open the doors

HOW. Because of this word entrepreneurs like you and me started on the exciting road of becoming business owners. For some it started with: How can I make my life better? or How can I better take care of my family? For many of us it was: How can I leave this dead end job and start anew? Sounds familiar? How is a powerful word, indeed.

But the power of HOW is not in the word itself, but in what comes after it. Each response to it opens new doors and takes you in a different direction. Without an honest answer to HOW a business cannot succeed. Without answering the most common How questions a business cannot take off and it can’t take off because there’s no business plan. Part of having a well developed business plan is to answer many “How to” questions. How do you bring customers? How do you turn your website visitors into buyers? How do I get a domain name? All questions that need an answer before you open your doors for business.

I want you to look at your business from top to bottom. Explore each answer to every one of your questions. How can I increase sales? Possible responses are: by increasing marketing efforts. How do you do that? By increasing my marketing budget or perhaps by starting an email campaign. Each response will probably create another How question but at the end of the exercise you will have a powerful picture of where you are and what you need to move your business forward. I have used this exercise successfully for my businesses and it works great when applied to your personal life as well.

During a discussion on this topic a person I mentor noted the simplicity of the concept and questioned why he had not thought of it before. He said he did think about most things but after the exercise he understood his business better. I don’t want to go into long explanations about business marketing or use this as a platform for fancy and confusing business terms. My goal is to make you aware of the smaller things that can sometimes make a difference between a successful business and one that struggles to make money.

I wish you luck and come back as I will explore other specific “How to” scenarios meant to guide you in the right direction.

Jose Rodriguez is a member of a private organization that teaches people how to start their own business. By becoming a member of this private society you’ll have access to the most cutting edge Tools, Training and Strategies to start your own online Empire!