5 Business Practices You're Probably Doing Wrong... and How to Fix Them

The last couple of years have been a heck of an experience for me. I’ve been learning a ton. Many times through mistakes and many times much later than I would have liked to.

One thing that I’m glad I do regularly is reflect – specifically weekly, monthly, and yearly.

And since we’re just about to hit halfway through 2017 already (dannng!) I thought now would be a good time for me to hit you with a few things that either I’ve struggled with or business friends of mine have.

So here are 5 things you just might be doing wrong in your business:

You’re Not Prepared for Scaling

I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt here – and just say you’re a workaholic. Whether you’re still in a 9 to 5 and work on your business at night, or you’ve gone full entrepreneur mode and having no problems finding customers – there’s a really good chance you haven’t prepped for scaling.

What do I mean by that?

Well, for one, if you’re doing this thing on your own and have full blown superman syndrome – how do you plan on getting out of your own way?

Sure, you can hire help to do certain tasks – but what good is that help if they have to spend a year watching you do their work?

Wouldn’t it make sense to have systematized everything so you can hand over the reigns of particular job in a week to a month’s time and not worry about if it’ll come back right?

Start documenting what you’re doing on a regular basis so that when you are ready to hire someone, it’s much easier to do and you’re not completely saturated with work.

Here’s a good SPI Podcast session on this topic.

You Don’t Think You Need to Market Your Business

This weekend, I had to go to the vet. I asked one of them if they thought that they needed help with Facebook Advertising. Since this is something that I know a lot of businesses struggle with, and I’m just recently learning about it, I thought I’d reach out and see if they’d be open to simply testing the waters.

Their response to me was, “Oh, we have pretty good customer traffic as it is now. We’re always busy!”

That response kinda took me back a bit. I’ve never been the type to believe that the best way of working is to fill out all your working time with as many clients as possible.
Sure, it’s one way of measuring success – but I’ve always been a “pay me by the job not time” kind of guy.

If you’re this type of business owner, you might want to reconsider doing marketing – and what that actually means to you.

How are you doing when you reach out to customers you already have? Did you know that repeat customers are worth up to 10 times more than new customers? Is YOUR online presence consistent and up to date? If not, might be time to make that something you get help on.

If You Are Marketing Your Business, You’re Probably Not Using Social Media Correctly

Facebook is not LinkedIn and Twitter is not Instagram. All of these formats have different ways of engaging its users.

First off, if you want to get more out of social media – you’re going to have to figure out which platforms work for you. Trying to do more than 2 well isn’t really feasible as 1 person. So remember this before you spend anymore time on a platform you have no business on:

Here’s a short quick run down of each platform according to Luan Wise.

Facebook – Business to consumer and peer to peer content sharing.
Twitter – If your business is about ‘In the Moment’ news and topical discussion, Twitter is a great place for you. It’s all about trends here!
Google Plus – This is a great platform if you want people to find your products or services through SEO. (Not sure what SEO or backlinking is? Here’s a great resource.)
Instagram – Do you have an image-friendly business (like Laila’s?) or have quotable guests on a show? Then Instagram might be a good way to get your message out!
LinkedIn – If you’re looking to get your current business circle up to date on what you’re doing, LinkedIn is the way to go. However, don’t go adding everyone like you would on Facebook – LinkedIn isn’t meant for that.

Need more help here? Be sure to get Gary Vaynerchuk’s book, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook. Much of it still applies to today.

Your Business is Flying Under the Radar

Even if you’re a freelancer who barely gets any work, you should really consider giving your business some legitimacy.

First of all, make your business at least an LLC (Limited Liability Corporation). There’s a couple of reasons to do this.

If your business ever gets sued, you can’t lose your personal assets if it’s incorporated.
If you’re considering doing any kind of affiliate marketing work, there’s a good chance they’re going to ask you what your business name is and if you can’t prove that you actually own one, you might have some issues.

Another recommendation here – make sure you find an accountant for tax purposes.

Doing a 1040EZ through H&R Block online is one thing – but when you start looking to start keeping track of deductions and all of that… Get someone that knows how to do this.

In fact, this is probably the first “hire” you should DEFINITELY make for your business.

You’re Not Networking As Efficiently as You Could

There’s a saying I heard recently that keeps resonating with me. It goes something like…

“It’s not what you know, it’s not who you know. It’s who knows you.”

Here’s the thing. You need to know people. You need to be a connector. And frankly, if you’re not helping other people find business, then the favor isn’t going to get returned.

The more you help others get what they want, the more you’ll get back yourself. Karma is a real thing – especially in business.

Want to network more? First off network with me, other fans, and guests of the podcast here.

Be sure to check out Ascension Mentorship – I can introduce you to the founder Albert Winks if it sounds like something you’d like to know more about.

Get a book called “Coffee, Lunch, Coffee – a Practical Field Guide For Master Networking”. Find out more about this book via Joe Crane’s podcast, Veteran on the Move.

Action Steps

So, yes, these are just a handful of things that we all might do when we’re starting out in business. Maybe you have a few years under your belt and you never had the need to do one of these items.

Would it help?

That’s for you to think about.

Personally, I’ve implemented all of these with New Inceptions.

I have systems in place, I’m marketing (better and better all the time!), NI is legit, AND I’m networking.

How about you? What are some things that have bit you in the past before? Let me know!!