Is your business your baby or are you creating a monster? Find out with this checklist...
7-8 min read
Your business is not your baby, you need to create a monster. A monster business consistently grows on its own with or without coddling. I sort of cringe deep down inside when I hear a business owner call their business their baby. There is a different set of expectations and results you garner from that perspective. A baby is for the most part helpless. A monster business has to evolve or die.
In this post, I’ll outline some straightforward questions that will reveal if you are creating a monster business. If you ask these questions objectively, you will be able to determine if your business needs to evolve in some areas or maybe if you need to pull the plug. Whether you are a digital business owner, startup, or brick & mortar you can use the following questions to help you grow a monster business that will help you secure your legacy.
We’ve also created the example of Benjamin Prosper and his journey to create a monster business to show how to apply these questions.
Does your business solve a problem for a specific niche?
The niche you serve should be as specialized as possible to allow you to maximize your marketing efforts. If you can outline the value that you provide that sets you apart from competition or deeply alleviate your customer’s pains then you have the potential to capture your niche.
Are you having trouble defining your business niche? Skye Schooley has a great article on how to find your business niche and dominate: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6748-business-niche-characteristics.html
Example - When Benjamin Prosper finally found the courage to quit his 9-5 and become a coach, all he knew is that he wanted to help people manage their finances better. Finance isn’t a niche though. He started off focusing on helping busy professionals with investing. After some customer discovery and some trial and error he found that fortune 500 companies were filled with his ideal customers. After doing more research he found that while New York hosts the most fortune 500 companies, San Jose and San Francisco are also heavy hitters. Now, Ben’s company helps busy executives in silicon valley gain better returns on their investments while they climb the corporate ladder.
Have you automated your lead generation?
Leads are potential customers. Without new customers, your business cannot grow. Leads are the air your business breathes and converted customers are the lifeblood. Imagine what life would be like for people if we couldn’t automatically breathe. If you had to concentrate on each and every breath life would be very difficult. If you haven’t automated the way you generate leads then your business still can’t breathe on its own. There are many ways to automate lead generation with your marketing. If you are having trouble finding quality leads, reaching more customers, or automating your marketing it might be time for you to outsource.
This blog post from Pipedrive gives you a full tour on automating lead generation and some sales strategy tips: https://www.pipedrive.com/en/blog/lead-generation
Example - Ben Prosper didn’t quit his 9-5 just to become a self employed appointment setter. After he started to generate consistent sales in his business, he hired an Inside Sales Agent to fill up his calendar for him. This allows him more time to focus on closing sales and on other activities that will help him grow his business faster.
Are you optimizing conversion costs?
When you are building a monster business, it’s important to find and optimize your conversion costs. Conversion costs are basically how much it costs you to convert a new customer. So, if you spend $1000 a month on digital advertising and you convert 100 customers a month, your conversion cost is $10 per customer. Remember, what gets measured gets improved. If you aren’t tracking how much you are spending to generate customers then you aren’t creating a monster.
Neil Patel has a very easy to follow post about conversion optimization: https://neilpatel.com/what-is-conversion-optimization/
Example - Ben Prosper evaluates his conversion rate, the quality of his leads, and conversion costs weekly. In his weekly evaluation he goes over what is working, opportunities for better results, and what may be causing friction. Since he started optimizing his conversion costs weekly he’s drastically reduced how much he spends to generate new customers.
Do you turn happy customers into promoters?
The most powerful introduction you can get in business is a referral. With impactful marketing campaigns, you can systemize turning your customers into ambassadors of your brand. Your business should be a referral factory. It’s essential to capture, document, and share the best experiences you create for your customers. Not only will this help you attract more customers but it will help you duplicate those experiences.
Laura Montini created this cool infographic on 6 easy ways to turn your customers into brand fanatics: https://www.inc.com/laura-montini/infographic/6-awesome-ways-to-attract-a-fanatical-following.html
Example - Ben uses customer video testimonials to directly involve his customers with promoting his brand. He’s able to offer discounts or special offers for customers that post a testimonial video and he gets valuable information about what they experienced when working with him. When a new customer is drawn in via a testimonial it’s a Win-Win-Win situation.
Have you built a content creation cushion?
Content isn’t king. Content is your kingdom. It influences how people interact with your brand and gives you the opportunity to set expectations. If you have started a content marketing campaign, then you understand how time consuming the research, strategy, content creation, and scheduling can be. A monster business shouldn’t be taking time away from you. If you are unable to outsource your content creation then you should at least have 8 weeks worth of content created in advance.
Natasha Samuel has a great post on How to batch content for social media: https://later.com/blog/batch-content-for-social-media/
Example - Ben delivers daily content on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook. He spends the first weekend of each month batching a full 8 weeks worth of posts and scheduling them to post later.
Are you growing consistently 24/7?
No matter what your marketing efforts are, you should see consistent results 24/7. If you take a day off, does your business stop gaining traction? As your business grows, it is essential for you to find ways to generate new customers actively and passively. The passive marketing efforts like blog posts, social media posts, and Youtube videos can draw in customers to your business organically forever. Active efforts like paid ad campaigns can generate customers while you sleep but will only consistently generate results while the campaigns are active.
Example - Ben makes sure to publish blog posts and Youtube videos every week. The topics he covers are thoroughly researched to address his target customer’s pain points, what they are engaging with online already, and what his competition is leaving on the table. He’s been able to consistently generate new website traffic, fresh leads, and position himself as an authority over the past 6 months.
Do your daily actions support your legacy?
Most business owners have an urgency to find more freedom in life. You chose to build your own company so that you can live life on your terms. Does your business suck up all of your time each day? Are you stuck working in your business and not on growing it? If you aren’t able to work on tasks that will contribute to future success and development then you still haven’t created a monster. Every business has its own unique time requirements to build momentum. The goal should be to get to a point where you can focus on high value and high lifetime value activities each day and you can monitor the growth of your business.
Tim Ferriss breaks down some principles and strategies to build a business like this in his book The 4 Hour Work Week. Here’s an animated summary of the book for you to check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3TeLsaKzAM
Example - Ben Prosper is growing his business at a consistent pace week over week. He spends most of his time working on content creation, building his network, and developing his business with his coach. He finally has the time to volunteer on weekends again like he used to in college. He feels more and more fulfilled each day that he wakes up and makes more of an impact.
Let’s recap the checklist:
Does your business solve a problem for a specific niche?
Have you automated your lead generation?
Are you optimizing conversion costs?
Do you turn happy customers into promoters?
Have you built a content creation cushion?
Are you growing consistently 24/7?
Do your daily actions support your legacy?
Conclusion
So is your business your baby? Are you creating a monster? Is your business already a monster? Comment below about which of these questions your business is having the most trouble with. I’d love to learn more about the obstacles you are facing and how you are crushing your goals. Remember, a monster business must continue to evolve. Even if you can only answer yes to a few of these questions right now, you still have the potential to evolve. You can create a business that helps you secure your legacy. If you are having trouble generating the marketing results you deserve, we can help. We can help you grow faster.
