Editor’s note: This article was first published in September 2015. Its phrase “ten, or even five, years ago” is relative to 2015.
Ten, or even five, years ago, building a seven-figure online business was practically unthinkable, but as technology improves around the world, there are more seven-figure earners than ever. They include Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, among many others.
With the technology, resources, research and information available today, everything is much easier than it was a few years ago. Sadly, most people will never reach seven figures a year. Many will ask: “Why?”
See also: 10 business lessons from business owners for entrepreneurs
Well, learning isn’t the problem for most people, and neither is a lack of information, since there is more information available now than ever.
What holds most entrepreneurs back from business success is a lack of real awareness and of constantly studying the right information, combined with inconsistent execution and poor application.
It’s not just about hearing something, but also remembering it and, better still, applying it. You have to put those ideas and strategies into practice consistently and repeat those actions until they become habitual and automatic. You need to sum up the key ideas, sharpen your point of view and then take the smartest action.
There are plenty of reasons why most people won’t reach seven figures in their business, but here are four of them which, according to Entrepreneur, are the main culprits standing in the way of our first million.
1. Most people focus on perfection instead of experimenting
By the time a millionaire has tried eight different experiments without fixating on perfection, most of their competitors and other entrepreneurs haven’t even reached the market yet. This is known as analysis paralysis: we end up analysing things so much that in the end we do nothing, or we no longer do anything because someone else got there first while we were still mulling over the idea. Perhaps only two of the millionaire’s experiments turn out to be good and are considered profitable. The point is that they didn’t freeze up chasing perfection.
Test all your crazy ideas. Find out which ones work, then optimise the effective ones. Test every variation of that idea and find out which one works best. Ideas are nothing until they’ve been executed and tested.
Get your product out there and then improve it. Your own customers will tell you what to improve about your product or idea.
See also: Will, knowledge and ability: that is where success begins
2. Few people think things through
One of the biggest missed opportunities for entrepreneurs is that many of them don’t really know what they want. Truly productive people know the outcome they’re after and do everything they can to achieve it.
Thinking strategically about the future will help you avoid mistakes and improve your ability to predict things. When you put real effort into everything you do, you reduce risk and make better decisions.
Plan your long-term strategies before planning your tactics. Strategy shows where you want to go, what you want to be and what kind of customers you want to attract. Tactics show how to achieve the strategy. You don’t have a real strategy unless it passes two tests: first, what you’re planning to do must genuinely matter to current and potential customers; and second, it must set you apart from the competition.
See also: How to know which business would be right for me
3. Most people never learn to delegate intelligently
Getting others to do something as well as you, or better, is one of the hardest aspects of leadership, but it’s necessary if a business is to grow beyond six figures. Before delegating strategically and building a team, you need to understand who you are and what matters most to you. Once you’ve identified your most important values, write them down and build them into the company’s standards. Consistently systematise and internalise those values.
Your team should be built on values. When you delegate a task, make sure the person you’ve hired has clear, well-defined responsibilities.
4. Most people focus on their ego, not on the customer
Most entrepreneurs care about what their business can do for them. Most business owners try to sell their experience and knowledge. They think people want to pay for what they know, but people don’t. They want to buy a solution to their problems or a way to fulfil their desires. They want results. They want to solve their problem and ease whatever pain they have, or get whatever pleasure they’re looking for. They don’t care about you.
Do you really understand, at a deep level, what your customers want? People with seven-figure businesses focus on understanding their customers. You have to realise that the chances of the market responding just because you want something are zero. It’s about the customers, not about you.
Find ways to run surveys or talk to customers about their needs, wants, passions, worries and so on. There are timeless lessons we can learn from customers. A simple statement, a quote or a change of perspective can be a game-changer for you. Become aware of what’s stopping you from taking your business to the next level, and adjust your thinking, your actions and your strategy to your new vision.
Finally, carry out the tactics above smoothly and make sure they’re long term. Do these things and you’ll soon see your prospects of a seven-figure company become more real.
See also: 17 things I learned about business while going from earning nothing to more than a million
Featured image: Marcin Mycielski, European Parliament ( Stansfield ), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
