Since I started my own marketing business a few years ago. For anyone who is considering it, please avoid these painful mistakes.... I'm still not quite where I want to be but one thing is for sure, I have learned my lessons...
1. Most small business owners are full of it. If you are selling b2b services, you can usually tell who's broke by how challenging they are. I used to think that was true of all business owners but the ones that are doing well just want to pay someone to relieve them of their problem. They don't scrimp and scrape and try to intimidate you.
2. Never discount your services to 'help out' the client. You may think the customer appreciates this, but this has the opposite effect... they actually try to push you down even further and they end up being the most entitled, bothersome clients.
3. There is a misconception that business tactics will make you successful whilst in fact, they almost never work. You need a repeatable divesified strategy (even if it seemingly fails at first) and no clever trick is going to make you an overnight success... You need to set up systems and monitor results thoroughly.
4. Most new/small businesses do not have a plan, infrastructure, or budget in place for marketing...even when they get marketing most of the time they don't know what to do with marketing leads and most get wasted.. and then they blame the marketer for 'bad quality leads' and stop doing all marketing altogether after 'giving it a try' once.
5. You really must qualify your prospect before doing any sort of work for them. Most businesses accept anybody with a heartbeat and a wallet and then wonder why they are miserable and broke.
6. Americans are much more entrepreneurial and supportive of entrepreneurs than us. Most of the business owners in the UK that I've come into contact with are cynical and short-term in their thinking.
7. Do not think "everybody needs marketing, I will get lots of clients". Think, there are already so many marketing agencies and freelancers, why should anyone buy from me.
Off topic: Painful lessons learned...
posted on 31/1/19
My wife has built her business from nothing through analysis, strategy and hard work. There's no gimmick, no groundbreaking invention; there's no unique product, no innovative marketing, smallprint, smoke or mirrors.
—
That’s the most elaborate description of prostitution I’ve ever seen..
Joking aside, what does your wife do?
posted on 31/1/19
comment by baz ta’rd (U19119)
posted 2 hours, 6 minutes ago
My wife has built her business from nothing through analysis, strategy and hard work. There's no gimmick, no groundbreaking invention; there's no unique product, no innovative marketing, smallprint, smoke or mirrors.
—
That’s the most elaborate description of prostitution I’ve ever seen..
Joking aside, what does your wife do?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
She's in fashion Baz.
posted on 31/1/19
comment by rosso is facking happy (U17054)
posted 16 minutes ago
comment by baz ta’rd (U19119)
posted 2 hours, 6 minutes ago
My wife has built her business from nothing through analysis, strategy and hard work. There's no gimmick, no groundbreaking invention; there's no unique product, no innovative marketing, smallprint, smoke or mirrors.
—
That’s the most elaborate description of prostitution I’ve ever seen..
Joking aside, what does your wife do?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
She's in fashion Baz.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow, do you get to help umm photograph models?
posted on 31/1/19
Interesting article, thanks OP.
What area of marketing are you in?
I’ve run my own business for 9 years now and agree with what you’ve written. Maybe this thread can be an opportunity for people to bounce some ideas around on!
All the best with your venture.
posted on 31/1/19
comment by baz ta’rd (U19119)
posted 9 minutes ago
comment by rosso is facking happy(U17054)
posted 16 minutes ago
comment by baz ta’rd (U19119)
posted 2 hours, 6 minutes ago
My wife has built her business from nothing through analysis, strategy and hard work. There's no gimmick, no groundbreaking invention; there's no unique product, no innovative marketing, smallprint, smoke or mirrors.
—
That’s the most elaborate description of prostitution I’ve ever seen..
Joking aside, what does your wife do?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
She's in fashion Baz.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow, do you get to help umm photograph models?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
No; but I do do some of the image editing
posted on 31/1/19
comment by rosso is facking happy (U17054)
posted 29 seconds ago
comment by baz ta’rd (U19119)
posted 9 minutes ago
comment by rosso is facking happy(U17054)
posted 16 minutes ago
comment by baz ta’rd (U19119)
posted 2 hours, 6 minutes ago
My wife has built her business from nothing through analysis, strategy and hard work. There's no gimmick, no groundbreaking invention; there's no unique product, no innovative marketing, smallprint, smoke or mirrors.
—
That’s the most elaborate description of prostitution I’ve ever seen..
Joking aside, what does your wife do?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
She's in fashion Baz.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow, do you get to help umm photograph models?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
No; but I do do some of the image editing
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
posted on 1/2/19
Comment Deleted by Site Moderator
posted on 1/2/19
Comment Deleted by Site Moderator
posted on 1/2/19
Dave NotSo (U11711)
Nothing that grand I'm afraid!
I run a small creative agency, so linked to marketing but not exclusively. We're UK based and all our work is from UK businesses.
Couldn't claim to know much about Tokyo or Hong Kong markets!
posted on 1/2/19
comment by Dave NotSo (U11711)
posted 7 hours, 12 minutes ago
comment by baz ta’rd (U19119)
posted 5 hours, 23 minutes ago
comment by rosso is facking happy(U17054)
posted 29 seconds ago
comment by baz ta’rd (U19119)
posted 9 minutes ago
comment by rosso is facking happy(U17054)
posted 16 minutes ago
comment by baz ta’rd (U19119)
posted 2 hours, 6 minutes ago
My wife has built her business from nothing through analysis, strategy and hard work. There's no gimmick, no groundbreaking invention; there's no unique product, no innovative marketing, smallprint, smoke or mirrors.
—
That’s the most elaborate description of prostitution I’ve ever seen..
Joking aside, what does your wife do?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
She's in fashion Baz.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow, do you get to help umm photograph models?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
No; but I do do some of the image editing
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Baz, Rosso is the Clarke Kent of international politics but he's blown his cover story.
He's actually Donald Trump and his wife is "in fashion"...
Everything about Rosso makes sense now, claims to be based in Portugal but that's just to explain his great tan...
Says he stopped working in the corporate world a few years ago, which just happens to coincide with the 2016 election, which is about when he stopped posting on the Election Thread
Rosso's ja username handle is also a confounding oxymoron. Classic fake news if you ask me, which you didn't.
Rosso is often spruiking having a bigger wall by keeping Matic and Fellaini, especially when trying to keep Messi or Neymar (bloody Mexicans!) out. Remind you of anyone??? Also have you ever seen Donald Rosso in the same room as SE85 when 85 is denigrating South Americans?
Rosso will probably call this post "fake news" too, just because I'm asocialist.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Rosso IS Trump... this explains ALOT!