S1: Here are the five things that I would recommend you
S1: do if you are thinking of starting a business in 2024.
S1: My name is Natalie Dawson and I am a business
S1: scaling expert. I have helped tens of thousands of companies
S1: grow their businesses, and I get a unique insight into
S1: what's happening in the small to mid-sized business world today.
S1: Because I am talking to business owners every single day,
S1: and this is what I would do if I was
S1: you starting from scratch today in 2024. So the first
S1: place to start. Find a problem that actually needs to
S1: be solved if you're going to start a business. Do
S1: not just make up some random passion project that you
S1: think you like that you might think everybody else would like,
S1: but you haven't actually done any research or really identified
S1: that somebody is in need of this solution. If you're
S1: not focused on solving your customer's problem, you might just
S1: be caught up in the fact that you want to
S1: start a business. And there's nothing wrong with wanting to
S1: start a business. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be
S1: an entrepreneur. There's nothing wrong with figuring out what you're
S1: going to do while you're figuring out how you're going
S1: to launch a business and how to become a business owner.
S1: But to be a business owner and to be a
S1: successful business owner, your business has to solve a lot
S1: of people's problems. A lot of people, not just one problem.
S1: Or maybe sometimes people ask their friends like, hey, would you,
S1: would you like this solution? If I were to create this?
S1: That's not the way to start a business. Find an
S1: actual problem that people are struggling with, and then be
S1: the best solution provider for them. When we started our
S1: business card ventures five years ago, we looked at the
S1: marketplace and had done a significant amount of research on
S1: industry trends for what was taking place in the small
S1: and mid-sized sector as it related to marketing support, finance support,
S1: operations support, leadership support, and infusing capital into small businesses.
S1: There was a massive need that we knew we were
S1: uniquely qualified to solve that need and to create solutions
S1: for people who are having those problems. That is why
S1: we launched our business. And fast forward to five years later.
S1: We have invested in over a dozen businesses, and we
S1: have helped tens of thousands grow in scale through leveraging
S1: our expertise in marketing, sales, operation, people development, leadership. And
S1: so we knew going into it that we already had
S1: the solution for the problem that people had. It wasn't
S1: a made up problem. The second tip I would give
S1: you is to collaborate. There is no reason for you
S1: to think that you need to just start a business
S1: all on your own. There are countless people out there
S1: who have businesses that they are looking to sell, businesses
S1: that they are needing to exit or transition out of
S1: due to a variety of reasons. So that is your opportunity.
S1: You can join forces with them to add to their
S1: existing business, or to entirely take over what they've already created.
S1: There are no shortages of opportunities of existing businesses that
S1: need help from people who know how to operate a business.
S1: When we decided to start our business five years ago
S1: when it came to collaboration, my husband and I could
S1: have just said, oh, we're going to start this from scratch,
S1: just the two of us, and have to build every
S1: single piece. Instead of doing that, we went to an
S1: event called the Tenants Growth Conference. We met Grant and
S1: Alana Cardone, and they had this amazing audience of people
S1: who were already going to them for sales, for marketing
S1: and for real estate investing. Well, we do business consulting,
S1: we do leadership training, we do all of this other
S1: stuff that their business wasn't currently offering to their existing clients,
S1: so it was the perfect add on to their business.
S1: Before just starting a business from scratch. I would challenge
S1: you in 2024 to look around you and to see
S1: who could you collaborate with, where you could be additive
S1: with your skill set and create a joint venture, or
S1: potentially by somebody business who is looking to exit it,
S1: before just thinking that you have to start your business
S1: from scratch. There is a better way to potentially do
S1: this with existing customers and an existing product that you
S1: can come in and influence, instead of spending all of
S1: your energy and attention starting from the beginning, an additional
S1: hack is find a mentor, find somebody who has done
S1: what you are trying to do and that you can
S1: learn from so that you don't have to waste time
S1: learning lessons from experience that you could have learned just
S1: by paying somebody. You're literally trading your money for the
S1: time that somebody else spent wasted on incorrect product development.
S1: Focusing on the wrong thing with marketing, not doing the
S1: right things with setting up their scripts and their CRM.
S1: There is just so much that you can learn from
S1: finding a mentor who has done what you want to do,
S1: and pulling that time forward so you don't have to
S1: make those mistakes. Mentorship is something that has been a
S1: game changer for me. I can name a handful of
S1: people that, as I've gone through my career, they have
S1: influenced me and been a sounding board when I'm running
S1: into problems. And even today, now that our business is
S1: quite large, I'm now looking to and connecting with people
S1: who have run $1 billion business because me talking to
S1: somebody who's run a. Million dollar business there. They're not
S1: at the same break point as I am now. I
S1: need to now figure out what is this next level
S1: and what do I need to be thinking with? Where
S1: do I need to be spending my time? How do
S1: I need to develop myself in accordance with where I'm going?
S1: If you're starting a business in 2024, it's likely that
S1: most of your friends aren't also business owners and successful
S1: business owners, so you might not have a significant amount
S1: of access to people who just have these successful businesses.
S1: So in that case, what do you have to do?
S1: You likely need to spend money to join masterminds and
S1: coaching groups, and different ways to connect with other business
S1: owners who are doing bigger things, and who are a
S1: few steps ahead of you on your journey. I would
S1: love to help you. And if you're interested in connecting
S1: with our Cardone Ventures team on ways that we can
S1: support you in starting your business, feel free to send
S1: an email to info at com and we will direct
S1: you to the right resource. I cannot emphasize enough how
S1: important it is to find mentors who have been there
S1: and done that, who want to help you and are
S1: willing to share their secrets with you. The successful action
S1: that I watch entrepreneurs do all the time is promote
S1: the product, promote the service, promote the business before it's ready.
S1: Unsuccessful people think that the thing has to be perfect,
S1: dialed in every detail, flawlessly planned out and executed with
S1: a bow on top before they're going to promote to
S1: their network, to people that they're just meeting, that this
S1: thing is coming out. And the problem with waiting is
S1: sometimes you never actually get it perfect. And in that process,
S1: from having an idea to launching it and getting the
S1: full thing ready, if you don't have money, if you
S1: don't have interest, meaning people opting in to learning more
S1: or pre-ordering whatever your thing is, you lose steam. And
S1: there is a potential that during this time frame, you
S1: might not actually ever get to market because there wasn't
S1: the the excitement, there wasn't the accountability, there wasn't the
S1: next step of, oh, I'm actually going to launch this thing.
S1: Whereas people who know, hey, I'm promoting this thing now,
S1: and in six months from now it will be ready.
S1: Those little daily reminders of somebody pre-ordering something or getting
S1: added to your list and being in communication with them.
S1: Not only can it sometimes serve as a like literal
S1: cash infusion into your business to allow you to keep
S1: building the thing, but it also reminds you that you're
S1: doing something that people are interested in. And if you're
S1: starting to promote this in pre-sell and you recognize that
S1: nobody is buying and nobody is interested, you will likely
S1: make a better product because you can pivot and switch
S1: and make changes before the thing that you think is
S1: already in perfect is actually out to the market. Just
S1: to find out then that you don't have product market fit.
S1: So the hack 2024 start promoting your product now. Start
S1: promoting the service now. Start promoting the book now. Whatever
S1: it is that you are creating the business, start promoting
S1: it now before you're ready, because that's actually going to
S1: create the momentum that you are going to need to
S1: make the thing successful. If I was to start our
S1: business all over again today in 2024, I would make
S1: crystal clear the exact revenue targets that we are going
S1: to hit. This is exactly what we did five years ago.
S1: We got clear on what we were going to do.
S1: Year one, year two, year three, year 4 or 5
S1: all the way. Three years ten. We got specific on
S1: what are we trying to create? Because when you're clear
S1: on what you're trying to create, you're going to have
S1: a better idea of what you need to do in
S1: order to get there. And when you're off, what you
S1: need to do to course correct. But I often find
S1: that business owners just stumble into entrepreneurship. They decide one
S1: day that they want to start a business because they're
S1: passionate about something, without really getting clear on what their
S1: targets are. And when you aren't clear on your targets,
S1: it's not just hard on yourself for decision making to
S1: be in alignment with those targets and to get inspiration
S1: and motivation, because you don't have targets, but it really
S1: becomes difficult and problematic when you're trying to recruit people
S1: to join you, to come work with you, to leave
S1: what they're doing. Great talent needs to know, man. What
S1: is the exciting opportunity? And so if you don't have
S1: targets clearly defined and you're not crystal clear on, okay,
S1: this is where I'm going with this thing, I want
S1: to be able to take home $10,000 a month. I
S1: want to take home $100,000 a month. I want to
S1: take home $1 million a month or $10 million a month.
S1: If you're not thinking with how big do I want
S1: this business to be? You're going to have a difficult
S1: time actually taking the steps to get team members to
S1: help you to make the right decisions about your product
S1: and service. And so devoid of the target, you just
S1: going to create a mess. Don't do that. Don't be
S1: like the majority of business owners who are out of
S1: business and fail because they don't actually know what the
S1: plan is and where they're going. If you can be
S1: clear ish, I'm not saying you have a crystal ball
S1: and you actually know everything that's going to take place
S1: from now until 2034, like ten years from now seems
S1: like a long time away. I'm not asking you to
S1: predict the future, but what I am saying is you
S1: should have a really clear target. Something that says, hey,
S1: we decided that we are going to impact the lives
S1: of 50,000 customers in our average customer is going to
S1: pay us $1,000 for an engagement. So this is how
S1: much revenue we're going to do. And when you're clear
S1: on that target, and that becomes just this resounding thing
S1: that you constantly talk about, you constantly go back to,
S1: people will take you more seriously. You will have more clarity,
S1: and you'll actually have more conviction into why you started
S1: this business to begin with. Because it's not just about
S1: I want to be an entrepreneur. I want to be
S1: an entrepreneur. It's about something much bigger. It's about an impact.
S1: It's about creating something that you are actually looking forward
S1: to creating versus, oh, I'm just willy nilly trying to
S1: figure out this entrepreneurship thing. You're starting a business, you
S1: got to take your business seriously and you got to
S1: take your goal seriously. So there is no room left for, oh,
S1: I'm just thinking about starting a business. No, forget that
S1: you're starting a business and it is going to do
S1: X in year one. It's going to do Y and
S1: year two. And you are looking for great people to
S1: join you on your mission. If you're struggling with your
S1: mindset around starting a business and feel a little bit
S1: uncertain with your confidence, are you going to be successful
S1: and how can you know that you're going to be successful?
S1: So you avoid the embarrassing parts of starting a business
S1: and failing in your business? I would highly recommend you
S1: read this book. I happen to know the author quite well.
S1: He is my husband and he wrote this book called
S1: nine Figure Mindset How to go from zero to over
S1: $100 million in Net Worth. This book is chock full
S1: of different pieces of advice, guidance, and really tactical things
S1: that you could implement today to change your belief system,
S1: to be able to do different things that will create
S1: the result that you're looking to create and having success
S1: with your business in 2024.