COVID is likely to create a surge in small business start-up attempts and for some, these efforts will stem from misguided decisions. A number of glaring statistics illuminate why a start-up at this time may be risky and we’ll discuss the steps you can take to mitigate the risk.

On the heels of 2020, with massive job losses and thousands of individuals and families in financial distress, there is likely to be a surge in the formation of new businesses. Why? Because many are not finding employment opportunities and believe that their best path forward is to start their own business. For some, this could potentially be a huge mistake for two reasons. First, a successful entrepreneur must have a strong, valid reason for WHY they are starting a business – one that resonates with and motivates their customer base.

Starting a business because you cannot find anything else to do is a poor reason to launch a start-up because the WHY only serves your need to create income. That will not motivate a person to buy from you. Second, far too many people are not well equipped to be an entrepreneur.  They lack the patience, creativity, knowledge, resources, experience and support needed to succeed – and most don’t realize what they’re missing!

Reality Statistics

Look at the statistics. On average, each year, of new businesses begun, 54% will fail within 2 years, and 97% will fail within 5 years.  Why?  For the reasons mentioned above.  Contrary to popular belief, not everyone can be an entrepreneur.  Your decision not to move forward may preserve your life savings, or your child’s college education fund, or perhaps even your marriage.  Seriously! Even if you have already started a business, if it is less than 5 years old, or you are struggling in any way, you should quickly review your decision and determine what is needed to keep your business out of the weeds.

So, how do you determine if you might have the ability to start and sustain a successful business?  The answer lies in honest answers to a set of questions.  To succeed as an entrepreneur, you must wear many hats, some of which you have likely never worn.

The Path to Entrepreneurial Success

I have written a book entitled The Entrepreneurial Mindset. It takes a deep dive onto this topic and illustrates a way forward for those who are prepared to succeed. The book will guide you through questions that must be addressed on topics such as such Mission, Vision, Customer Base, Unique Business Identity, Unique Sales Process, Budgets and the creation of a simple but powerful Strategic Business Plan. But before you buy the book you might prefer to read a short white paper on the topic entitled Who Should Be An Entrepreneur?  The white paper asks the initial questions that will lead you to understand whether you should attempt a start-up.

Thereafter, there are many other questions to be dealt with if you elect to move forward.  Please note that the questions in the white paper are only useful if you are honest with yourself.  To receive a complimentary copy of the white paper, send a brief note asking for it by name, to TJS.PBI@outlook.com.

I leave you with this very appropriate quote from the classic novel Robinson Crusoe. Take it to heart.

“Now I saw, though it was too late, the folly of beginning a work before counting the cost and before rightly judging of my own strength to go through with it, and it grieves me heartily!”                –Daniel Defoe

The post Successful Startups Begin by Answering Key Questions appeared first on Chuck Sink Link.

What if these same entrepreneurs continued to ramp up sales work, implemented whatever marketing programs they could afford and then applied patience? Would more time and incremental growth render their quest for venture capital obsolete, giving them greater command of fulfilling their business vision? Experience tells us yes.

I believe financial expert Dave Ramsey who says “cash is king and debt is dumb.” Of course, there are exceptions to such truisms and I’ve used credit card debt in the past to successfully leverage my way out of near-bankruptcy, but I believe I was blessed along the way. I paid off the cards as fast as possible and one day I was able to wipe out that debt completely. That very day, my cash flow and profits began to improve dramatically! Since then I’ve accrued some working capital to keep business humming and growing, thank God!

Goal Achievement through Strategic Patience

Mine is a micro-example of many healthy companies that have chosen organic growth over partnered or capitalized expansion. Many of my clients and associate firms have been doing very well without implementing fully integrated and comprehensive marketing campaigns, which can be rather expensive. Instead, we execute affordable, strategic and incremental marketing steps that, over time, provide the building blocks for more comprehensive marketing programs with the firepower to significantly increase sales and grow our businesses all the more.

I want to do more with my website! I want to increase the frequency and value of my newsletter. I want to spend more strategic time on LinkedIn. I want to produce a new brochure and direct mail piece. I want to attend more networking events. I want to start a formal PPC and SEO campaign. I want to advertise more… But I have tons of client and administrative work that must get done, so I’ll only do one out of 6 things on my marketing want-list today.

Next week, I’ll get to one or two more marketing executions as I can afford the time and money. I’m reasonably sure there will be tangible results with each new marketing step I take, as they have consistently produced leads and new business over the months and years – 6 years and counting!

A few of my clients are going through exciting growth periods and this has fueled more comprehensive marketing programs to spread our messages out to additional media channels. This kind of incremental approach over time reduces the stress of “burn rates” and high expectations from partners, banks and investors. The cash in your bank account has no strings and can be more freely spent on the right priorities – yours!

The post Incremental Marketing over Capitalized Marketing appeared first on Chuck Sink Link.

Former Employee Photo

In massive debt with no money in the bank (except maybe $400 or so to my name), my boss walked in with an envelope in his hand meaning that it was time to pack up my office. We both tried hard for a year & a half to make it work but on that day, we simply shook hands amicably and wished each other well.

So there I was — no job, no money, a hefty mortgage, consumer debt, 2 cars, and 3 kids in college with a fourth heading there soon enough.

It was a big relief! I wasn’t worried – a miracle.

I felt excitement and freedom. I wouldn’t have to work in a job I hated anymore. “The money problem will handle itself,” God’s whisper told me. I had a pretty good business network, my own email newsletter with almost 2,000 contacts, and about 25 years of sales experience.

Now for the real test!

Could I start up a business with heavy debt, no revenue stream, no capital and still make ends meet in my dire situation? My faith in God kicked in and seemed to remove all rational financial thinking from the equation. It was as if I was offered a reprieve from the laws of mathematics. I wasn’t even interested in job hunting even though my sales background was highly marketable.

My mind seemed to focus only on this: I am self-employed now and I’m going to start making some phone calls immediately.

I prayed. Then I contacted several friendly contacts in my network that afternoon and explained my situation – I am for hire as an accomplished writer of advertising, editorial and web content. One of the contacts (the one with whom I was least acquainted) promised me contract freelance work at an attractive hourly rate. In less than a week, his company gave me almost as much work as I wanted to take on and it lasted for several months.

The following day, a guy I sold a website to a few years before called my cell – out of the blue – and asked what I was doing. He said that he needed a part time marketing manager; someone to ramp up a digital marketing program. This “guy” happened to own a large manufacturing company. We started doing project work together at first which later led to a good paying p/t contract position that lasted nearly a year.

Back to that first week, yet another opportunity came knocking. I got a LinkedIn connection request from some guy I met once who formerly sold software. He happened to own an architectural rendering and web design business in an early startup phase. He wanted to meet a content writer in the area. We met for coffee and he hired me for a project on the spot. Additionally that week, I was randomly interviewed by brand storyteller Dan Freund on the street and gained some welcomed online video exposure.

Faith with works is unstoppable!

A month or so later, I acquired my first “retainer” client who needed someone to manage weekly social media postings. Then another monthly fee-based client came on board that included a now popular home remodeling blog. Lots of small projects started to fill in the gaps between serving the steadier clients and handling all the other time-consuming requirements of running a business such as accounting, marketing and sales. Frustratingly, even with revenue slowly growing, the income side of the ledger never seemed to be enough to keep up with debt and mounting expenses.

Some days I would look at all the bills due, the bank account and the receivables and just think “this is clearly impossible!” Adding up the bank balances and any receivables wouldn’t even come close to covering all the bills due.

At that point, I would just drop to my knees, put everything in God’s hands and press on with the work in front of me for that one day and not worry about tomorrow. I can count at least 6 of these occasions. In every single case, within a day or two, money – just enough – would become available to cover the immediate need. In a couple of instances, it came as the result of confiding in friends and humbly asking for some help. In a few others, it was from taking on even more debt. But several times during my most dire financial predicaments, a new business project came out of nowhere with a client who was happy to write a check on the spot.

Somehow, defying every rational prediction, I remained current with all of my debts and bill payments. Quite miraculously, I always had barely enough to satisfy all the relentless financial obligations of a relatively big family but only for that given day.

At a couple of business low points, I reconsidered the job market but had to think long and hard about it. I enjoy serving clients and growing a business far more than selling the services of someone else and hoping they can deliver. If I’m going to be held accountable for my work, I want to have a say in how it gets done. In my experience, clients tend to be much better bosses to work with!

Gaining Traction

As I refused to give up my entrepreneurship, clients started pulling me into additional kinds of services like website design, SEO, advertising, blog management, social media and email marketing. This unplanned evolution of my company into a marketing services firm was extremely welcomed and has allowed the business to be more profitable and grow well beyond what I could accomplish as a one-man freelancer. I was even asked to teach business communications at my Alma Mater University and have found teaching on the side to be very rewarding.

Nowadays, revenue is steady and has been continually growing, opening new avenues to expanding services. Among the best things to happen over the last 6 years has been teaming up with some wonderful associates. Today, most of our clients hire us for ongoing marketing communications and pay monthly service fees. It’s a great business model that keeps us accountable to each other. Our clients are all doing great and the business is growing nicely this year.

An Attitude of…

Seeing things through the lens of gratitude, even during the most difficult times, can summon a spirit that will help you make better decisions and act in productive ways that you found difficult in the past.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to you for being in this audience. Becoming a business owner was made possible in large part from your responses to this blog and our semi-monthly newsletter publication that we’ve managed to keep going for over a decade now.

Thank you very much for staying connected with Chuck Sink Link!

The post God Calls the Shots – A miraculous startup story appeared first on Chuck Sink Link.