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20 Tips on How to Build a Business

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Building a business is one of the best ways to achieve financial freedom, fulfillment, and positive impact in the world simultaneously. But that doesn’t mean that it’s easy.

As any successful entrepreneur will tell you, it takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice to build a business. Most entrepreneurs experience many years of setbacks, frustration, and failure learning experiences before they achieve success.

For most entrepreneurs, the road to success looks a lot like the arrow on the right:

As an entrepreneur, you don’t always have to learn from your own trial and error. No matter what stage you’re in, there are always other people and companies that you can learn from.

Over the past few years, we’ve had the privilege of interviewing, creating content and collaborating with literally hundreds of successful entrepreneurs from all over the world. Whether for blog postsYouTube videos, and even online courses that we’ve created, these entrepreneurs have generously shared their insights to help our community of entrepreneurs and online course creators succeed.

1. Survey your audience to learn what they’re interested in.

“The most important phase is your pre-work: surveying your audience to understand what they’re most interested in, and then running a pilot to test demand and ensure you’re providing information that’s relevant and important to them. That will put you on track to create a product people actually want.” – Dorie Clark

2. Don’t try to create a perfect product right way. Just get started and get sales. 

“Money follows momentum, not perfection. That means that you don’t really need your website perfect and that your course also doesn’t need to be perfect. I’ve re-recorded our core product six times since its start in May 2015. Just get started and get sales, that’s the most important part at the beginning.” – Scott Oldford

3. Look for ways to better serve your existing audience and customers. 

“Look at the audience you’ve attracted. Even better, look closely at those who have already purchased from you. If you already have a list of 5,000 or more, instead of focusing on adding to your email list or growing your social media audience, focus on creating new content for the people you’ve already attracted. What new product or program do they need next? Create for them and you will be building a product suite. I have a product suite of 3 core programs and each program builds into the next. It allows me to continue to support the audience I’ve already attracted while also growing my revenue.” – Amy Porterfield

4. Find out what your market wants and build it for them.

“I do not subscribe to the theory of build it and they will come. I want to know what they want, and that’s what I’m going to build.” – JJ Virgin

5. Use feedback from your customers to change and improve. 

“Nobody is ever really perfect. You have to at some point decide this is what I’m going to roll with, and then tweak based on feedback. You don’t want to wait until you’re perfect because other people are launching. You want to launch, and you get that initial feedback, and you change and you tweak.”  – James Altucher

6. Use Facebook Groups to build a community around your business.

“Our Facebook Group is not just a group, it’s a community and we have organically grown it to over 20,000 members in a little over a year. I help promote other people, we celebrate other women often, and truly practice collaboration over competition. I think that I have grown such a strong following not only because I create good, logical, content, but I have created a trusted brand that is uplifting, but also fun.” – Dana Malstaff

7. Until you get a sale, your idea isn’t validated yet. 

“People will vote with their credit card. If they don’t actually put money down, the idea isn’t validated yet.” – Michael O’Neal

8. Branding is the perception you create in the marketplace to appeal to your target audience. 

“A great brand starts with understanding who you are and what you stand for, understanding your marketplace, and understanding your positioning. What is the perception that you need to create in order to appeal to your target audience? The intersection of credibility, differentiation and uniqueness, and relevance is where you want to best position your brand.” – Re Perez

9. Show your audience that you care by creating helpful content for them. 

“Care a lot about your community and be consistent and create content on a regular basis that’s going to help people, and you will build a tribe of people that are so ready and willing to become customers of yours for life.” – Sunny Lenarduzzi

10. Build your personal platform but don’t try to appeal to everyone. 

“You don’t have to appeal to every single person, but if there is somebody or a small group of people that really believe in the content you’re sharing and they find value in it, if you’re actually serving the aspirations that they have, then they will share that with others, they will make that a part of their life. And eventually, having that personal platform allows you to accomplish not only the things that you want for yourself and your family but ultimately the legacy you want to leave in this world.” – Adam Braun

11. Sharing your personal story can help create stronger connections with others.

“We often think that we will be judged or ridiculed for being vulnerable and open, but what happens is dramatically different. When we open up and we share parts of ourselves we become more human, and that humanity is what connects us to each other. So if you want to develop connections with a tribe, engagement with a tribe, people who really understand you and your message, you need to open up and share your story.” – Alexi Panos

12. The best way to market your business is to show your target audience that you understand them.

“You’re not supposed to market and get people to understand the value of what you have. You market so that people understand that you know how they feel. The best way to market is for people to feel you understand them, not trying to get them to understand your product and its value.” – Mark Lack

13. Reinvest your revenue back into your business to reach more people and scale faster.

“I grew my list during my launch by running Facebook ads directly to a webinar landing page. I ran the webinars almost daily. I reinvested the sales from the webinar I ran on Day 1 right back into more ad spend on Day 2. I was able to quickly ramp up my marketing and grow my list during my first launch. That small list I started with of 150 has grown to a community of over 50,000 coaches, consultants, authors and experts in an incredibly short period of time.” – Jeanine Blackwell

14. Competition is a good thing. It proves that there is demand for what you offer.

“Do not be afraid of competition. Their very existence validates that there is demand for the problem you’re trying to solve or for a solution to it. So look for that competition.” – Greg Smith

15. Use media exposure to build your list and increase your sales.

“It’s incredibly important that you have some kind of a mechanism to turn the attention that you’re getting through your media interviews into leads and sales.” – Esther Kiss

16. Don’t try to use every marketing channel right away. Focus on what works for you.

“Start with 1 or 2 main channels of communication and publishing where you can be sending people. Experiment with other touch points that you know people are using. Those might be doing Facebook Lives, Instagram Stories, Snapchat, and layering on other ways of reaching new audiences such as Facebook ads, guest interviews, and strategic partnerships. Keep it simple and always be sending people back to the main channels.” – Anne Samoilov

17. Don’t just focus on getting the sale. Focus on helping your customers succeed.

“We’re not in this business to just get people to buy our stuff. We want them to see the change and the impact and create the success stories.” – Nick Unsworth

18. Just because it works for someone else doesn’t mean it will work for you. Ask more questions, always.

“Ask more questions, always. Assess whether “the one method” people are telling you is the only way to go, even makes sense for you and your topic or audience. I’ve found more engaged audience members and more sales waiting on the other side of ignoring traditional advice and focusing on key questions about what my audience needs than through re-creating systems that others have used. Ask more questions, always. Does it apply to you? How can you use it without the elements of it that you don’t like? What would utterly surprise your audience at this point? If you’re asking yourself “Should I do webinars or a 10-day challenge to promote my course?”, ask instead, “In a world where webinars/challenges don’t exist, how would I ideally help people and share my product with them?” – Regina Anaejionu

19. Invest your time creating systems and hiring people until you have a business that can run without you.

“The way you multiply time is by spending time on things today that give you more time tomorrow.” – Rory Vaden

20. As you achieve success in business, remember to pay it forward by helping others.

“There are only two ways for a person to learn about something that they never even know they didn’t know. Number one, they find out the hard way. We in the entrepreneurial world call that the school of hard knocks. The only other way to get it done is to have someone mentor them, train them, or share their knowledge with them. So instead of people having to re-invent the wheel, or find out things the longest, hardest, most expensive way through mistakes, those of us who have a skillset or have knowledge – it’s not just that we should, I feel that we have a responsibility to share that.” – Cole Hatter

Written by Tyler Basu, from Thinkific

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When Does It Stop by Suless Burton

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Hyde Park, Chicago, IL- Located at the Harper Theatre, nestled in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, premieres an independent film, created and directed by a brilliant Black woman named Suless Burton.  

Graced by an almost all Black cast, When Does It Stop gives the viewer sharp insight of the daily lives of Black Chicagoans.  While speaking with the stars of the movie, Durrell Parchman, playing the role of Drew in the film,  discussed the relevance of this story line and how it relates to the Black Chicago community’s tragic experiences with gun violence. Mentioning his late brother, slain earlier this summer by gun violence, Durrell emphasized the importance of this film and the impact it will make for the future. Actors KeAnte Smith (Terrence) and Xavier Lofton (Eric) also mentioned the importance of impact they have contributed via this film and have positive hopes that gun violence in Black Communities abroad will cease. 

When Does It Stop

About 

After losing his mother to the streets and father  institutionalized for life, Terrance is sent to live with his sister Camille on the south side of Chicago. Terrance’s friends Ronnie, Eric, and Drew, are all living the life of crime and violence. With the help of his sister and supportive girlfriend Nina, Terrance finally plans to leave Chicago after a series of neighborhood gang incidents and increasingly tragic events. After receiving life-changing news, Terrance realizes that moving away may not be such a bad idea after all. But, is it too late?

About the Author

For years Suless Burton had this dream to do this movie but something always detoured her from doing it. The time became serious when her oldest son Andre Francis Jr. started his company called Beast Productions then her and him said they were gonna take over the world but tragedy came. Her son died from in asthma attack in 2018. A year later after suffering from severe depression she decided it was time to jump out on faith but then COVID 19 hit.  Five months later with the help of social distancing and face mask Suless finally filmed When Does it Stop and dedicated it to her son Andre James Francis Jr and a couple more cast family members who were killed in chicago in the making this film. 

Cast Members

KeAnte Smith plays Terrance

Durrell Parchman plays Drew

Johnell Pommier plays Ronnie

Xavier Lofton plays Eric

Suless Burton plays Camille 

What’s Next

When Does It Stop will be available soon on Netflix. You can follow this film on Facebook @WhenDoesItStop and on Instagram @WhenDoesItStop2021 for the latest updates.

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5 Lessons Jay-Z and Beyoncé Have Taught Entrepreneurs on Negotiating a Deal

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Jay-Z and Beyoncé are masters at making power moves when negotiating business deals. According to Forbes, the power couple’s combined net worth is estimated at $1.4 billion. In the age of technology, streaming, and digital downloads, Beyoncé and Jay-Z have not only been able to adapt to the way the world buys music, but they’ve also skillfully used their influence to create lucrative business deals. Their business savvy speaks volumes and their net worth is proof. Here are some points behind some of the duo’s business deals:

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – DECEMBER 02: Beyonce and Jay-Z perform during the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 at FNB Stadium on December 2, 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100)

Don’t Overlook Second Best

Jay-Z has a thing for partnering with companies that are extremely well-known, but don’t quite hold the number one position in their respective fields. For example, in 2003, Jay-Z made history with a Reebok deal. His signature shoe, the “S. Cater,” collection ended up being the fastest-selling shoe in Reebok history. He also promoted his autobiography, “Decode,” via Bing in 2010. Then in 2013, Jay-Z released his 12th studio album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, through a $5 million deal with Samsung mobile.

Equity is King

Beyoncé’s Uber deal was a chess move as she was thinking long-term and it paid off. In 2015, Uber offered Beyoncé $6 million to perform at a Las Vegas event, according to Refinery29. She reportedly turned down the cash in exchange to be paid in equity/stocks. Fours years later the rejected $6 million is now worth about $9 million in stocks.

Project Your Rights

Clearly Beyoncé is not interested in playing checkers. Her forward-thinking paid off big in her deal negotiation with Coachella. Refinery29 reports that settling for $4 million for her performance, plus rights to her show allowed Queen Bey to land a $60 million deal with Netflix, which streamed “Homecoming” on their platform.

Use Your Influence

Jay-Z’s success came with his influence that he uses as leverage to negotiate business deals he would otherwise not be privy to. In 2008, he launched Roc Nation, an entertainment company that works with artists, producers, athletes, and songwriters. Later in 2013, Roc Nation Sports was founded as a way to support and advocate for athletes similar to the way they do for artists in the music industry. Their roster includes, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Dez Bryant, Victor Cruz, Kyrie Irving, and more that could be found listed on the company’s site.

Invest Early

Jay-Z has a knack for investing in startups that show potential. By investing early in a promising company, the payout can be life-changing in just a few short years. For example, take his investment in Uber. In 2011, the billionaire was involved in Uber’s Seed B funding round when the company had a value of $300 million, according to TechCrunch. The company has since boomed and is now valued at over $60 billion.

Editorial Note: As sources from this piece have since updated their numbers, we have also updated and revised this piece to match our editorial standards.

This article was originally posted on Afro Tech’s website

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Voice of the Chi Interview with Ava’s Pet Palace

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