Steve Peacock. 10 mistakes that novice entrepreneurs make
For 14 years now I have not been working for hire, and during this time I made a lot of stupid mistakes in running a business. Many followed me and started their own business, and I noticed that many of them make the same mistakes as me. Therefore, these tips are primarily addressed to small business owners and especially those who have just started (or are going to start) their business. So.
1. Sell to the wrong people.
Despite the fact that sales are very important for the survival of any business, it is not necessary to offer your product to the first person you meet, including your friends and family members. I will say more, it is a waste of time - trying to sell something to a person who simply does not need what you offer.
Selling to the wrong people includes trying to sell to everyone. In addition, some customers sell much easier than others. For example, my wife consults on the use of web-tools for private entrepreneurs, and she learned from her own experience that it is much more difficult to work with some clients than with others. If a potential client has no money, or he is terribly worried about every cent spent, or if the client wants the site, but does not know why he needs it, or if the client just does not know what the Internet is, then you don’t of the way.
')
So with a light heart, deny customers who will bring more problems than money. Better to let your competitors try to sell them! And you save your nerves and free up time to find really good customers.
And yet, if someone suddenly wants to become your business partner, it is not at all necessary to accept his offer. In the first year of developing my business, I said “yes” to at least 50% of the people who offered me a business partnership. I spent a lot of time chasing projects that really didn’t deserve attention. I accepted invitations for business lunches from random people who just wanted to "see if we could start some business together." Alas, none of them brought me even 10 kopecks. If you think that the upcoming meeting is meaningless, then most likely it will be so.
Do not cooperate with random people simply because you think that you are expected to cooperate. Today, at best, I accept only one of ten such proposals. And if the proposal does not immediately capture me, then, as a rule, I reject it or ignore it. After all, most ideas of this kind are not worth paying attention to. Learn to say “no” to weak sentences, and you will have the opportunity to say “yes” to those who make you gold.
2. Spend too much money
As long as you do not have a steady source of income, do not waste your precious start-up capital until it becomes absolutely necessary. I started my computer games business with $ 20,000 (and it was my own money), they quickly spread out, and soon I was forced to go into debt to finance my business. Unfortunately, the first version of the business model of my project did not work, and it took five full years before this business brought the first money. So I very quickly learned that every dollar invested in a business should ultimately pay off through sales.
In 2004, I started my project on self-development from $ 9, although I could have spent much more on it. No fashion logo, no luxury web design, no business cards, no stationery. I paid for registering a domain and that's it. This was the amount I was willing to pay before the project starts making a profit. All other project expenses were paid out of this profit.
Your business should fill your wallet with money, and so before you invest money in it, make sure you know exactly how to get it back.
The beginning of a number of business projects, undoubtedly, requires a lot of money, but in the Internet era you can easily run a highly profitable business on the little thing that lies in your pocket.
3. Spend too little money.
Excessive stinginess is also a mistake. Do not let frugality degrade your business. Use the help of qualified contractors if they can do some things much better than you. Buy quality equipment, but only if it justifies your investment. Do not spend money on fashionable furniture, buy functional furniture that will help you work more productively. Do not buy a prehistoric computer with outdated software that will slow you down, especially if you can afford something better.
The wisdom that will allow you to determine whether you are stingy or too wasteful will come to you with time, and if you are just starting out, listen to the opinion of another person. Often, even the idea that it is worth knowing the opinion of another person will allow you to make the right choice. And if you can not justify the importance of costs to a person whom you respect, then most likely the purchase will be a mistake. On the other hand, there are situations in which it is difficult to justify a reluctance to spend money.
4. Stretch someone else's mask
Many business projects managed by one person position themselves as “we”. Many start-ups do this, although there is no need for it. Nowadays there is nothing wrong with your business being a business of one person. My business of computer games is “we” for many years, but my project on self-development is “I”. My wife’s journal VegFamily is “we,” because people work for her, but her web-consulting is “me.” It's normal to call your business “me” when you are the only person working in it.
To say that your business is “we,” when in reality it's “me,” is a bit silly. It does not bring you the respect you would like. Positioning your business as “I” is even an advantage today, so people know that you are the only link in the chain and if you make a promise, then only you are responsible for its implementation. Promises from “we” are often worth little.
And yet, if you are a beginner entrepreneur, do not try to look different. Set a fair price for your products and services according to your skill level and talent. Some aspiring entrepreneurs think they should be actors. In this case, the business project that they are promoting into the world is a jumble of fantasies. Your attempts to deceive the client will cause only negative emotions among potential buyers. And if you are so desperate for your business that you are forced to lie, you should not have started it.
If you cannot appreciate the real value of the product and its fair price, do not play a game called business. Better yet, practice your skills a little more.
5. Consider that the signed contract will be executed
I made such mistakes far more than I could afford. I signed contracts with respected corporations at first glance, but these papers were not worth a penny if the general director suddenly wanted to refuse the deal (even if the reasons for the refusal were not very good). Of course, the truth was on my side, but did I want to go to court to prove it? No, I preferred to do more meaningful work.
A signed contract is just a piece of paper. Behind the contract is always a relationship. And if the relationship deteriorates, the contract will not save you. The purpose of the contract is to clearly define the rights and obligations of the parties. But relationships, not paper, ultimately reinforce these obligations. And when I realized that, I concentrated on the relationship and began to worry less about what was written on paper, and my transactions began to go more smoothly. And as soon as you are mired in the papers - your deal is in danger.
Creative deals are often very far from the contract that describes them. One of my lawyers, who worked with a bunch of game development deals, told me that not a single deal he ever worked with didn’t fit the contract exactly, and many were far from it at all. But in most cases it was a big deal. Business connections are similar to all other connections between people — and are subject to exactly the same constant change.
A signed contract, of course, is necessary, especially if the deal is with a large corporation where people come and go, but still the relationship is primary. Do not make the mistake of counting the contract as a deal. The contract is just the shadow of the deal. The real deal is a relationship. Maintain your business relationships and you don’t have to worry about what is written on paper.
Sadly, this is a fact - there are many scammers in the business world. And many of them occupy positions with impressive names: CEO, President, Financial Director. Of course, there are people who think only about money, they lie, they cheat, they steal, that is, they do everything possible to get it. Of course, in recent years, many scammers have already come under investigation or behind bars. But there are still many people for whom the word honesty means nothing.
For example, in the development of computer games, large publishers often demonstrate ostentatious interest in certain games and lead developers by the nose. They are trying to create for the developer the illusion that the transaction is in a state of expectation, but all that the developer receives is broken deadlines and broken promises. In fact, publishers want to delay the exit of the game on the market as long as possible in order to keep them from competing with their product. They hope that the developer will miss the Christmas season or run out of money, and the release of the game will be canceled. That happens. Business, especially entertainment, is not for timid people.
6. Do not listen to your intuition
Intuition is just as important in business as it is everywhere. You will be very surprised if you find out how many transactions of giant corporations are given a green or red light depending on the feelings of the CEO. You may think that the language of business is logic. But the reality is different. If you base your trades on hard logic and ignore intuition, then you are most likely in trouble.
To begin with, we humans are not very logical beings. We just do not always have enough information to make a logical decision, because the deal depends on people, but there is still no logical system that would accurately predict human behavior.
The inability to predict the behavior of other people is a serious gap in our logic. And intuition must fill this gap. The behavior of people - this is what determines whether the transaction will be concluded or not. And the assumption that everyone will behave as you expect is far from reality. No deal is perfect.
It is very difficult to refuse a tasty and promising deal, just because the inner voice says “you will regret it later”. But then, most often, I understand that intuition was right. It happens that some people make me feel negative, and a few years later I hear complaints from my friends that they were deceived by these people.
Intuition is the most important part of the business decision making process. And since deals also depend on relationships, you need to feel the people with whom you plan to make a deal. If your feelings are negative, leave. If positive, follow further, but carefully.
7. Too formal approach
I repeat again. Business is built on relationships. Sometimes a certain degree of formalism is, of course, appropriate, but in most situations too formal an approach only hinders. Business will be much better when there are normal friendly relations between partners.
I also believe that formalism is wrong, even when you are just looking for a new business partner. If someone sends me a letter that begins with the words "Dear Mr. Peacock," followed by a long ornate explanation of his business proposal, then such a letter is usually sent to the trash can, especially if "we" is constantly encountered there.
It is much better to start the letter with the words “Hello, Steve” and just ask if I am interested in the proposed project. It will save a lot of time and open the doors to normal human relationships. People do not want to do business with faceless corporations. They need normal relationships with other people ... and sometimes with animals, I suppose.
Treat your business relationships as friendly (or potentially friendly). Formalism builds walls, and walls are not conducive to the development of partnerships. Nobody likes walls ... well, except, of course, the Great Chinese.
Formalism is boring and tedious. People want to enjoy their work. And if someone turns to me as a computer, I will respond to him to be like - click delete. But if someone demonstrates real interest and a good sense of humor, then partnership is very possible.
8. Bring your individual traits
In the early years of my computer business, I behaved too seriously, I was sure that I needed to adhere to the “business style” ... whatever it meant. After all, work for yourself is a very big responsibility, and other people appreciate me. Or pan, or gone, right?
I started my gambling business when I was a little over 20 years old, and people who are about 20 are always a bit quaint. But it seemed to me that the business owner should not be strange, and that this is unacceptable. Therefore, most of my business letters looked like they were written by the same people who created the Microsoft license agreement. The position of "president" is firmly in my head. I learned to depersonalize myself.
It took a lot of time, but in the end, I felt good only when I was myself, especially after my business began to make a profit. And now, when I run my blog, it is my personal characteristics and unusual experience that are its driving force. It is my personal oddities that make my blog unique. If I were more serious and would write more formally, he would be dull and it is likely that I would lose most of my audience.
To be yourself and charge your business with your unique spirit is great, especially if you are a teenager or you are 20 with a tail. Do not be afraid to be like Steve Jobs and unlike Steve Ballmer. Do not try to be who you are not. In the end, you will like your work much more if you involve partners who want to work with you, whoever you are, with all your shortcomings. Send people who want to work with robots to their competitors. They will find a common language with each other.
And if some people do not like your eccentricity - these are their problems. It is better to focus your attention on those people who like you.
9. Do not concentrate on creating a valuable product.
It is very easy to fall into the trap - and decide that the goal of a business is money. In fact, the main goal of the business is to create a valuable product. Of course, you can make quick money without creating a valuable product, but for long-term projects it is unrealistic. Even criminal structures must create a product that is valuable to someone. And if you know that your business only pulls out values ​​from the rest - and does not give anything in return, then this will destroy your self-esteem, and there will be little enjoyment from business.
What is your business for? The goal of the business is to create a valuable product (service) for you and your customers. The better you understand what value you want to give your product, the better you can concentrate. The core value of my computer business is intellectual entertainment. The core value of StevePavlina.com is personal development.
Often, business owners do not think about the value of their product. They just sell and hope for the best. This is a losing business model. The world does not need ever-increasing sales and goods. The world needs truly valuable products, and this is what efforts should be directed to.
At the moment on my site (StevePavlina.com) more than 400 free articles. And they really have great value. Thousands of people go there every day to get something valuable. The main goal of my business is to help people who want to grow.
10. Refusal of optimization
Although the creation of a valuable product is very important for a long-term business, but it is naive to believe that it is enough just to focus on this, and everything else will come by itself. You can build a business in which there will be a valuable product, but you will lose your money in it. As a business owner, you need to find a way to ensure the value of a product by effectively managing its value.
It is possible that your first attempt will be far from ideal. You can spend a lot of time, money and resources trying to make your product valuable. And that's fine. So many business projects begin. The most important thing is to leave this path in time.
Highlight a separate business process and optimize it from time to time. Look for a way to make it more efficient. Can this process take less time? Require less money? Maybe it can be repeated less often? Maybe it should pass on the side? Or maybe it can be waived?
I had a habit of handling credit orders in my gaming business manually. I started my business in 1994 and received checks by mail or through my website. I used certain software and ran them through a modem. And at the end of each month I manually reconciled. Everything was good, until the sales volume was insignificant, but this process became very burdensome when new products were released and sales increased.
And a few years ago I improved this process so that online sales became fully automatic, and even games could be downloaded instantly. All payments were saved in a database, and I could view real-time reports on the sale of each product. Of course, this required some effort, but it was worth it. This improvement allowed me to save a lot of time and energy, and I did not have to spend money on attracting third-party order processing services.
Do not fall into the trap. Do not use outdated ways of performing routine tasks that can be automated: inventory, billing, accounting, payment orders, communication tools, and sales themselves. If you suddenly find that you are doing the same tasks from month to month, be sure to put some effort and optimize them. Lack of optimization is equivalent to throwing time and money to the wind. And often it is much easier to save time and money than to create them.
An online business has many opportunities for optimization, as it is very easy to try something new and evaluate the result. In the first year after the launch of my site, I experimented a bit with Google Adsense. Many people don’t like the way I put ads on the site, but this is the most effective option I've ever tried. And I use it because it works.
The donation page is another optimization. Some people click on advertisements, others just send me money, and some - both. Despite the fact that the creation of a valuable product is the first goal of a business, a business must still generate income in order to be long-lived. After all, if I do not eat, I do not write. And money means more resources to continuously support the value of the product. Thus, creating a valuable product and optimizing business processes go hand in hand.
Building a successful business requires considerable effort, but at the same time gives a great personal experience. Many of my friends left work and organized their business. For many, not everything turned out as perfect as they expected, but I don’t know a single person who would regret it. After all, there is simply no other way to manage your own destiny.
Translation (c) Elena Grezina, Andrey Vedenyov
1. Sell to the wrong people.
Despite the fact that sales are very important for the survival of any business, it is not necessary to offer your product to the first person you meet, including your friends and family members. I will say more, it is a waste of time - trying to sell something to a person who simply does not need what you offer.
Selling to the wrong people includes trying to sell to everyone. In addition, some customers sell much easier than others. For example, my wife consults on the use of web-tools for private entrepreneurs, and she learned from her own experience that it is much more difficult to work with some clients than with others. If a potential client has no money, or he is terribly worried about every cent spent, or if the client wants the site, but does not know why he needs it, or if the client just does not know what the Internet is, then you don’t of the way.
')
So with a light heart, deny customers who will bring more problems than money. Better to let your competitors try to sell them! And you save your nerves and free up time to find really good customers.
And yet, if someone suddenly wants to become your business partner, it is not at all necessary to accept his offer. In the first year of developing my business, I said “yes” to at least 50% of the people who offered me a business partnership. I spent a lot of time chasing projects that really didn’t deserve attention. I accepted invitations for business lunches from random people who just wanted to "see if we could start some business together." Alas, none of them brought me even 10 kopecks. If you think that the upcoming meeting is meaningless, then most likely it will be so.
Do not cooperate with random people simply because you think that you are expected to cooperate. Today, at best, I accept only one of ten such proposals. And if the proposal does not immediately capture me, then, as a rule, I reject it or ignore it. After all, most ideas of this kind are not worth paying attention to. Learn to say “no” to weak sentences, and you will have the opportunity to say “yes” to those who make you gold.
2. Spend too much money
As long as you do not have a steady source of income, do not waste your precious start-up capital until it becomes absolutely necessary. I started my computer games business with $ 20,000 (and it was my own money), they quickly spread out, and soon I was forced to go into debt to finance my business. Unfortunately, the first version of the business model of my project did not work, and it took five full years before this business brought the first money. So I very quickly learned that every dollar invested in a business should ultimately pay off through sales.
In 2004, I started my project on self-development from $ 9, although I could have spent much more on it. No fashion logo, no luxury web design, no business cards, no stationery. I paid for registering a domain and that's it. This was the amount I was willing to pay before the project starts making a profit. All other project expenses were paid out of this profit.
Your business should fill your wallet with money, and so before you invest money in it, make sure you know exactly how to get it back.
The beginning of a number of business projects, undoubtedly, requires a lot of money, but in the Internet era you can easily run a highly profitable business on the little thing that lies in your pocket.
3. Spend too little money.
Excessive stinginess is also a mistake. Do not let frugality degrade your business. Use the help of qualified contractors if they can do some things much better than you. Buy quality equipment, but only if it justifies your investment. Do not spend money on fashionable furniture, buy functional furniture that will help you work more productively. Do not buy a prehistoric computer with outdated software that will slow you down, especially if you can afford something better.
The wisdom that will allow you to determine whether you are stingy or too wasteful will come to you with time, and if you are just starting out, listen to the opinion of another person. Often, even the idea that it is worth knowing the opinion of another person will allow you to make the right choice. And if you can not justify the importance of costs to a person whom you respect, then most likely the purchase will be a mistake. On the other hand, there are situations in which it is difficult to justify a reluctance to spend money.
4. Stretch someone else's mask
Many business projects managed by one person position themselves as “we”. Many start-ups do this, although there is no need for it. Nowadays there is nothing wrong with your business being a business of one person. My business of computer games is “we” for many years, but my project on self-development is “I”. My wife’s journal VegFamily is “we,” because people work for her, but her web-consulting is “me.” It's normal to call your business “me” when you are the only person working in it.
To say that your business is “we,” when in reality it's “me,” is a bit silly. It does not bring you the respect you would like. Positioning your business as “I” is even an advantage today, so people know that you are the only link in the chain and if you make a promise, then only you are responsible for its implementation. Promises from “we” are often worth little.
And yet, if you are a beginner entrepreneur, do not try to look different. Set a fair price for your products and services according to your skill level and talent. Some aspiring entrepreneurs think they should be actors. In this case, the business project that they are promoting into the world is a jumble of fantasies. Your attempts to deceive the client will cause only negative emotions among potential buyers. And if you are so desperate for your business that you are forced to lie, you should not have started it.
If you cannot appreciate the real value of the product and its fair price, do not play a game called business. Better yet, practice your skills a little more.
5. Consider that the signed contract will be executed
I made such mistakes far more than I could afford. I signed contracts with respected corporations at first glance, but these papers were not worth a penny if the general director suddenly wanted to refuse the deal (even if the reasons for the refusal were not very good). Of course, the truth was on my side, but did I want to go to court to prove it? No, I preferred to do more meaningful work.
A signed contract is just a piece of paper. Behind the contract is always a relationship. And if the relationship deteriorates, the contract will not save you. The purpose of the contract is to clearly define the rights and obligations of the parties. But relationships, not paper, ultimately reinforce these obligations. And when I realized that, I concentrated on the relationship and began to worry less about what was written on paper, and my transactions began to go more smoothly. And as soon as you are mired in the papers - your deal is in danger.
Creative deals are often very far from the contract that describes them. One of my lawyers, who worked with a bunch of game development deals, told me that not a single deal he ever worked with didn’t fit the contract exactly, and many were far from it at all. But in most cases it was a big deal. Business connections are similar to all other connections between people — and are subject to exactly the same constant change.
A signed contract, of course, is necessary, especially if the deal is with a large corporation where people come and go, but still the relationship is primary. Do not make the mistake of counting the contract as a deal. The contract is just the shadow of the deal. The real deal is a relationship. Maintain your business relationships and you don’t have to worry about what is written on paper.
Sadly, this is a fact - there are many scammers in the business world. And many of them occupy positions with impressive names: CEO, President, Financial Director. Of course, there are people who think only about money, they lie, they cheat, they steal, that is, they do everything possible to get it. Of course, in recent years, many scammers have already come under investigation or behind bars. But there are still many people for whom the word honesty means nothing.
For example, in the development of computer games, large publishers often demonstrate ostentatious interest in certain games and lead developers by the nose. They are trying to create for the developer the illusion that the transaction is in a state of expectation, but all that the developer receives is broken deadlines and broken promises. In fact, publishers want to delay the exit of the game on the market as long as possible in order to keep them from competing with their product. They hope that the developer will miss the Christmas season or run out of money, and the release of the game will be canceled. That happens. Business, especially entertainment, is not for timid people.
6. Do not listen to your intuition
Intuition is just as important in business as it is everywhere. You will be very surprised if you find out how many transactions of giant corporations are given a green or red light depending on the feelings of the CEO. You may think that the language of business is logic. But the reality is different. If you base your trades on hard logic and ignore intuition, then you are most likely in trouble.
To begin with, we humans are not very logical beings. We just do not always have enough information to make a logical decision, because the deal depends on people, but there is still no logical system that would accurately predict human behavior.
The inability to predict the behavior of other people is a serious gap in our logic. And intuition must fill this gap. The behavior of people - this is what determines whether the transaction will be concluded or not. And the assumption that everyone will behave as you expect is far from reality. No deal is perfect.
It is very difficult to refuse a tasty and promising deal, just because the inner voice says “you will regret it later”. But then, most often, I understand that intuition was right. It happens that some people make me feel negative, and a few years later I hear complaints from my friends that they were deceived by these people.
Intuition is the most important part of the business decision making process. And since deals also depend on relationships, you need to feel the people with whom you plan to make a deal. If your feelings are negative, leave. If positive, follow further, but carefully.
7. Too formal approach
I repeat again. Business is built on relationships. Sometimes a certain degree of formalism is, of course, appropriate, but in most situations too formal an approach only hinders. Business will be much better when there are normal friendly relations between partners.
I also believe that formalism is wrong, even when you are just looking for a new business partner. If someone sends me a letter that begins with the words "Dear Mr. Peacock," followed by a long ornate explanation of his business proposal, then such a letter is usually sent to the trash can, especially if "we" is constantly encountered there.
It is much better to start the letter with the words “Hello, Steve” and just ask if I am interested in the proposed project. It will save a lot of time and open the doors to normal human relationships. People do not want to do business with faceless corporations. They need normal relationships with other people ... and sometimes with animals, I suppose.
Treat your business relationships as friendly (or potentially friendly). Formalism builds walls, and walls are not conducive to the development of partnerships. Nobody likes walls ... well, except, of course, the Great Chinese.
Formalism is boring and tedious. People want to enjoy their work. And if someone turns to me as a computer, I will respond to him to be like - click delete. But if someone demonstrates real interest and a good sense of humor, then partnership is very possible.
8. Bring your individual traits
In the early years of my computer business, I behaved too seriously, I was sure that I needed to adhere to the “business style” ... whatever it meant. After all, work for yourself is a very big responsibility, and other people appreciate me. Or pan, or gone, right?
I started my gambling business when I was a little over 20 years old, and people who are about 20 are always a bit quaint. But it seemed to me that the business owner should not be strange, and that this is unacceptable. Therefore, most of my business letters looked like they were written by the same people who created the Microsoft license agreement. The position of "president" is firmly in my head. I learned to depersonalize myself.
It took a lot of time, but in the end, I felt good only when I was myself, especially after my business began to make a profit. And now, when I run my blog, it is my personal characteristics and unusual experience that are its driving force. It is my personal oddities that make my blog unique. If I were more serious and would write more formally, he would be dull and it is likely that I would lose most of my audience.
To be yourself and charge your business with your unique spirit is great, especially if you are a teenager or you are 20 with a tail. Do not be afraid to be like Steve Jobs and unlike Steve Ballmer. Do not try to be who you are not. In the end, you will like your work much more if you involve partners who want to work with you, whoever you are, with all your shortcomings. Send people who want to work with robots to their competitors. They will find a common language with each other.
And if some people do not like your eccentricity - these are their problems. It is better to focus your attention on those people who like you.
9. Do not concentrate on creating a valuable product.
It is very easy to fall into the trap - and decide that the goal of a business is money. In fact, the main goal of the business is to create a valuable product. Of course, you can make quick money without creating a valuable product, but for long-term projects it is unrealistic. Even criminal structures must create a product that is valuable to someone. And if you know that your business only pulls out values ​​from the rest - and does not give anything in return, then this will destroy your self-esteem, and there will be little enjoyment from business.
What is your business for? The goal of the business is to create a valuable product (service) for you and your customers. The better you understand what value you want to give your product, the better you can concentrate. The core value of my computer business is intellectual entertainment. The core value of StevePavlina.com is personal development.
Often, business owners do not think about the value of their product. They just sell and hope for the best. This is a losing business model. The world does not need ever-increasing sales and goods. The world needs truly valuable products, and this is what efforts should be directed to.
At the moment on my site (StevePavlina.com) more than 400 free articles. And they really have great value. Thousands of people go there every day to get something valuable. The main goal of my business is to help people who want to grow.
10. Refusal of optimization
Although the creation of a valuable product is very important for a long-term business, but it is naive to believe that it is enough just to focus on this, and everything else will come by itself. You can build a business in which there will be a valuable product, but you will lose your money in it. As a business owner, you need to find a way to ensure the value of a product by effectively managing its value.
It is possible that your first attempt will be far from ideal. You can spend a lot of time, money and resources trying to make your product valuable. And that's fine. So many business projects begin. The most important thing is to leave this path in time.
Highlight a separate business process and optimize it from time to time. Look for a way to make it more efficient. Can this process take less time? Require less money? Maybe it can be repeated less often? Maybe it should pass on the side? Or maybe it can be waived?
I had a habit of handling credit orders in my gaming business manually. I started my business in 1994 and received checks by mail or through my website. I used certain software and ran them through a modem. And at the end of each month I manually reconciled. Everything was good, until the sales volume was insignificant, but this process became very burdensome when new products were released and sales increased.
And a few years ago I improved this process so that online sales became fully automatic, and even games could be downloaded instantly. All payments were saved in a database, and I could view real-time reports on the sale of each product. Of course, this required some effort, but it was worth it. This improvement allowed me to save a lot of time and energy, and I did not have to spend money on attracting third-party order processing services.
Do not fall into the trap. Do not use outdated ways of performing routine tasks that can be automated: inventory, billing, accounting, payment orders, communication tools, and sales themselves. If you suddenly find that you are doing the same tasks from month to month, be sure to put some effort and optimize them. Lack of optimization is equivalent to throwing time and money to the wind. And often it is much easier to save time and money than to create them.
An online business has many opportunities for optimization, as it is very easy to try something new and evaluate the result. In the first year after the launch of my site, I experimented a bit with Google Adsense. Many people don’t like the way I put ads on the site, but this is the most effective option I've ever tried. And I use it because it works.
The donation page is another optimization. Some people click on advertisements, others just send me money, and some - both. Despite the fact that the creation of a valuable product is the first goal of a business, a business must still generate income in order to be long-lived. After all, if I do not eat, I do not write. And money means more resources to continuously support the value of the product. Thus, creating a valuable product and optimizing business processes go hand in hand.
Building a successful business requires considerable effort, but at the same time gives a great personal experience. Many of my friends left work and organized their business. For many, not everything turned out as perfect as they expected, but I don’t know a single person who would regret it. After all, there is simply no other way to manage your own destiny.
Translation (c) Elena Grezina, Andrey Vedenyov
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/31112/
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