6 Quotes That Inspired me to Start my Own Business

Choosing to start your own business is a scary decision. I know, I’ve done it. I’ve learned that fear is a good thing. Because of that fear, I strive to learn everyday. I learn from my mistakes. I do the best I can for all my clients and when I fail, I do whatever it takes to make it right. When you don’t fail, you don’t grow.

It’s important to have a great support network when you start your own business. Without mine, I’d be nothing. I’m lucky to have incredible businesses and friends around me. When I started my business, I was lucky that my incredible clients believed in me and hired me. One of my best friends is an incredible small business lawyer, and I’m lucky that she believed in me too. Trellis legal is her firm and without her legal insight, help with creating my LLC and getting contracts drawn up, my business wouldn't exist.

It’s important for me to support other female entrepreneurs because they've supported and taught me so much. I'm so thankful for the amazing women at the Chatham Women’s center for entrepreneurship like Wendy Mascio who taught me so much. I especially recommend their “Concept to Launch” class for anyone starting a business. The women I’ve met who support me and who I’ve gotten to support have given me my confidence in business. They’ve also been there to celebrate with me and cheer me on when my business is at it’s best.

When I started my own business, it was because I didn’t want to work for someone else anymore. It was the best decision I’ve made this year!

Here are a few of the quotes that inspired me to start my business:

1.  “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” - Robert H. Schuller

2. “Be thankful for what you have. Be fearless for what you want.” - Coco Calla

3. “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” -Maya Angelou

4. “I realized that if I was going to achieve anything in life I had to be aggressive. I had to get out there and go for it… I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it’s an illusion to me.” -Michael Jordan

5. “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” - Winston Churchill

6. “I’m tough, I’m ambitious and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.” - Madonna

I hope these inspire you like they inspire me everyday. If you want to start your own business. Go for it. Treat your business like it’s your top priority and you’ll see it grow!

6 Ways to Sell the Problem You Solve - Not Your Product

If you're running a small business you're probably bogged down with a too many tasks to name. Working for yourself can be rewarding, but also extremely taxing. I would know. There are ways to make your life easier and be efficient when marketing your business.

Many folks still think that in order to sell, you need to shove your business down your customer's throat and hammer them with, "buy from us" style messaging. This is much less effective than companies who solve customer's internal problems with their external solutions.

Think about it this way...if you're looking to buy a pair of running shoes, it's not just because you want to run or that you simply want them. There's an internal calling for those shoes, whether you're unhappy with your body image or maybe you'd like to able to get up the stairs with less huffing and puffing...either way... it's always more than just wanting to run. This is how you need to think of your business as well.

Solve your customers problems...be the solution...then keep your customers happy with your company's products and stellar customer service so they become advocates of your company on their own.

If you want to implement this methodology into your marketing plan and need a few quick tips to start, here they are:

1. Stop "overselling" - You don't need to come right out and say, "I'm in business, I would like you to buy from me." A soft sell is going to work much better than  pushing the "buy from me" sell. This is sell is all about YOU. You want to be all about your customer and solving their problems... not all about you.

1. You need to have 1 compelling reason why a customer should work with you - what sets you apart from your competitors? For instance, at KGrandy Media we're affordable, accessible, quick and honest which sets us apart from larger organizations who have little time or patience to work with small businesses.

1. You need to identify your customer and what problems they have - social listening is a great way to do this. If you're in the business of selling construction equipment, go online and find forums or blogs where there is conversation around construction equipment. Listen to what users are saying or what questions they're asking and generate ideas based off of that.

1. Make it less about you and more about them - how can YOU help your customer? What ways will you benefit them and their life? Your messaging should revolve around your customer. Put your buyers first and focus on messages that speak to their problems.

1. Educate and ask for nothing in return - if you're not writing a blog at the very least to educate, then you're missing out on potential organic traffic to your website. If you don't have the time to write good content for a blog, hire someone who will because it will pay. Educate your target audience and then when they're in need of your product or service more often than not, they'll think of you first.

1. Answer these questions before crafting your messaging - this will help you get a better idea of what you need to say and who you need to speak to in your content:
   1. Who are your target customers?
   2. What's a problem that every target customer of yours has?
   3. What are your customers doing while they're using your product or service?
   4. What's their primary goal in using your product or service?

With these 6 tips, you should be able to start selling a solution to your customers instead of just a product or service. In no time, you should start generating more awareness around your business and find yourself becoming more of an authority in your space.

If you have any questions on how to better sell the problem you solve, don't hesitate to reach out to KGrandy Media Co. via our contact form and we'll be happy to answer any questions you have. Check out our Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter for more tips and motivating content for entrepreneurs!