Do You Want Your Business To Be Around In 10 Years?

Did you know that 15 years from the start of your business, there'll be a 20% chance that your business still exists?  That's a pretty rough number, isn't it?

• 20% will fail within the first two years
• 45% that are left will fail within the first five years
• Lastly, 65% of the businesses left will fail within the first 10 years

So what can you do to make sure that you're part of the 20% that's still around long-term?  Well, today I want to give you three things that you can start doing NOW that will give you a better chance of making sure that your business is still around in 15, 25, and 50 years.

The first problem I see with a lot of business owners when it comes to the content that they create is that while it may be valuable and well put together, it doesn't tell me or their ideal audience WHY.  Why does your company exist?  Why do you get up every day and do what you do instead of say, going to work at a different job?  Why are you the best choice out of all the other businesses that do what you do?

It has nothing to do with your product, how well it works, etc., and everything to do with emotion.  Too many businesses rely on logic and don't inject enough emotion into their brand and business.

People connect with others on an emotional level, then use logic after the fact.  Knowing this, when you create your content, make sure that you're injecting your "Why" into it, that way you're not just spitting facts and your audience every post.

For example, our company exists because we believe business owners should be able to do what they love, without having to worry about the hassle of creating and running their social media campaigns.  We know how important social media is for the health and growth of your business, so we offer FREE content with no sales agenda in the hopes that it helps you grow your business, and, IF you're in need of our services, we're here to help.

But we NEVER sell.  That is part of our "Why" and gives us a unique advantage over the other marketers and social media marketing people out there, because most of them sell, and sell a lot.  We're different.  We give freely and know that over time, people will see our authority, expertise, and most importantly, our hearts, and that will in turn cause them to want to work with us.

It's doubled our business every year, so obviously that emotion and sentiment are resonating.  Now take a look at your content and ask yourself, "Why does my business exist?"  "Why should I be chosen over the 100's of other people that do what I do?"  Really take some time to answer these questions, then make sure your content reflects these answers so your AUDIENCE knows them as well.

The second reason that most businesses aren't around long-term is because of their overall lack of planning, marketing, and vision.  Most business owners wake up and think about "today" and have very little thought about "a year from now" or "five years from now."  Obviously, you can't predict the future, but you CAN have a plan for growth and scalability, and then put forth tactics and action steps that you can be doing every single day to make that happen.

•  What are your plans for social media growth and awareness?
• What does your year's marketing calendar look like?
• What strategic relationships are you building for the future?

For most business owners, this is the first time they're ever thinking about the answers to these questions, and that's a problem.  80% of your time should be focused on the future: future marketing, future products, and future innovation.  The other 20% should be focused on the now.  The problem is that for most business owners, those numbers are flipped, and it's why you see so many businesses come and go.

The last reason why most businesses come and go is that they're too focused on selling and not enough on brand building.  Most business owners are too concerned with making $27 now and aren't focused enough on making $27,000 in 6 months.  So what do I mean by this?

Every time you create a piece of content, be it for your marketing or social media, you're doing one of two things: you're either providing value or you're selling.  So let's break this down:

• Every time you sell, you're making a withdrawal from your audience
• Every time you add value, you're depositing into their bank account
• Every time you add value AND sell, nothing happens.
• Finally, every time you make a claim about your product or service that's not backed up by facts and evidence, you're over-drafting your account.

I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this . . . For most product-based businesses, they spend too much time selling, and even when they THINK they're adding value, they end up selling at the end, totally negating any value that was given (because most people remember the beginning and the ends of things, not the middle).

For service-based entrepreneurs, the same can be said, but unfortunately, they're the most guilty of the last one.  It seems like every coach can make you 6-figures and make you a millionaire, or that their product can give you these amazing results.  This means either one of two things: every coach is making multiple 6-figures or a good portion of them are embellishing their results.  This is why there is such a distrust of the coaching industry right now.

No matter what you're business, I would do an audit of your last 15 Instagram posts and ask yourself these questions:

• "How many posts was I STRICTLY adding value?"
• "How many posts was I adding value AND selling?
• "How many posts was I ONLY selling?"

Ideally, 80% of your content should be strictly value, that means without selling any product or service.  The last 20% should be a combination of value and selling.  0% should be strictly selling because let's be real: who wants to be sold to?  The answer is no one.

This will start to give you a baseline of WHAT types of content you should be creating for your marketing and social media campaigns.  Hopefully, these three tips will help you navigate your way through business ownership, and ensure that your company is around for years to come.

If you need help with any of these concepts or have follow up questions, you can always reach out to us on Instagram @michaelandjill