The 3 Things ALL Successful Businesses Have in Common
If it can be made it can be sold. There are so many types of businesses out there selling products and services in every corner of the globe. Everything from horse training, bible devotionals, custom bowling balls, to foot photos have come across my feed of entrepreneurs getting out there and starting their businesses. Don’t believe me? Watch just a few episodes of the hit series Shark Tank and see for yourself!
It’s so ingrained into our culture. Innovation and independence are pillars in the American dream- and they should be! Entrepreneurs are sprouting up everywhere, all going after that same goal- start a successful business. But, the unfortunate truth is, the majority of those businesses will never make seven figures, or even last 5 years. In fact, the Small Business Association reports that under 50% make it to that 5 year mark, and most of them were losing money for the majority of the time they’ve been in business!
So what gives?
What is the difference between a failing business and a successful one?
All successful businesses have three things in common.
- They solve a problem.
- They speak to a specific audience.
- They have a consistent message.
That’s it. That’s the difference.
Disclaimer: There are many businesses that do these 3 things and end up failing anyway- there are lots of things that CAN go wrong, but these things are the foundation of getting it RIGHT. Without these there is absolutely no way a business can thrive, let alone survive.
You may be thinking, “Well DUH Allison, everyone knows that!” and you’re probably right. We’re talking about the most basic pieces of entrepreneurship here- but that’s what it’s about! It’s easy to know the answer, to understand what needs to happen, to know what success looks like.
It’s much harder to actually act on it.
We know intuitively there is much more to each part of this- that if it were just as easy as 1,2,3, then we’d all be millionaires and have nothing to worry about. The truth is, while the formula is SIMPLE it isn’t EASY.
Let’s break it down.
Successful Businesses Solve Problems
Every passionate entrepreneur I’ve ever met is on a mission. They’ve encountered a problem in their own life and they’ve set out to solve that problem for everyone else.
“But Allison, I’m a virtual assistant. That doesn’t fit for me.”- Kristen, a new coaching client, once told me.
Yes, it does. In Kristen’s case the problem she’s encountered is overwhelm. She’s assisting others by solving their problem of too much work- and that is an important problem to solve!
Not all problems are created equal.
Successful businesses solve problems that affect a large market and provide a simple solution.
Let’s look at another example.
Sara Blakely was a door to door saleswoman selling fax machines to residents of Florida. She was forced to wear pantyhose daily, and while she liked the slimming effect of the control top, she hated the seam at the toes. Sara experimented with cutting off the toes, but encountered more problems with the hose rolling up or not staying put.
Sarah knew that this was an issue that affected MILLIONS of women out there.
So she set off on her mission. Over the course of a year and few thousand dollars in development Sarah finally had her first prototype- a new hosiery product she called…
Sara’s problem was universal: looking thinner without the discomfort of traditional pantyhose.
Sara’s solution was simple: a new, more comfortable undergarment that provided all the benefits of pantyhose with none of the drawbacks.
Now, Sara Blakely is a BILLIONAIRE living her dream as CEO of a major company, and doing philanthropy work- she’s literally changing the world, and it started with solving a problem she personally faced.
Sara’s story is evidence, solving a problem is the biggest foundation to long term, explosive success.
Now you may be thinking “Sure, my business solves a problem, but it’s a problem EVERYONE faces. How do I get my message out to everyone all at once?”
Successful Businesses speak to a specific audience.
You’ve probably heard it before in different ways- “find your niche”, “your tribe”, “your community”, or “target audience”. These are all talking about the same thing.
Who are you solving your problem for?
And if your answer is “everyone” I’ve got some bad news for you.
Successful businesses know their audience inside and out, and we’re talking more than just age and gender here. Businesses are constantly researching, developing, and testing their audiences to know exactly who they’re speaking to and how to reach them. In fact, over just the last few years we’ve been able to get much more finite data about exactly who our audience is, and “niche down” to the most impacted select few that will really move the needle- and social media has been the key to unlocking that ability. Instead of just age, gender, location, and maybe a few more targeted content placements, we now have metrics about the exact interests, income, education, relationships, and influencers our perfect clients are following, making, achieving, and engaging. (If you want to learn more about how to unlock the secrets of your audience I highly recommend “One Million Followers” by Brendan Kane)
Start by simply asking yourself: What does your dream audience member look like? Take a moment to bring a picture to mind of the exact person who is using your solution. From there you can answer the basic questions, but you can also dive deeper:
Where do your people hang out?
What groups are they in?
What words do they use to describe this problem?
How are they currently solving it?
What challenges do they face daily?
Who do they follow?
Discovering these things not only defines your audience, but tells you exactly how to reach them and where to reach them.
Rachel Hollis was an author, mom, and event planner who started a blog on the side talking about her lifestyle. She had to face so much adversity in achieving her dream while also being a mom and a wife that at times she felt she couldn’t even speak her truth to her own family. She downplayed her success because she had no real support for the content she created. Her problem was vulnerability- and she discovered that it was a problem that many women faced. However- she wasn’t reaching just any women, she was speaking directly to the yoga pants wearing, imperfect, Starbucks loving, never-give-up-on-your-dream busy mom. Her content was like a dog whistle that immediately brought in exactly the audience she was serving.
Rachel had big dreams, dreams that resonated with the Target shopping moms who felt just like her- and Rachel had wisdom to share. Her experiences and advice put together in her first personal development book, Girl Wash Your Face.
Her book hit so close to home with so many of her followers that she almost immediately, and organically became a New York Times Bestselling author- which was a dream she had for so long. And now, because her content resonated so well with her niche audience, they shared her book over and over again, broadening her base and serving as the foundation for the extraordinary multimillion dollar enterprise she now heads up.
Rachel knew her audience- she knew her audience so well that she was able to (with lots of work of course) take herself from a side hustle blogger to a major role model all in the matter of a few years, and now she is thriving more than ever.
Only when an entrepreneur starts with an incredibly specific audience with whom they resonate can they be truly successful.
Sure. Once you have your specific audience established you may have the opportunity to branch out and broaden your base- but that can’t happen until you find success with that perfect niche.
Remember: Niches= Riches.
Ok. So you’re solving a problem, you resonate with your audience, but what’s to keep you from being a flash in the pan and ending up like one of the statistics we saw earlier?
Successful Businesses have a consistent message.
Your message is the foundation of your brand. You may have the best solution for the hungriest audience in the world, but if you don’t know how to speak to them then your business will never get off the ground.
Now more than ever it’s imperative to have a specific and consistent message to stand out from the noise. Visibility is at an all time high, and if your business seems disjointed across platforms, or pivots too quickly then you’ll never make the lasting impact that truly makes a brand thrive over time. You want your audience to see a piece of your content or one of your products and immediately know that thing is YOU. Without a strong and consistent message you’ll never achieve that imperative brand awareness and strength that makes your customers come back to you over and over again.
What does a strong consistent message look like?
#Girlboss mogul Sophia Amoruso has owned the same message from her founding of e-commerce fashion brand NastyGal to her #girlboss movement- “Never take no for an answer.” Her message has been the foundation of her brand, known to be rebellious and successful, a message so powerful it inspired books, a social media platform, and even a netflix series. Sophia has spent years achieving success by owning this message, embracing her truth that failure is not an option, and to this day that message is evident through her venture and her social media presence.
Don’t be afraid to pause for a moment and really get your message exactly right- it is the final piece of the foundational puzzle upon which everything in your business will be built.
Putting the pieces together.
So there you have it. You have a complete picture of exactly what three things ALL successful businesses have in common.
Successful businesses:
- Solve problems
- Speak to a specific audience
- Have a consistent message.
You now have the foundational knowledge to build your own seven figure business… but how do you actually get started?
Your successful business starts with writing a business plan.
Ok, you may be thinking “I’ve been in business for years now, and I’ve never needed a business plan!”
Whether you’ve been in business two days or twenty years, writing (or rewriting) a business plan from the foundation up will bring new clarity to your business and set you off on the right foot to really achieve those ultimate dreams.
“But business plans are hard to write!”
Yes! Putting together the complete plan for your business is no simple task. Entrepreneurs just like you have struggled with template after template trying to make something that could suffice as their plan… but somehow it never turns out the way they expected.
And that’s why I created the 7 Day Startup workbook.
I’ve created a simple tool to help you discover everything you need to know to put that plan together. (Don’t worry, it’s free!) Each day you’re led through a series of questions to really dig deep and understand exactly how your business will set up and operate to achieve your biggest goals.
All you have to do to get on track to building that extraordinarily successful business is download the workbook here!
Like I said before, it isn’t EASY, but it is simple. You can achieve success just like Sarah, Rachel and Sophia have as long as you start with the three foundational principles of all successful businesses.
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