When I did coach training to transition from being a headhunter to a coach, I quickly realized there was a difference between being a great coach and the business of building a coaching business. Often, in my work, I see very talented people fail because they thought and acted as though if they were good at their job, that would make them good at the business of what they do. It doesn't. You need to know how to sell your services AND deliver them.
It’s all about connecting to people. When I began, I studied all the selling greats: Zig Ziglar, Tom Hopkins, you name it. I thought selling was a “say this, show that process,” and people would buy. While there are elements like that in my selling process now, I hadn’t learned that you must work hard at connecting to earn the right to sell the merchandise or products. I also looked down on myself for working in retail, never imagining that working in retail would allow me to live a life my parents could never imagine.
One of the most important insights about business, especially from my journey, is networking and building solid relationships. When starting, the focus is often on developing a product, service, or skill set, which is undoubtedly essential. Opportunities often arise through these connections, whether it's finding new clients, partnerships, mentorship, or even access to funding. Networking isn't just about exchanging business cards or adding connections on LinkedIn; it's about engaging with others, offering value, and establishing trust. This approach to building a network, focusing on quality and genuine interaction, can open doors you might not have known existed. Embedding the habit and skill of effective networking into daily business practices from the outset could accelerate growth and success in ways that purely focusing on product or service excellence alone might not achieve. Leaders, particularly in competitive environments like New York, often share this wisdom, highlighting its significance in business.
One of the hardest things i've learned when scaling my business to 7 figures annually is that you WILL need your team to buy into your vision. I believe that my vision has to equal their mission. So many talk about the benefits of being a good leader but so few talk about the cost of leadership. Leadership isn't about being liked, it's about being respected enough to get people to want to help you in your mission. If I could send a message to myself 5 years ago, that would be "You will be disliked despite doing your best for the most of your team." I am based in New York
The most important thing to know about business is that building your ability to sell will fuel your success. I learned to sell through an unconventional and quite dynamic career path in the art world. The selling skills I learned changed my career and my life, and they are absolutely the foundation for achieving future goals I’ll set for myself and my business. Learning how to sell enabled me to launch my own business, grow it to an international firm, and have an impact in my industry. I have honed my ability to sell through experience selling tangibles and intangibles. This includes selling at previous jobs, including high end art storage to mega collectors, appraisals for art, jewelry, wine, rugs and more to insurance brokers, and in my current business, over $10,000,000 in art to new and seasoned art collectors. I've also broken down the ability to sell into a basic framework that I have used to teach others how to build this skill in a way that enables them to excel in their career and have impact in their industry. I'd love the opportunity to share with NY Business Journal to help your audience build their selling muscle and in turn, feel inspired and empowered.
Do not expect immediate results. Draw up a plan that allows you to see small victories in the short term as you progress towards your big goal to maintain motivation. It is possible to achieve what you set out to do in your business if you have a clear purpose, if you surround yourself with the right people, and, above all, if you cultivate a long-term mindset. This is crucial because the journeys are long, setbacks often occur, and our expectations do not always match reality, or the market or external factors may delay the process. Therefore, having a mindset that allows us to build things in the short, medium, and long term is essential for having a successful and enduring business.
One of the most important things to know about business is how to pivot and iterate. Focus less on what you, as the business owner, wants to offer, and more on what the people you want to serve actually need and want–and then become excellent at delivering that. In my own experience growing Embrace Change, I had to iterate our executive coaching a few times in order to most effectively support our clients in senior leadership. Now we’re able to provide high-touch, tailored, and strategic executive coaching to women of color leaders across industries much more successfully. The ability to pivot nimbly is a business imperative that paves the way to finding the right niche and delivering a highly valued service that clients can’t imagine living without!
One of the most important things a small business owner should know is that what worked yesterday, may not work tomorrow. Always have a fallback plan and be prepared to iterate and adapt to changing times, preferences, methods of communication, etc. You can have ad campaigns that are hugely successful for months that get exhausted and stop driving sales, so be prepared with fresh creatives to rotate into the mix. Or maybe you’ll have a product that was hot when it launched and starts to fizzle, so you’ll have to find new marketing angles you can use to re-feature that product and make it sell again. More often than not, product shipments will be delayed and you’ll need to adjust your marketing plan and forecast to fill the gap. Never a dull moment in the life of an SBO, but that’s what makes it so rewarding!
When starting a new company, especially in situations when the solution originates from a problem the founder has personally experienced, you may feel like you know the customer. You may think you know the type of product they want and how to best position it. However, these assumptions are just that — assumptions! Instead, create a minimum viable product (MVP) or service (MVS) and test, test, test! Introduce it to your potential customers, gather their feedback, and refine the product until you create something they love and most importantly, want to buy. For example, with the first company I launched, I was positive that I knew what my customers wanted. After all, I was the customer that I was trying to sell to. But, thousands of dollars later, I realized that in fact my customer didn't need my product, at least not in the way that I had packaged and presented it. I had to go back and restructure the entire product line, which was a costly mess. In contrast, with my current company, a personal branding agency for executives, I took a completely different approach. Before creating any service packages I leveraged social media to gauge the needs of my target audience. I conducted over 80 prospect calls, pitching various product iterations to determine which options were most appealing and commercially viable. This proactive approach helped me create services that truly meet the demands of our clients.
Focus on moving forward, not getting ready. My gut said build the logo, get the website ready, work on SEO, create marketing materials, basically do the prep in advance so I'd be ready when the customers started flowing in. Turns out the customers don't just flow in. You need to go get them. And time spent getting them is way more valuable than getting ready for them. I've met successful consultants who have just a newsletter and a busy schedule of client engagements, and every time I'm jealous that I didn't just move forward as fast as they did!
Rid your business of pressing debts and bills before a forecasted financial slump or recession in the market. Debts can have a snowballing nature when business owners are still in a position to optimize revenues and scale up. Until you have the revenue to bring on new loans or growth campaigns, focus on managing your cash flow to pay off existing debts first. The last thing any business needs in a recession is a mountain of debt to be paid on top of declining profits. Better to breakeven and be settled than saddled with higher costs from a market out of your control.
I wish I had recognized the paramount importance of ruthlessly validating whether a viable market need actually existed before plowing full steam ahead. So many first-time visionaries fall in love with an idea and myopically pursue making it a reality without ever truly proving there's a burning desire or audience demand to fulfill. I was certainly guilty of that blind optimism bias early on. We launched PositivesDating based solely on our founding team's collective gut instinct that the online dating space was ripe for an uplifting, judgment-free alternative to the hookup culture saturation. Felt like a no-brainer at the time. But we realized our grand optimism wasn't enough to singlehandedly manifest a rabid built-in user base desperate for our community and resources. We had gotten way too far ahead of ourselves pumping out content and features based on pure aspirational guesswork rather than rigorous market validation. We had to scramble, lean into our previous professional experiences in consumer research, to gather credible demand signals. Only then could we adapt our product roadmap based on genuine insights about what features and content truly resonated.
Just because many people told you during the customer discovery journey that they love your business idea, does not mean it will be successful. The true test of success if they are ready to pull up their credit card and pay for it because it solved a deep pain point for them or because it makes them feel and/or look good! p.s. I am not in NY, but close. Hope that counts :)
I wish I knew more out the legalities when it came to trading names and IP. My business started as a side gig. I chose a name, a domain and just set it up. Down the track that side gig became my business. When it came time to register my business name and trademark, I ran into some blockers. As I learnt the hard way, businesses operating in another country and in another industry still can have trademark rights even if the name of your business is a made up word. The factor here is a closely related word. That's it. It doesn't matter if that business hasn't even been operating within your country. Many just register a global trademark. So my advice; check multiple trademark websites. If you're American, I'd look at the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand in particular. Additionally, do a simple Google search of the name of your business to see what pops up. Do this from different Google indexes, such as .com.au, co.uk etc. This will help you quickly see who else may already exist.
One of the most important things I've learned in the business world is the value of listening - really listening - to your customers. When I started Ditto Transcripts, I thought I knew exactly what people wanted from a transcription service. But I was wrong. It wasn't until I started having in-depth conversations with customers across different industries that I truly understood their pain points and needs. I realized legal professionals had vastly different requirements than healthcare workers. Academic researchers wanted features my software didn't offer. By actively listening without assumptions, I was able to pivot our product roadmap and services. The insights from those early customer conversations shaped Ditto into what it is today. I learned to check my preconceptions at the door and be a student of my customers' experiences. Their voices became the guiding force for our business strategy. If I could go back, I'd tell my younger self - talk less, listen more. The answers to building a successful, customer-centric business are out there. You just have to lend an open ear to the people you're serving. It's been one of the biggest keys to our growth.
One of the most important things I wish I had known early on is the importance of building and nurturing a solid network. A robust professional network can be a game changer in the fast-paced and highly competitive business landscape. It opens doors to new opportunities, partnerships, and collaborations and provides invaluable insights, knowledge-sharing, and support from industry peers and mentors. I cannot emphasize the value of attending networking events, joining professional associations, and actively engaging with others in your field. A well-cultivated network can offer guidance during challenging times, introduce you to potential clients or investors, and even lead to strategic alliances or career advancements. Moreover, being part of a thriving network lets you stay informed about industry trends, best practices, and emerging technologies, ensuring you remain competitive and adaptable in the ever-changing business landscape. In retrospect, I wish I had prioritized networking from the beginning, as it would have accelerated my success and provided me with a wealth of resources and connections invaluable to any business endeavor.
Owner and Real Estate Enthusiast at AZ's Best Pool Service & Repair LLC
Answered 2 years ago
Building solid relationships is one of the most important things to understand about business. Upon embarking on my professional career, I wish I had recognized the profound importance of cultivating authentic relationships with clients, collaborators, and employees. Developing and nurturing relationships not only fosters confidence and allegiance but also facilitates access to novel prospects and cooperative ventures. The development of significant relationships and the establishment of a support network have been critical to the expansion and prosperity of my pool service.
One of the most important things that I wish I’d known when starting out my journey in the business world was that it’s okay for things to change. In fact, it’s probably better for your business in the long-run. When I started my first business we had very specific plans and goals that we tried very hard not to change. When things did start to change, we made the wrong decisions to try to stay on track with the original plan because that’s what we thought would make the business successful. After a while, however, we realized that this was impractical. We were going against the natural flow of our business’s development and making it harder for ourselves to do well. As soon as we accepted change, things started to go very well and we grew much more effectively. Today, I’ve applied what I learned back then to Gigli, and it has worked very well. We still stick to the core aspects of our brand (of course), but we know that accepting change at the right time can do great things for the business.
One of the most important things to know about business is that you can learn a lot from your competitors and gain a variety of useful insights by studying them. Back when I started, I extensively researched buyer personas, market trends, and many other factors to ensure that I came up with a foolproof plan. Your competitors may serve as an inspiration for you and help you understand what's working and what's not. There's no need to reinvest the wheel. You can simply explore what your competitors have been doing in the past and what they're doing now. This will pave the way for you to come up with fitting strategies that may help you grow and outmaneuver your competition, since you've studied them in great detail.
Regardless of location, developing solid relationships is an essential component of business. Long-term success requires building rapport, credibility, and trust with partners, stakeholders, and clients. I wish I had realized early on in the corporate world how crucial it is to cultivate and preserve these ties. Putting in the time and effort to build sincere relationships can lead to partnerships, opportunities, and priceless support systems that are essential for a company's expansion and success.