You Don’t Need Everyone to Support Your Business
You can push your business forward to excellence with the help of a few.
It was the summer of 2020 (I know. Who wants to remember that year?). It was after George Floyd died. Black people wanted to be acknowledged, protected, and above all else, heard. For many of us, it felt like the world was finally experiencing this awakening to our 400+ years of oppression.
One of the messages circulating on social media is, “Support black-owned businesses.” At first glance, it sounds good. I was sharing posts like that too. As a young, black woman with a business, I didn’t want to feel like I was restricted in making money because of the color of my skin.
Neither should someone purchase my services because of the color of my skin. People want to buy something because they feel that they need it. They trust that it will solve the problem that they’ve been experiencing for a while. People buy based on needs and wants. To post a photo of your product online and say, “Support my business,” waters down your message and makes you look like you’re having a pity party because no one is interested in your product or service.
Another pitfall of not growing your business as quickly as you want to is solely relying on your family and friends to support you. Some have supported me whether it was purchasing a social media coaching package from me, referring me to someone else, or sharing my posts on social media. I have also experienced trying to encourage some of them who never bought from me to come to my events or purchase my products or services and they didn’t. Why would they? Many of them didn’t have the problem I was solving, so what happened? Some of them showed up to my event, but didn’t buy. Others didn’t come. Don’t beg your friends to purchase from you. Doing this may result in them not referring you to other people, even if someone they talk to in the future has the exact problem you solve.
Do you know who asks for support and can still get sales? Celebrities do because they already have an established audience and their fans will buy anything they want to sell. That’s a different situation than someone who is just starting their business.
You first need to determine what specific problem you can solve for others and what specific person you can help. Then, develop a product or service that solves that problem. Once you do all of that, stand behind your product or service and tell stories about it. Why can’t your specific person live without the product or service? Why are they stuck now? What do they need to believe and understand to encourage them to buy it? Telling your dream client about areas they’re currently stuck in and how you can help will motivate him or her to decide to work with or purchase from you.
So what support do you need? If you want to grow your business quickly, it’s best to find someone who was where you are now and see if he or she has a paid program or course you can invest in. This will help you get the step-by-step process to get the result you want without having to endlessly search YouTube and Google for bits and pieces of information. You can get bonuses for joining too, such as a three-month trial to software the course creator recommends that you use to help you solve your problem even faster. According to SkillStarter, “For every dollar spent on e-learning methods, companies are said to make back around $30 in higher productivity.” More productivity means more time saved and bigger results in your business!
As your business grows, you will have the money to outsource tasks to team members to complete the time-consuming tasks so you can focus on your vision for the business and expand your network. These team members will specialize in something you need done and will love doing these tasks for you! They support your business because they free up your time to do the bigger CEO tasks.
Loyal customers who are repeat buyers are the ones who keep the business going. Investing in online programs and courses sharpen your skills and the skills of your team to check off your business to-do list. Coaches and course creators play an active role in strengthening your business because they can see further than you and want to help. Team members allow you to duplicate yourself. They take care of tasks that would otherwise distract you from being the CEO.
Want to learn how to strategically market your products or services on social media without feeling pressured to ask your followers to support your business? Click here for my free guide to stand out from the crowd and attract your dream customer!
