Entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, on the occasion of the launch of the Mindset category at Kodd Magazine, I share you my vision of entrepreneurship through this first article opening the show.
Indeed, with a rather particular education, I belong to the kind of people who few others do not know or understand.
At just 26 years old, I already have 10 years of experience in the fields of commerce, sales, communication and marketing. However, I only have a Bachelor’s degree after I stopped my studies by choice in 2014. The main reasons for stopping my studies were boredom, bullying, my age and my difference, among others.
Despite this, I took the risk to start my own business as a student by launching myself into the entrepreneurial adventure. 9 years later, KODD Group is one of the most popular web media alongside major international media.
Let’s get to the heart of the matter… Entrepreneurship, yes, but with simplicity to succeed. Entrepreneurship starts with a recommendation. By using the funnel method : from the closest to the least close, with customer reviews via Google, social networks and/or specialised websites and of course word of mouth.
The customer is king
The main goal is based on three axes :
1. Customer confidence
2. Company expertise
3. Focus on automation through digital (automation is a set of saas tools allowing to reduce costs, saving time and money in the long-term)
Although the first year of an entrepreneurial business is always complicated to get your first trusted customers and collaborators, you need to be resilient. The above three axes are defined by the following terms :
Awareness
A product/service is not for everyone. It is better to have few qualified customers than too many, not enough or none at all. It is better to avoid customers by being focused to avoid problems. Your reputation is better than having a turnover which only pays for a lawyer or spends your entire budget on advertising.
What matters
Making your business work even if you don’t make money at the beginning. Start-up is always slow, but it’s the time to build a strong basis. What you need to do at this stage is to build your business values and philosophy. When you don’t have money, you always have more ideas and everything has to be well connected and structured.
Acceleration stages
There are two acceleration stages when you start :
The first one : after leaving the tunnel, the desert, many clients come along and you have to choose the best ones and educate them about specific services from A to Z.
The second : set up suitable partnerships while taking care of your reputation (if you want to bet on digital, you can use APIs and automation for some partners).
Finally, there are two processes when starting a business : what the customer sees and what you do inside. The most important thing to remember is : the business model should not change anytime. You have to keep the same process while making it grow. A product is never finished, you have to improve it as you go along.
Growth is very difficult (with or without a budget : investor, credit, own funds…). As soon as there is a difficulty, it must be removed from the strategy. When the company grows, there are always new problems that arise.
Digital and its acquisition channels
With digital, lead acquisition channels to focus on first include inbound, SEO and influencer marketing. When you are successful with these channels, you can also add outbound and traditional marketing if needed according to your business.
Leads come from everywhere. Most customers come from referrals, partners and SEO (webinars, blog posts, social networks…). This means that the acquisition cost is almost euros 0. You have to be ready to grow even if it’s very slow at the beginning. What you need to remember is to help your customers rather than deceive them through inbound marketing and/or SEO.
Although your web tools are linked to the performance of your business, by choosing the right elements you can succeed. The most important thing is tracking and monthly reports to improve your business strategy. You can also set up weekly reports to warn of problems in real time.
Simplicity to succeed
Fundraising is not for everyone. You should only do it when you need to and above all you should be ready to become profitable. You must not be dependent on investors or your cash flow. Even big companies lose money despite thousands of euros in revenue. Raising funds is not the same as Facebook, Google Ads…etc. You have to be real when you start your business.
Be aware that failures in the first year are common. These failures also follow you along your entrepreneurial journey. However, when you get back to work 100% after several failures, you rediscover your business. You have to learn and relearn your business. This is the way to succeed. You have to widen your horizons and choose the good things from among everything around you.
You must always grow, change and bring yourself the best. Don’t feel that you are working to be the best version of yourself. Love what you do to make your business successful.
The main goal : to help others to succeed !
Angela Anz
One Life, One Chance
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