The TWO things your NEED to do when building a successful business from scratch and how to get the best out of Communities.

The TWO KEY things your NEED to do, at the initial stages, when building a successful business; whether it be a side business, your main business or a it is just an aspiration; are as follows:

1). Acquire customers:

Even if you do not have a product, service or know what you want to do yet, START building a customer base. This is one of the most difficult things entrepreneurs struggle to do. Start with it. If you have started your business already, pay attention and address this. If you are still thinking about what to get into, what business - service/product to offer, start from where you are.

Be it social media audience, mailing list, newsletter, face to face audience, events, webinars etc.

You have a better chance of success if you start out that way than spending all the time building a product or service, then looking for an audience.

Now, that is if you are starting from scratch and have limited resources.

If you have ample resources, do both. At least build alongside building an audience, customer base or potential market.

I would recommend taking a course such as one by Justin Welsh (affiliate link alert).

2). Be a LEARNER-DOER:

The most important skill to possess in 2023 (and has always been) is this. If you can learn and become a doer filtering what you have learnt into you business, you are already ahead of most people and will lead people your way.

There is so much information out there that many you need to be selective in choosing what you let into your considerations and finally settle on. Don't be afraid to test out you own ideas and these alongside the things you have learnt.

Lastly, DO SOMETHING towards achieving you business goals today, I implore you. It could change your life.

So, to put an illustration on the above two things:

If you are in a job today or thinking about starting your business, you then decide to build your social media presence into something sustainable (something many people are doing today). You have a better chance of succeeding if you have a larger, engaged, may be with a chance of sector specific audience than if you don't have that audience.

As a LEARNER-DOER you then filter your products and services to segments of your audience that it resonates with and get feedback from them as to how to proceed. It is always better to build along with your customers or potential customers giving guidance on what they will pay for, than not doing so.

Don't get me wrong, there are many other things that you need to do in running a successful small business. However, if you want to start today, consider the above things as key to your success.

Communities and how to get the best from them

One way you can take control of the future is to serve others in their pursuit of their own future. Your small business will not only survive, but thrive doing that. I strongly believe, this is the way forward in businesses, at least small businesses.

Building solid relationships with people, in good faith, taking real interest in their needs, helping them attain their goals and taking a long term perspective is something all businesses can start doing NOW.

Most businesses, such as Yours, sell aspiration, solutions, builds, services, products etc that help people move towards their goals.

Why not set up your business while building a strong network of people who have similar levels of interest in seeing ALL of you success, collective outcomes and shared experiences, as much as possible.

It will demand that You develop a perspective that encourages, empathy, understanding and a communal perspective.

Communities by definition, have an inherent set of features, bolting on values of substance will enable, facilitate and propel you towards your goals.

If you are a small business, solo-entrepreneur, freelancer, entrepreneur and so on, you need to play in communities.

The ways You can be pivotal in communities include:

• Providing solutions to a specific set or group of people
• Help create some aspiration, hope and chart a pathway to enable people attain these
• Go in with no expectation and most importantly, not leading with sales.
• Add value to members over and over again while learning how to interact, identifying opportunities, helping find solutions etc
• Follow the values and objectives of the communities you belong to

This is what we are building.

An example is, if you are in the a finance or accounting professional, student or aspiring to become. Find how to add value to people who are struggling understand that sector. You can do this by:

• Providing detailed information to members of your industry
• Pointing businesses to the right person, upon research, verification and vetting
• Help some businesses solve problems, within your competency set e.g. tax, accounting, finance etc
• Learn a new skill and help lead others who want to learn along with you
• Seek out problems encountered by a specific industry e.g. making statutory returns for estate agents, medical doctors or other professional who do not have the time to address these and help ease their burdens - direct them to a certified accountant, help with administrative tasks etc.

Request:

Do you need help with your business? Send me a DM clearly stating what you are looking for and we can discuss further. This community might be able to help you move towards your goal.

Events:

• Q&A: Watch out for a Q&A event coming up next week. Will post the link once ready
• I'll be hosting a few webinars (hopefully with some guests) on Small Business Marketing, Partnerships, Starting A Small Business and Building Communities

Posts You may be interested in:

• My post about building while waiting: Curtis James Jackson III (50 Cent) - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/babajideoyewole_learning-building-entrepreneurs-activity-7059066531808202752-7snr?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
• Vinh Giang post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/babajideoyewole_x-9-10-x-10-9-1-this-wasnt-how-activity-7059113728557887488-num-?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
• A poll on Effective Delegation (link to the course, Free for the next 5 days below): https://www.linkedin.com/posts/babajideoyewole_effective-delegation-is-essential-to-the-activity-7058748745194070017-J-Rq?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Some of my courses I believe you will benefit from:

1). Fundamentals of Successful Leadership - Leading with Impact

2). Leadership - Leading a community

3). Strategic Partnerships and Collaborations

4). Effective Delegation

Some affiliates (yes, we might get paid), you might find useful -

• If you are looking to set up a business in the UK, consider using: Company Formation and Registration UK | 1st Formations
• UK only Banking with Tide
• Small business financing (UK only) with Funding Options
• How to build your LinkedIn into a major sales engine: The Operating System: Grow & Monetize Your LinkedIn | Justin Welsh
• Looking for an internationally minded banking as well as money transfer business: Wise would be my recommendation.

Please feel free to connect with me and or send questions. I am happy to point you in the right direction if we can't find the solution together.

Please help share and connect.

I look forward to interacting with you , helping find solutions to your business needs and just getting to know you better.

We can help one another build successful businesses and live the lives we desire.

I look forward to interacting with you.

Baba

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