on social: Wendys.

Two imparticular instances recently:

  1. Street fight with Hardees.
    Wendy’s has really started to own the brand of being a fast food chain in this era. They have fun social media and are not afraid to step on a few toes. In the below altercation, a Wendy’s fan and a Hardees fan have a little beef on twitter. The offical Hardee’s and Wendy’s accounts get in on it. Wendy’s starts off with just a little shade and Hardee’s trys to take it up a notch. Bad move. Wendy’s rebuttals well and really cap it off with the ‘lol they blocked us’ comment.
  2. #NuggsforCarter
    The internet is fun for a lot of reasons. One of which is that it removes gate keepers and brings everyone on to the same playing field. 20 years ago if some random guy asked Wendy’s what it would take to get a year of free nuggets, whatever store manager he was talking to would have just starred at him like a crazy person. Today, with a fun twitter account, a brand can interface with someone like Carter and have a bunch of free social media coverage from all over the world.

Some big brands have tried to give Carter a push for his nugs:

This a great example of how to handle a fun brand on social media today! Wendy’s is winning!

 

 

Freedom, Permission, & Motivation: Three people who helped me start Pt. 1

I owe a lot of people for helping me get the point I am today. But over time it has come clear to me that at least a few personalities helped shape my path more than others. One who provided freedom, one who provided permission, and one who provided motivation. This week we are going to look at freedom.

free freedom braveheart GIF

Of course, I mean William Wallace (or Mel Gibson). Just kidding!

I mean Dave Ramsey. My wife and I did not start out our marriage as a Dave Ramsey couple, but sometime in the first year, I started listening. Originally I had always thought Dave was just an arrogant talk radio guy and was just always yelling to get ratings.  But during an Entreleadership live broadcast at my then workplace I heard Dave’s heart about what he does and I gave him another try.

From there Renae and I got on the program and started working toward financial freedom. We worked hard and creatively to pay off our student loans and live within our means. We lived in a crappy apartment for the first 3 years of marriage and saved up a big downpayment on a house. We continued to live within our means as we got better jobs and raises.

Something you might not expect from someone who started his own business is: I am actually risk adverse. But this financial freedom, having no debt except the house and living within our means, severely lessened the risk of striking it out on my own.

It allowed us to continue to live on my wife’s salary and the cash from a part-time job I took on when I launched the business. This gave me the mental freedom to not be stressed under the weight of starting a new business all the time. I was able to quit that job 8 months in! Because I was focusing on building the business instead of making quick cash to survive, it also gave me the freedom to make long-term decisions instead of short-term decisions.

Long-term decision making is always better than short-term. 

When I am talking with people who are thinking of starting their own business one of the things I bring up is how much debt they have. If they can minimize that debt before they jump ship, they will be in a much better place to start. Those additional monthly expenses make it much hard to survive when starting out. That burden will make prematurely returning to a ‘real’ job, before you really have the time and work invested to see if your business is going work out, to likely.

Thank you, Dave, for helping us find financial freedom! It is allowing us to do great things!

How I Market Myself and Adelsberger Marketing Part 3

I make stark raving fans.

Well, at least I try to. Sometimes it’s out of my control. But as far as it goes with me, I try my best to meet and exceed my customer’s expectations. When I am able to make customers into fans, I am able to create a base of people who want me to succeed as well as pay me. It’s a great combo.

How do I do that? I am still figuring it out, but here are some thoughts:

Deliver:
Make it happen. Everytime. Sometimes you land the plane with no sleep or in the Hudson, but you still land the plane. When it comes to delivering on a project, you need to be willing to move heaven and earth to accomplish something you said you would do. Failing to deliver is not a way to make stark raving fans.

Being willing to say: I don’t know or that I was wrong.
I make mistakes sometimes and sometimes I don’t know the best solution for my client. I am willing to refer people out to a better solution. (Most) People appreciate honesty. I tend, to be honest enough to lose business sometimes and so far it’s worked out really well.
When you make a mistake, be willing to take a hit financially as well. If I screwed something up, I am willing to take a hit financially and have. But offering your customer a discount or a refund on a mistake is treating the customer right and that is a great way to make a stark raving fan.

Answer the phone/ talk with everyone:
I love learning about other people’s businesses. Because of that and general human decency, I talk to everyone who wants to meet with me. This can be time-consuming, but you never know where the next meeting might lead.

I also answer the phone. Let me be clear when I say answer the phone, I mean I call everyone back. My phone is almost always on silent and especially during times of focus, I leave my phone out of reach so I can get some work done. So I will call all my customers back in a timely manner, every time, every day. Communication with customers is a key component of building stark raving fans.

Don’t nickel and dime people:
I quote things by the project. This pricing allows me to take care of everything people need and not has to keep coming back to them for more funding. So when I give them a price for social media content creation and management, that includes photos and video. When we build a website that includes content creation and strategy.

This also means going above and beyond the contract sometime. When it’s needed sometimes you need to do that extra thing, beyond the original scope of the project. But it is that kind of effort that can make start raving fans.

You can read part 1 of this series here and part 2 here.