How to grow your business & not lose your mind (Part 5- Knowledge)

Today, I have a response to the age-old comment “I didn’t know what I didn’t know.” After this article, when considering the “get started roots” of your business, that comment will not longer be valid. You WILL know what don’t know. And hey, that’s a great thing to know!  

But before I send you back to school, can you decide what kind of student in your business you are? Answer honestly.

How important is your business to you?

• Is it A+ important, like you’d study and learn whatever it takes to excel important (because you are passionately motivated to do something, be someone, make some money)?
• Or is it C+ important, like you’d like to test the waters and see how it goes important (as long as you are covering your costs along the way)?
• Or F important, like you really don’t care how it turns out, it’s just a fun thing you do to pass some time? (Egads! You could be making money)

Whether you are a part time entrepreneur, home party consultant, or just getting started in a full time small business venture, I doubt you are feeling good about failure. I suspect some of you might be settling for a C. But I know in your heart you are really in it for is that A! Right? That no matter what, satisfaction in your business is in the form of a great mark!

Good for you! Now we can get down to schooling about business. Because today’s article is a bit of a butt kicking. Because I want you to get that A and the only way to get it is to get over the “you don’t know what you don’t know” attitude and “LEARN what you don’t know”.

15 Things I Now Know I Didn’t Know (But Can Learn):

1. What a brand is and why it’s so darn important (hint: it’s NOT your logo).
2. Tools and systems I must have to communicate with my customers.
3. Tools and systems I need so my followers can become part of my network.
4. How to evaluate the 7 resources I have and the best way to leverage them.
5. How to find experts who really suit my business and my budget.
6. How to write passionately, persuasively, succinctly about my business to get the reaction I want.
7. How to make cost-recovery based marketing decisions to meet my goals.
8. How to choose the right combination of advertising, events, publicity, social media, online marketing for my business.
9. What the difference between credibility based marketing and sales driven marketing is, and what’s right for me?
10. How much time do I really need to meet my goals, considering how many resources I have (or don’t have).
11. How to build a revenue-based sales model that works for me.
12. How to create an action plan that I can really act on.
13. How to know if/how much my marketing activities are succeeding and how often I should check.
14. How to create clarity in my business – of vision, goals, language.
15. How to use social media for my business (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube)

 Time to go back to school? A little bit? A whole lot? Well, you aren’t alone. This list represents what hundreds of thousands of small business entrepreneurs are facing with you right now!

So the good news?

You are not alone in needing to learn more than you thought. If you are taking this article seriously then you already have a competitive edge because you are likely going to take steps to learn more, faster.

You have time. Unless you have seriously aggressive business goals, you can learn in steps that makes sense for what your business needs. You don’t have to learn everything you don’t know right now, but you do need to KNOW what you have to learn and make it part of your marketing map or action steps.

There are credible, affordable experts out there to help you. And really great free resources too. And you are exceptionally smart. You can figure this out in many different ways. And, you get on the job training! So make sure you are learning and documenting what you learn as you go so you can repeat it!

Word of Caution: Following the free expert breadcrumbs without vetting exactly what you need first & where the breadcrumbs are leading second CAN be a big waste of time. Don’t follow breadcrumbs. Find the help YOU need right now.

So, what DO you know? And what didn’t you know you didn’t know? No more excuses! Now you know what you need to know to get that A in marketing roots. Did this spark some insight to your knowledge gaps? Do you know the very next concepts you need to learn? Would love to hear more about where you are at and if you now “know what you need to know”! Let’s chat about it in the comment section. Always happy to help, so questions are great too!

A few ways to shift into “knowing what you don’t yet know”:

• Read the entire “How to grow your business & not lose your mind” free article series to fill some knowledge gaps.
• Sign up for the next powerful Decision-Makers Marketing Mapping class & 6-month Momentum Mapping program.
• Be sure you are on my subscriber list (right column, look up at the top) & receive the free: 15 Essential Tips for Part Time Entrepreneurs.
• When you subscribe, you’ll be first student in line to join the new Grow It Yourself Marketing Academy starting in September! (open for general student registration August 8th)