A new year brings new hope, new beginnings, and new plans for success. Is your business ready for a new year? As we talk with hundreds of business leaders throughout the year, we know there are two keys to business success - an effective business model, and the right talent to bring it to life. 2020 placed significant challenges on many business models. Did yours thrive? If so, how will you maximize it for 2021? Where else you can add value and meet your customer's needs? If you're not sure that you did, or if a little checkup would be helpful, then this is the first article you should read for 2021!

GETTING STARTED

John* is a local business owner who's been in business for nearly two years. He started his business as a life coach, as a side business, helping clients to understand and overcome their challenges, and build healthy sustainable habits. He achieved a coaching certification, knew the fit was right for him personally, and was ready to help clients. His coaching course covered a bit of the business model, focused on 45-minute coaching sessions over multiple sessions. Beyond that framework, John didn't know how much he could generate as a life coach, where to find his best clients, or how to develop and modify his business model, to evolve this into a full-time career. Let's explore through John's story how you can develop and build a sustainable business.

CUSTOMERS FIRST

John's first challenge was to identify who were his best prospects, what their pain points were, and where to find them. He began with a conversation with another life coach, to get a sense of what they saw in the market as needed, and what they delivered. This may seem odd, however it is actually a great strategy in the service sector, because everyone has some unique skills and characteristics that fit best with some needs, and not exactly with others. For the ones that don't fit well, simply refer those individuals to a colleague, and they will likely reciprocate. He learned the biggest pain points in his prospects, and it sparked some ideas of how he could differentiate his services from others in the market. He was getting excited! He also decided to ask his first initial clients a few questions at the end of their sessions with him, to learn where he could add more value, and potentially have them return in the future.

GETTING PAID

One of John's next decisions was how to offer his services, and the value respectively. While his coaching program gave him some general ideas, he also reviewed the websites of other coaches in the area, to learn what they were offering in packages and pricing. He wanted to be solidly positioned in the market, and not appear as the 'bargain-basement' option. He knew that he could bring great value to his clients, and he deserved to be compensated fairly for that value. He created three packages for the key services that he believed would be needed by his clients. He projected how many clients he would likely acquire in each category, and the associated revenue. He tiered his projections for growth over the first three years. He wasn't ready to move to this full-time yet, but as he added repeat clients who saw great value, he could see it happening soon. 

UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION

John was thrilled. He knew what he could offer, to whom, and how he would get paid. His dream of being a successful business owner, and doing the work that he loved was coming together. He could hardly believe it was possible!

As he was beginning to develop some marketing for the key services that he knew were needed, he paused to make sure that he could clearly differentiate his services from others in his local market. Then he thought, I'm not limited to the local market. I can deliver services anywhere through technology, and advance my reach and reputation faster and further! He migrated his virtual coach concept into his logo, business name, website, and service graphics. His brand was coming together, and he could see that this would help him be more memorable, and stand out from others. Flexible times, access, and locations were not the norm for others, yet he believed they would be better for client needs. He would integrate this flexibility into his service schedule and pricing.

BUSINESS EXPENSES

In John's business, he was fortunate that there was little overhead cost - largely his time and expertise. He established a marketing budget to build client awareness, a website, some social media campaigns, and participation in a local business network. He identified each of these as overhead expenses in his business model, knowing that they would not generate revenue, yet they were essential parts of his business design. He deducted these costs, both ongoing and fixed, from his projected revenues. He made sure to manage these expenses as a fixed percentage of his projected revenue. 

READY, SET GO!

John now had a great plan, knew what he needed to do, and how he would track his progress. He decided that he would track his progress monthly, and re-evaluate his business model quarterly for intended client volume and revenues. As he began to reach out to prospects, his first five clients materialized. True to his plan, he asked them what they liked most about his services, and what one thing might make it particularly valuable for them. One thing he learned was to show measurable results. When his clients saw measurable results on their goals, they were incentivized to not only continue on the program, but to share John's services with others. He thanked them with a referral incentive. John was on his way to living his dream career, and loving it!

Access a Business Model Canvas to build your 2021 plan here

ARE YOU READY?

John learned how to get his business ready to go as a relatively new business, but what about established businesses that have hit a rut? The same principles work. Start with a clear understanding of your customers needs, pains, and current options. This usually identifies gaps in the market that you can leverage. We often hear from clients who have thrown spaghetti against the wall without a solid plan. Results suffer. Then, they need a resource to restructure their business model, and overcome these mistakes. The good news is that an early fix can be a great learning experience. If you are facing customer demand challenges, pricing, talent or overhead challenges, take the time to have a conversation with a business consultant, and get the right fix now. Wasting time may cost you the business, and your dreams for the future. A conversation may create an even better dream! Here's to your dreams!

Dawn Garcia is Principal and Founder of Pursuit of Excellence LLC, an independent business management consulting firm specializing in service-based businesses; delivering leadership, business and talent strategy, and performance execution. Experience the Excellence Driven® System and The Predictive Index® for your business, and achieve the results you need! Every business needs help sometime; great leaders get help early, realizing greater returns.

When you need help, consult the experts. We're here for you and your business! Click the button below and let's connect.              

Your Success is Our Success

*John is an alias to protect the privacy of the business owner. 

We've been talking to lots of business leaders about life and their business trajectory over the past few months. A few common themes have emerged: early panic, checking in on customers and suppliers, and most recently taking stock of what may be working and what isn't anymore. If you have not revisited your value proposition to target what your customers need most, you may have missed an opportunity. Here's how to do that, for best results.

Know Your Market

First, you must know your customer market quite well. What are they seeking when they come to your business? How do they find you, versus others in the market? New competitors are always entering high growth markets. Existing competitors may be offering new services, or there may be fewer competitors surviving in tight economic markets. Your priority is to understand and update your value proposition to the changing market needs. A few areas to check:

Is your customer demand the same, higher, or lower?

What new issues are facing your customers? Do you offer a solution for those?

Are you still relevant and preferred, or is there a bright, shiny new competitor?

Have you talked with your customers about their biggest challenges, concerns or pain points? How can you best help them before someone else does? 

If your customer's biggest issue is not where you add value, you may be on the path to irrelevance. Take stock, revisit your value proposition, and make some changes. Always keep close communication with your best customers to build agility and value. The hardest part may be to listen and learn, yet smart business leaders listen, learn, and make effective changes as quickly as possible. Get started now, if you're not already in discussions. In fact, you're doing market research, which offers a huge advantage in the long run. Yes, it takes time and skill. If you're not comfortable or confident, hire an expert. 

Revisit Your Business Plan

Once you understand where the market may have shifted, it's time to revisit your business model. Does your business focus on current customer needs, pain and value expectations? If not, changes are needed. Have you reconsidered what you specifically produce that your customers want, and how much demand is present in the market? What is your market share position, and where are there growth opportunities? Take stock of your assets, and consider where you can reduce expenses and add more value. We recommend a review and modification of the business or strategic plan at least annually. 

Innovate & Focus

What can you do to help customers get more done faster, easier, or at a better value, targeted to their biggest problem? When you focus on the most important customer problem with a value-added solution, you've added to your value proposition substantially! Can you solve more problems, solve a more important one than before, raise the solution up a notch to create more desired value, serve more customers with the same problem, or solve the problem better than anyone else? These are your value proposition assets. Here are some examples of ways that you may be able to innovate and expand:

• Create a new solution for a given customer profile (avatar)

• Imagine a new product or service that you've not done before, but have the assets and ability to deliver in the future

• Create a new advantage for a certain customer profile

• Dramatically lower your cost structure to lower your costs substantially

• Build upon your existing capabilities, including patents, infrastructure, skills and user base

• Develop a new value proposition based upon a new partnership

• Develop a new value proposition that your competitors can't copy

• Create value based on a new technology trend, or turn a new regulation to your advantage

• Be first to apply an existing business model from another sector to your sector

Design, Test & Deliver

You've identified what products or services to tweak, change or deliver going forward. Next comes the design and build phases, of exactly what and how to deliver the new value proposition. What is your marketing strategy to reach new prospects? There are at least seven critical questions to assess your model design for value, sustainability and profitability, before you deliver. Take a few minutes to review your business model design assessment, and assess your value proposition when your market changes. We also recommend that you sample any product or service changeswith your target market to find out what works well, and what needs tweaks before you expand. Once you refine your offerings, you're ready to capture a broader market at a better ROI! 

Business Value Proposition Checkup 

If you aren't sure how strong your value proposition is, click on the Business Value Proposition link above, and take our Checkup Survey. If you see many areas of opportunity, we recommend that you follow the outlined process above, or contact us to help navigate the process faster and easier. The strongest businesses see downturns and economic challenges as opportunities to recreate themselves even better. That's our vision for your business...

Dawn Garcia is Principal and Founder of Pursuit of Excellence LLC, an independent business management consulting firm specializing in service-based businesses; delivering leadership, business and talent strategy, and execution expertise. Experience the Excellence Driven® System and The Predictive Index® for your business, and achieve the results you need!  Every business needs help sometime; great leaders get help early, realizing greater returns.

When you need help, consult the experts. We're here for you and your business! 

Your Success is Our Success