- Jan. 18
- Richard Parker
6 Things Entrepreneurs Must Do to Make Money
Challenge, success, passion. These are all reasons why people choose to become entrepreneurs and start up their own business. However, the most important motivation is often the money that doing so can generate, something that many of us that are looking to achieve financial independence will need. Of course, just because you start up a business doesn’t mean that it will be profitable. In fact, to accomplish this you need not only a little dash of genius and a sprinkle of luck, but to do the things discussed below as well. Read on to find out more.
Use Marketing That Is Strategically Driven
When it comes to marketing your business is going to need it to bring in profits. However, just any old marketing won’t do. What you really need is strategically driven creative marketing that will not only increase brand awareness but also achieve specific, measurable aims.
Luckily, companies like Marbury Creative Group specialize in these types of services. Something that means you can creatively use your marketing to grow your likes or followers, get people to download content, and even make a sale, and thus increase your profits. All in a much more directed and managed way than before.
Charge on Value Not Time
To make money, serious, real, money entrepreneurs often need to go through a change of mindset. They have to swap from charging clients for the time that it takes them to complete a task, to the value that such a job has to them.
Now, this can be a pretty revolutionary way of think and can take a while for many of us to get our head around, but think of it in the following way. If you are providing a service to a client that is essential and parts of a $1,000,000 project, asking for £100,000, or 10% is a reasonable cost.
In fact, it doesn’t really matter whether that work took you 1 week or 3 months to complete because it no longer about charging for your time, but for the impact your contribution makes. Something that can help your business become much more successful financially.
Establish Themselves as Experts
Are you an expert in your field? You should be if you want to be a successful entrepreneur. After all, who are clients going to look to first when they want a job doing, the person that is well know and wrote the book on the subject, that is who.
Luckily, cementing your status as an industry expert isn’t as tough as it once was. In fact, experience speaks volumes even over education in most cases. This is because what others in your field want more than anything else is simple, easy to digest, and above all practical information on topics that they can take away and start using immediately.
Of course, using social media to present this is hugely effective, and there are a range of platforms you can choose from such as Linkedin, Youtube, and even Instagram.
You also have the opportunity to create written, downloadable digital guides on specific subjects, and even run webinars and face to face classes as well. Actions that will further reinforce your position as an expert in your field and not only snag you the most prominent clients, but will allow you to ask for the highest rates as well.
Learn Soft Skills
Soft skills, they are boring, right? Who needs to be able to talk to people, negotiate, or present? Well, you do as an entrepreneur actually.
In fact, these skills are crucial if you want to make money. The reason for this is that it is your soft skills that will actually get your sale or hired to provide your services. This is because it is by being able to communicate, negotiate, and present that you can get people to listen to you, and it’s by being able to hold their attention that you can get your message across and convince them of the vital need and value of the product or service you provide. Something that will ensure you get enough sales to make money as an entrepreneur.
A Professional Image
Now I’m not saying that you can’t easily work from home if you want to, and you don’t need to rent a fancy office downtown. You can even work from your laptop while traveling the world. However, what you will need if you are going to make money, is a professional image. One that inspires confidence in your customers and projects enough authority in your field for them to take you seriously.
Happily, there are a range of things you can do to present a professional image, including getting your company’s branding right, desaturated colors and simple logos usually being the best in the businesses world, as well as paying for a virtual assistant to answer your phone calls. Then you will never miss an incoming call and can ensure that you provide excellent customer service at any time of the day or night.
Additionally, your professional image has a lot to do with your working mindset. What this means is that you have to ensure that you take work seriously, that you deliver on promises and deadlines, and that you treat your clients with respect. You don’t have to fawn over them, just make sure that they feel they are a valid part of the process, as this is something that can help you get paid work from the same client of and over again.
Manage the Administrative and Financial Side of Things
You may see yourself as a creative or a blue-sky thinker, but if you don’t have a handle of the necessary administrative tasks and financials your enterprise isn’t going to last very long.
To that end, scheduling regular time ( that you keep to) to file, organize projects and work, and chase up clients is a must, as is tracking your business outgoings including spending, not just monthly but daily, if necessary.
Of course, if you have other people working for you, or you are outsourcing business you will need to keep on top of their progress as well. Although there are apps and software now available, that can make this a lot more efficient and help you stay on top of the essential, if more boring tasks that your business needs to be profitable.