WEBVTT - Five Steps to Starting a Company 0:00:09.360 --> 0:00:12.480 Here are the five things that I would recommend you 0:00:12.480 --> 0:00:15.330 do if you are thinking of starting a business in 2024. 0:00:15.360 --> 0:00:18.750 My name is Natalie Dawson and I am a business 0:00:18.750 --> 0:00:22.680 scaling expert. I have helped tens of thousands of companies 0:00:22.680 --> 0:00:26.730 grow their businesses, and I get a unique insight into 0:00:26.730 --> 0:00:30.090 what's happening in the small to mid-sized business world today. 0:00:30.090 --> 0:00:33.540 Because I am talking to business owners every single day, 0:00:33.540 --> 0:00:35.790 and this is what I would do if I was 0:00:35.790 --> 0:00:40.590 you starting from scratch today in 2024. So the first 0:00:40.590 --> 0:00:45.570 place to start. Find a problem that actually needs to 0:00:45.570 --> 0:00:49.229 be solved if you're going to start a business. Do 0:00:49.229 --> 0:00:54.600 not just make up some random passion project that you 0:00:54.600 --> 0:00:58.320 think you like that you might think everybody else would like, 0:00:58.320 --> 0:01:02.220 but you haven't actually done any research or really identified 0:01:02.220 --> 0:01:05.370 that somebody is in need of this solution. If you're 0:01:05.370 --> 0:01:09.510 not focused on solving your customer's problem, you might just 0:01:09.510 --> 0:01:11.940 be caught up in the fact that you want to 0:01:11.940 --> 0:01:14.280 start a business. And there's nothing wrong with wanting to 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:16.500 start a business. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be 0:01:16.500 --> 0:01:20.280 an entrepreneur. There's nothing wrong with figuring out what you're 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:22.590 going to do while you're figuring out how you're going 0:01:22.590 --> 0:01:26.100 to launch a business and how to become a business owner. 0:01:26.100 --> 0:01:29.040 But to be a business owner and to be a 0:01:29.040 --> 0:01:33.600 successful business owner, your business has to solve a lot 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:38.520 of people's problems. A lot of people, not just one problem. 0:01:38.520 --> 0:01:42.600 Or maybe sometimes people ask their friends like, hey, would you, 0:01:42.630 --> 0:01:45.330 would you like this solution? If I were to create this? 0:01:45.330 --> 0:01:47.460 That's not the way to start a business. Find an 0:01:47.460 --> 0:01:51.420 actual problem that people are struggling with, and then be 0:01:51.420 --> 0:01:54.810 the best solution provider for them. When we started our 0:01:54.810 --> 0:01:57.990 business card ventures five years ago, we looked at the 0:01:57.990 --> 0:02:02.010 marketplace and had done a significant amount of research on 0:02:02.010 --> 0:02:04.530 industry trends for what was taking place in the small 0:02:04.530 --> 0:02:09.899 and mid-sized sector as it related to marketing support, finance support, 0:02:09.900 --> 0:02:15.210 operations support, leadership support, and infusing capital into small businesses. 0:02:15.210 --> 0:02:18.480 There was a massive need that we knew we were 0:02:18.480 --> 0:02:22.320 uniquely qualified to solve that need and to create solutions 0:02:22.320 --> 0:02:24.840 for people who are having those problems. That is why 0:02:24.840 --> 0:02:28.859 we launched our business. And fast forward to five years later. 0:02:28.860 --> 0:02:33.330 We have invested in over a dozen businesses, and we 0:02:33.330 --> 0:02:37.230 have helped tens of thousands grow in scale through leveraging 0:02:37.230 --> 0:02:42.029 our expertise in marketing, sales, operation, people development, leadership. And 0:02:42.030 --> 0:02:44.580 so we knew going into it that we already had 0:02:44.580 --> 0:02:48.120 the solution for the problem that people had. It wasn't 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:50.700 a made up problem. The second tip I would give 0:02:50.700 --> 0:02:55.170 you is to collaborate. There is no reason for you 0:02:55.169 --> 0:02:57.480 to think that you need to just start a business 0:02:57.480 --> 0:03:00.540 all on your own. There are countless people out there 0:03:00.540 --> 0:03:03.480 who have businesses that they are looking to sell, businesses 0:03:03.480 --> 0:03:05.730 that they are needing to exit or transition out of 0:03:05.730 --> 0:03:10.050 due to a variety of reasons. So that is your opportunity. 0:03:10.050 --> 0:03:13.860 You can join forces with them to add to their 0:03:13.860 --> 0:03:17.910 existing business, or to entirely take over what they've already created. 0:03:17.910 --> 0:03:22.380 There are no shortages of opportunities of existing businesses that 0:03:22.380 --> 0:03:26.190 need help from people who know how to operate a business. 0:03:26.190 --> 0:03:29.579 When we decided to start our business five years ago 0:03:29.580 --> 0:03:32.250 when it came to collaboration, my husband and I could 0:03:32.250 --> 0:03:34.830 have just said, oh, we're going to start this from scratch, 0:03:34.830 --> 0:03:37.500 just the two of us, and have to build every 0:03:37.500 --> 0:03:40.260 single piece. Instead of doing that, we went to an 0:03:40.260 --> 0:03:43.470 event called the Tenants Growth Conference. We met Grant and 0:03:43.470 --> 0:03:47.400 Alana Cardone, and they had this amazing audience of people 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:50.700 who were already going to them for sales, for marketing 0:03:50.700 --> 0:03:55.800 and for real estate investing. Well, we do business consulting, 0:03:55.800 --> 0:03:58.920 we do leadership training, we do all of this other 0:03:58.920 --> 0:04:02.970 stuff that their business wasn't currently offering to their existing clients, 0:04:02.970 --> 0:04:05.640 so it was the perfect add on to their business. 0:04:05.640 --> 0:04:08.400 Before just starting a business from scratch. I would challenge 0:04:08.400 --> 0:04:11.460 you in 2024 to look around you and to see 0:04:11.460 --> 0:04:14.370 who could you collaborate with, where you could be additive 0:04:14.370 --> 0:04:17.400 with your skill set and create a joint venture, or 0:04:17.400 --> 0:04:20.789 potentially by somebody business who is looking to exit it, 0:04:20.790 --> 0:04:23.280 before just thinking that you have to start your business 0:04:23.279 --> 0:04:26.820 from scratch. There is a better way to potentially do 0:04:26.820 --> 0:04:29.580 this with existing customers and an existing product that you 0:04:29.580 --> 0:04:32.250 can come in and influence, instead of spending all of 0:04:32.250 --> 0:04:36.120 your energy and attention starting from the beginning, an additional 0:04:36.120 --> 0:04:41.400 hack is find a mentor, find somebody who has done 0:04:41.400 --> 0:04:43.799 what you are trying to do and that you can 0:04:43.800 --> 0:04:46.860 learn from so that you don't have to waste time 0:04:46.860 --> 0:04:50.580 learning lessons from experience that you could have learned just 0:04:50.580 --> 0:04:55.560 by paying somebody. You're literally trading your money for the 0:04:55.560 --> 0:05:01.620 time that somebody else spent wasted on incorrect product development. 0:05:01.620 --> 0:05:04.169 Focusing on the wrong thing with marketing, not doing the 0:05:04.170 --> 0:05:06.479 right things with setting up their scripts and their CRM. 0:05:06.480 --> 0:05:08.969 There is just so much that you can learn from 0:05:08.970 --> 0:05:11.700 finding a mentor who has done what you want to do, 0:05:11.700 --> 0:05:14.070 and pulling that time forward so you don't have to 0:05:14.070 --> 0:05:17.489 make those mistakes. Mentorship is something that has been a 0:05:17.490 --> 0:05:20.039 game changer for me. I can name a handful of 0:05:20.040 --> 0:05:23.670 people that, as I've gone through my career, they have 0:05:23.670 --> 0:05:27.419 influenced me and been a sounding board when I'm running 0:05:27.420 --> 0:05:31.350 into problems. And even today, now that our business is 0:05:31.860 --> 0:05:37.140 quite large, I'm now looking to and connecting with people 0:05:37.140 --> 0:05:40.529 who have run $1 billion business because me talking to 0:05:40.529 --> 0:05:44.390 somebody who's run a. Million dollar business there. They're not 0:05:44.390 --> 0:05:47.060 at the same break point as I am now. I 0:05:47.060 --> 0:05:49.700 need to now figure out what is this next level 0:05:49.700 --> 0:05:51.320 and what do I need to be thinking with? Where 0:05:51.320 --> 0:05:52.880 do I need to be spending my time? How do 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:56.480 I need to develop myself in accordance with where I'm going? 0:05:56.510 --> 0:06:00.529 If you're starting a business in 2024, it's likely that 0:06:00.529 --> 0:06:04.430 most of your friends aren't also business owners and successful 0:06:04.430 --> 0:06:07.730 business owners, so you might not have a significant amount 0:06:07.730 --> 0:06:11.720 of access to people who just have these successful businesses. 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:15.710 So in that case, what do you have to do? 0:06:15.740 --> 0:06:19.250 You likely need to spend money to join masterminds and 0:06:19.250 --> 0:06:22.910 coaching groups, and different ways to connect with other business 0:06:22.910 --> 0:06:25.669 owners who are doing bigger things, and who are a 0:06:25.670 --> 0:06:28.940 few steps ahead of you on your journey. I would 0:06:28.940 --> 0:06:32.839 love to help you. And if you're interested in connecting 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:35.870 with our Cardone Ventures team on ways that we can 0:06:35.870 --> 0:06:38.870 support you in starting your business, feel free to send 0:06:38.870 --> 0:06:41.960 an email to info at com and we will direct 0:06:41.960 --> 0:06:46.640 you to the right resource. I cannot emphasize enough how 0:06:46.640 --> 0:06:50.539 important it is to find mentors who have been there 0:06:50.540 --> 0:06:52.670 and done that, who want to help you and are 0:06:52.670 --> 0:06:56.030 willing to share their secrets with you. The successful action 0:06:56.029 --> 0:07:01.760 that I watch entrepreneurs do all the time is promote 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:07.820 the product, promote the service, promote the business before it's ready. 0:07:08.270 --> 0:07:12.260 Unsuccessful people think that the thing has to be perfect, 0:07:12.440 --> 0:07:17.510 dialed in every detail, flawlessly planned out and executed with 0:07:17.510 --> 0:07:20.660 a bow on top before they're going to promote to 0:07:20.660 --> 0:07:24.770 their network, to people that they're just meeting, that this 0:07:24.770 --> 0:07:29.240 thing is coming out. And the problem with waiting is 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:33.440 sometimes you never actually get it perfect. And in that process, 0:07:33.440 --> 0:07:38.060 from having an idea to launching it and getting the 0:07:38.060 --> 0:07:42.080 full thing ready, if you don't have money, if you 0:07:42.080 --> 0:07:47.000 don't have interest, meaning people opting in to learning more 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:51.500 or pre-ordering whatever your thing is, you lose steam. And 0:07:51.500 --> 0:07:54.950 there is a potential that during this time frame, you 0:07:54.950 --> 0:07:58.640 might not actually ever get to market because there wasn't 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:03.860 the the excitement, there wasn't the accountability, there wasn't the 0:08:03.860 --> 0:08:07.040 next step of, oh, I'm actually going to launch this thing. 0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:11.930 Whereas people who know, hey, I'm promoting this thing now, 0:08:11.930 --> 0:08:14.510 and in six months from now it will be ready. 0:08:14.510 --> 0:08:19.430 Those little daily reminders of somebody pre-ordering something or getting 0:08:19.430 --> 0:08:22.100 added to your list and being in communication with them. 0:08:22.100 --> 0:08:25.700 Not only can it sometimes serve as a like literal 0:08:25.700 --> 0:08:28.250 cash infusion into your business to allow you to keep 0:08:28.250 --> 0:08:32.090 building the thing, but it also reminds you that you're 0:08:32.090 --> 0:08:35.420 doing something that people are interested in. And if you're 0:08:35.420 --> 0:08:38.540 starting to promote this in pre-sell and you recognize that 0:08:38.540 --> 0:08:42.199 nobody is buying and nobody is interested, you will likely 0:08:42.200 --> 0:08:45.050 make a better product because you can pivot and switch 0:08:45.050 --> 0:08:47.900 and make changes before the thing that you think is 0:08:47.900 --> 0:08:51.319 already in perfect is actually out to the market. Just 0:08:51.320 --> 0:08:54.470 to find out then that you don't have product market fit. 0:08:54.470 --> 0:08:59.870 So the hack 2024 start promoting your product now. Start 0:08:59.870 --> 0:09:02.809 promoting the service now. Start promoting the book now. Whatever 0:09:02.809 --> 0:09:05.780 it is that you are creating the business, start promoting 0:09:05.780 --> 0:09:09.560 it now before you're ready, because that's actually going to 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:12.559 create the momentum that you are going to need to 0:09:12.559 --> 0:09:15.830 make the thing successful. If I was to start our 0:09:15.830 --> 0:09:20.300 business all over again today in 2024, I would make 0:09:20.300 --> 0:09:24.920 crystal clear the exact revenue targets that we are going 0:09:24.920 --> 0:09:27.650 to hit. This is exactly what we did five years ago. 0:09:27.650 --> 0:09:29.000 We got clear on what we were going to do. 0:09:29.030 --> 0:09:31.370 Year one, year two, year three, year 4 or 5 0:09:31.370 --> 0:09:34.820 all the way. Three years ten. We got specific on 0:09:34.820 --> 0:09:37.699 what are we trying to create? Because when you're clear 0:09:37.700 --> 0:09:39.950 on what you're trying to create, you're going to have 0:09:39.950 --> 0:09:42.050 a better idea of what you need to do in 0:09:42.050 --> 0:09:44.270 order to get there. And when you're off, what you 0:09:44.270 --> 0:09:46.610 need to do to course correct. But I often find 0:09:46.610 --> 0:09:52.400 that business owners just stumble into entrepreneurship. They decide one 0:09:52.400 --> 0:09:55.160 day that they want to start a business because they're 0:09:55.160 --> 0:09:59.179 passionate about something, without really getting clear on what their 0:09:59.179 --> 0:10:01.760 targets are. And when you aren't clear on your targets, 0:10:01.760 --> 0:10:06.110 it's not just hard on yourself for decision making to 0:10:06.110 --> 0:10:09.230 be in alignment with those targets and to get inspiration 0:10:09.230 --> 0:10:12.950 and motivation, because you don't have targets, but it really 0:10:12.950 --> 0:10:16.910 becomes difficult and problematic when you're trying to recruit people 0:10:16.910 --> 0:10:19.880 to join you, to come work with you, to leave 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:23.390 what they're doing. Great talent needs to know, man. What 0:10:23.390 --> 0:10:25.280 is the exciting opportunity? And so if you don't have 0:10:25.280 --> 0:10:28.220 targets clearly defined and you're not crystal clear on, okay, 0:10:28.220 --> 0:10:30.199 this is where I'm going with this thing, I want 0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:33.260 to be able to take home $10,000 a month. I 0:10:33.260 --> 0:10:35.569 want to take home $100,000 a month. I want to 0:10:35.570 --> 0:10:38.479 take home $1 million a month or $10 million a month. 0:10:38.480 --> 0:10:40.400 If you're not thinking with how big do I want 0:10:40.400 --> 0:10:43.270 this business to be? You're going to have a difficult 0:10:43.270 --> 0:10:46.120 time actually taking the steps to get team members to 0:10:46.120 --> 0:10:48.910 help you to make the right decisions about your product 0:10:48.910 --> 0:10:52.179 and service. And so devoid of the target, you just 0:10:52.179 --> 0:10:54.340 going to create a mess. Don't do that. Don't be 0:10:54.340 --> 0:10:56.860 like the majority of business owners who are out of 0:10:56.860 --> 0:11:00.490 business and fail because they don't actually know what the 0:11:00.490 --> 0:11:02.710 plan is and where they're going. If you can be 0:11:02.710 --> 0:11:05.980 clear ish, I'm not saying you have a crystal ball 0:11:05.980 --> 0:11:08.349 and you actually know everything that's going to take place 0:11:08.350 --> 0:11:13.270 from now until 2034, like ten years from now seems 0:11:13.270 --> 0:11:15.550 like a long time away. I'm not asking you to 0:11:15.550 --> 0:11:17.920 predict the future, but what I am saying is you 0:11:17.920 --> 0:11:22.180 should have a really clear target. Something that says, hey, 0:11:22.179 --> 0:11:24.609 we decided that we are going to impact the lives 0:11:24.610 --> 0:11:27.520 of 50,000 customers in our average customer is going to 0:11:27.520 --> 0:11:30.790 pay us $1,000 for an engagement. So this is how 0:11:30.790 --> 0:11:33.130 much revenue we're going to do. And when you're clear 0:11:33.130 --> 0:11:36.250 on that target, and that becomes just this resounding thing 0:11:36.250 --> 0:11:38.950 that you constantly talk about, you constantly go back to, 0:11:38.980 --> 0:11:42.460 people will take you more seriously. You will have more clarity, 0:11:42.460 --> 0:11:44.890 and you'll actually have more conviction into why you started 0:11:44.890 --> 0:11:47.470 this business to begin with. Because it's not just about 0:11:47.470 --> 0:11:50.630 I want to be an entrepreneur. I want to be 0:11:50.630 --> 0:11:54.860 an entrepreneur. It's about something much bigger. It's about an impact. 0:11:54.860 --> 0:11:58.069 It's about creating something that you are actually looking forward 0:11:58.070 --> 0:12:01.309 to creating versus, oh, I'm just willy nilly trying to 0:12:01.309 --> 0:12:04.400 figure out this entrepreneurship thing. You're starting a business, you 0:12:04.400 --> 0:12:06.079 got to take your business seriously and you got to 0:12:06.080 --> 0:12:10.460 take your goal seriously. So there is no room left for, oh, 0:12:10.460 --> 0:12:13.580 I'm just thinking about starting a business. No, forget that 0:12:13.580 --> 0:12:15.620 you're starting a business and it is going to do 0:12:15.620 --> 0:12:17.689 X in year one. It's going to do Y and 0:12:17.690 --> 0:12:20.030 year two. And you are looking for great people to 0:12:20.030 --> 0:12:22.160 join you on your mission. If you're struggling with your 0:12:22.160 --> 0:12:25.069 mindset around starting a business and feel a little bit 0:12:25.070 --> 0:12:28.459 uncertain with your confidence, are you going to be successful 0:12:28.460 --> 0:12:31.429 and how can you know that you're going to be successful? 0:12:31.429 --> 0:12:35.150 So you avoid the embarrassing parts of starting a business 0:12:35.150 --> 0:12:38.750 and failing in your business? I would highly recommend you 0:12:38.750 --> 0:12:42.199 read this book. I happen to know the author quite well. 0:12:42.200 --> 0:12:44.390 He is my husband and he wrote this book called 0:12:44.390 --> 0:12:47.990 nine Figure Mindset How to go from zero to over 0:12:47.990 --> 0:12:52.850 $100 million in Net Worth. This book is chock full 0:12:52.850 --> 0:12:58.160 of different pieces of advice, guidance, and really tactical things 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:01.790 that you could implement today to change your belief system, 0:13:01.820 --> 0:13:04.310 to be able to do different things that will create 0:13:04.309 --> 0:13:06.949 the result that you're looking to create and having success 0:13:06.950 --> 0:13:08.660 with your business in 2024.