If you're looking to cultivate any sort of business endeavour - online or otherwise - the most important thing that I have found is the role of SERVICE in what you're doing.
Service is NOT an arbitrary word used to describe whether you respond to customer support emails - it lies at the CORE of what determines whether a business venture will become successful or not.
Putting this into perspective, if you consider what a "business" actually "does" - we've witnessed a stark shift from a "production" to a "service" based model over the past 15 years.
Fuelled by the connectivity of the Internet & developments in engineering techniques, the way to "be productive" in the modern world (particularly the West) is to provision new products and tools. How they get made should be a secondary concern (very little profit in it).
The key - as opposed to historic production - is that it's no longer the case that having "production capacity" is a major deal... almost everybody has access to that.
What people don't have is a MARKET into which to offer their products. This market (depending on which type of company you end up cultivating) will then determine the PRICE of the product and whether it's something they'll consider using.
The point is that if you're looking to "get into" business, the absolutely most important thing you NEED to consider is what type of SERVICE you will be able to provide as a professional. This service - applied using either your own products/tools, or someone else's - is the real secret behind why some companies "always" seem to grow, whilst the majority struggle.
This tutorial aims to explain how it works, and what to do if you're looking to get involved in the world of enterprise.
Service Makes The World Go Round (Literally)
Most people get involved with "business" because they have an idea they wish to pursue.
Perhaps they wanted to create their own clothing line, have some sort of "lifestyle" business (winery/farm etc) or get involved with a particular field (cosmetics / modelling) - the hallmark of "failed" businesses typically starts with someone's wistful desire to "work for themselves".
This is a lie. People don't care that you started a "business" and all the stories you read about a 12-year-old CEO who's onto his fifth company are only there because the publication wanted some fresh hype to keep its readers coming back.
The simple reality is that the MAJORITY of people are only moved by necessity. How "necessary" they deem a product to be to their life is how much value they'll attribute to it (and thus a price).
The way to ensure that YOUR products are bought is to create a necessity for its usage. Don't even think about "selling" it - [most] people aren't stupid; they'll attribute a price to any product they deem as essential to their life. No one ever quibbled over the cost of life-saving heart-surgery... and the same principle exists in every other business. People pay you in direct proportion to how much you actually "give a damn" about what you're doing.
The most important thing is to realize is that "service" sits at the CORE of what makes people interested in a company.
It's not their "products" or even their "staff" - it's what they DO on a daily basis which drives RESULTS. This "activity" is what the market recognizes - and is ultimately attracted to.
Think about it.
Apple don't "manufacture" their products. They design them and come up with all the components etc. Their service is design.
Tesla do "manufacture" their products because no-one else can do it as well as them.
Amazon are really a digital logistics company - no one is able to store and send out as many parcels as effectively as them.
If you want to get into "business", come up with a RESULT that you can provide to a market.
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If you're looking to "start" a business, the absolute BEST thing you can do is look at what people are ALREADY looking to buy (just browse the "best sellers" section of any marketplace).
This gives you a direct indication of *exactly* what they have a budget for (what they're willing to PAY for). This allows you to provide this RESULT as a service (IE in your own way) - giving you the ability to start attracting clients by virtue of how effective you are at providing said results.
The BIGGEST issue I've seen is leading with a product, or even "solution". I hear it all the time - "what problem does your business solve"... hardly anyone buying a product actually thinks they have a "problem". Rather, they are looking for a particular SERVICE that can be provided to them to improve their life in some specific way. Or - as Gary Halbert said - "your marketing should make their pupils dilate".
Think about it like this - which would you rather do business with: "The World's LARGEST Social Media Agency" or "The ONLY Agency To GUARANTEE 10,000+ FOLLOWERS In The NEXT 30 DAYS Or Your Money Back ". Whilst the former works for established businesses, the latter works for ANY business - especially new ones.
Notice how you're not actually selling anything about the "process" of how you achieve the results? This comes afterwards; you need to stipulate EXACTLY what the buyer is going to get for their time/money, which in the case of "social media" is followers. For SEO, it's #1 Google ranks and for "programming", it's to create a "RECURRING SAAS BUSINESS".
Obviously, the way in which those various results are cultivated is vital. But the irony is no-one cares about how you do it... as long as it's legit.
This is why some companies "always" seem to win - their "service" is based around the provision of particular RESULTS. They ignore (outsource) everything else.
If Starting A Business, It "Pays" To Focus On Service
In conclusion, if you're looking at "starting" a business - the key is to forget yourself and focus entirely on the underlying results you can provide to the client.
If you don't have the skills to provide said results, you need to get to work building them up (which can be done on the job).
Think about every transaction from the perspective of what you can add to the engagement. Don't be afraid to "give away the family silver" (in terms of "secrets") - 99% won't compete with you, and the one guy who will rip you off will jump onto the next fad he finds.
The key thing you need to do from an enterprise perspective is to identify the various "services" which you're either able - or capable of - providing for anyone with the right budget.