Building or running a business can be hard, but it should never be complex, because that’s just no good for the mind.
Simple is good.
The fewer moving parts in anything, the easier it is to run the thing, test it, find flaws or bottlenecks, and fix & optimise.
Same thing goes for business. You can make your business as complicated as you like, with teams, advertisements, funnels, infrastructure, franchise – you name it. A world of options.
But the more you add in, the more complex it gets and the harder it gets to figure out what’s broken and needs fixing, or what works and merits more resources.
So here’s a model I came up with, which you can use to analyse your own business, and keep it as simple as possible:
Step 1: Values.
These inform your purpose and your mission. And, they enable you to identify and find people who share your values, so that you’ll have rapport with them right off the bat.
Step 2: Assets
These can be tangible, like a list of names, hardware, office space – or intangible, such as your network, your skillset, your footprint and visibility, or the amount of goodwill and buy-in your audience has for you.
And of course, the single most valuable asset in any business: your list of past buyers. The people who trusted you so much that they gave you money, meaning they’re the most likely money to buy something from you again.
Step 3: Systems
This is where you tie the first two steps together, and build structures, frameworks, standard operating procedures – and points of measurement, so that you’ll know what works and what doesn’t.
Now as a framework this is useful, but how do you make it work?
Simple: ask yourself these questions (longhand brainstorming is best, for this kind of Q&A).
1: What are my values? What would I stand on a barricade for? What do I not accept, what change am I willing to fight for, or stake things for?
2: What assets do I have in place? What tangible value does each have in my business, what economic value if applicable, and what potential does each asset have, provided I leverage it in a smart and strategic way?
3: What systems are in place, and in what way can they be simplified or improved so that they work better, or become easier to measure for output and results?
4: What outcomes are my systems producing?
Because everything is a either a system or part of one, and every system is perfect for the outcome it produces. So if you see outcomes you’d like to change, you now know which system to improve.
How to improve it? By looking at how your values and assets can be combined and leveraged so that the system, again, becomes simpler and more measurable.
Yes, this is an exercise that can take a few hours, but it’s super useful, because it gives you clarity, direction, and purpose.
And if you want to cut all that short, and generate sales by leveraging your customer list?
Then the Hidden Revenue Opportunity service I launched with my friend Antonio will reveal the sales potential you have in just a few hours, enabling you to go out and make relevant, attractive offers to your past buyers.
This PDF explains how it works – and makes a very good case for why you should leverage your customer list, with or without our help.
Cheers,
Martin
