If Columbus decided that he was tired of sailing across the big blue ocean and turned back home, we’d have a different world history.
In a way, whatever happens, Columbus might be partially responsible. Blame it on him.
But he won’t care. Why?
First – he’s dead.
Second – his consistency made him immortal.
With unshakeable consistency, you can’t discover a new continent, but you can grow your brand to heights you never imagined. But don’t expect things to be easy.
However, to help you, Filip and Gio discussed the importance of consistency and growing your brand in the latest episode of the Maoio YouTube Podcast.
If you’re a solopreneur, this is for you too. Company or personal brand – you need to be consistent to grow it. And solopreneurs usually have trouble staying motivated and on track. We’ll show you shortcuts around that a bit later.
Now, we’ll move to Gio’s keen observation (coming from years of experience in business).
You Need Correct Processes and Systems
“Keyword is consistency. It’s obvious, but one of the most difficult things for entrepreneurs.”
Gio wanted to say that even if business owners know what they should do, they get lost and distracted once they start feeling friction. That friction happens because they don’t follow well-planned and organized processes. Sometimes they even cause themselves harm by taking actions that move them further from their business goals.
In the end, they get frustrated because they know they’ve been doing everything to grow, but instead of success, they get stressed. Instead of the beautiful view from the top of the mountain, they get stuck. They try this, and that, then this again. Like a fish caught in a net, they scramble for freedom without knowing that every move brings them closer to their end.
And all of that is avoidable with a proper plan and outside help.
You shouldn’t move if you don’t know your exact next step. Even if you know the direction you should follow, don’t rush. Without the correct processes and systems, it becomes tiring to stay consistent.
Also, mistakes in processes and systems are often responsible for stagnation. Once a business starts plateauing, the correct systems make them take daily actions that can directly impact growth.
That’s why Planning is the first chapter in The Art of War, and the lack of planning is one of the massive business scaling mistakes.
Sometimes Business Owners Aren’t Aware of The Opportunities Before Them
It’s not uncommon for business owners to stick to their old ways even if they obviously don’t work. People fear change. But without change, there can’t be any growth. Growth itself is a change. Those who focus on the big picture but don’t neglect details always win in the long run.
For example, getting a high-end webshop leasing is just a part of the branding process. It allows competing for good customers without making massive starting investments.
That’s one of the reasons we recommend people get Maoio webshop leasing instead of alternative, seemingly affordable, and altogether risky webshops. It’s better to know that you have one part of the system moving flawlessly; it lets you focus on other things. That opens space to polish other processes, making the company more efficient and recognizable.
“It’s Easy to Win a Belt. It’s Difficult to Defend it.”
Filip compared business growth to sports activities which is the perfect analogy. If an athlete wins something, they don’t stop training. They start training even harder, at least good ones.
But businesses are more similar to lousy champions. They start with a lot of energy, and everything is pink for some time. They taste success, but when problems start occurring, they neglect to brand and focus on surviving.
Instead of going all in at first and going all out later, you should have a plan that will keep you on the exact right track, even in difficult situations. If you think about it, a good business plan combined with proven processes eliminates difficult situations.
How?
Because no matter what happens, you know what to do. So you know that the trouble you’re in is not your destination but a test of your willpower.
Branding is Basically Educational Marketing
If you’re still wondering if you need to start branding yourself or your company, let us give you a short answer.
Yes. Without branding, companies die.
The misconception about branding is that you always need to be selling. Not only that’s not true, but it’s a massive branding mistake many companies make. Branding isn’t pulling sleeves and screaming about your services. That’s how you burn out your network, email list, or friends. No one wants to listen to such stuff.
That’s why educational marketing (branding) shouldn’t focus on you. It should focus on your target market, pain points, hopes, and dreams.
Be as helpful as possible because people remember. The same happens to those who always sell. They build a bad reputation instead of a massive network of clients.
So remember that you don’t always need to be in the selling mode, but you need to keep growing your awareness. It brings clients. You never know when someone might read your post, comment, or watch your video.
However, you require a solid content strategy to brand properly and educate your audience. Without it, you’ll waste time on irrelevant topics. You can get more info about that in our 2175-word article about coming up with the foolproof content strategy for 2023. That’s our Christmas gift to you and your target audience.
Mentorships and Masterminds are Great for Many Reasons
“A man is not an island.”
Neither is a company.
You need help, no matter how good you are. Even if you’re the best at what you do, you need people with different skills to do the things you don’t know. (If you think you know everything, your company is already in deep trouble.)
But since most people don’t think they’re sent from God to coach, consult, build websites, do PPC, or whatever, they invest in themselves. And there aren’t many better options than masterminds and mentorships. It does wonders for business on many levels.
People who don’t have teams and business plans struggle to keep their energy high. But mentorship can solve that. Mentors reveal the path in front of you. They show you priorities and set systems that are already proven.
With a mentor on your side, you can’t have too much on your table. A proven system and a mentor ensure you do what you need to do by holding you accountable. In the end, you’re aware that you’re paying good money to look into your mentor’s mind, so you want to get the most for your investment. That simple realization pushes many people forward, and they reach new heights just because they have someone to show them the path (not just the direction) and hold them accountable.
However, depending on your industry and skill level, you might end up as a mastermind where you’ll be the black sheep. You must know how to behave to get the most out of newly formed relationships. You need to use all your networking skills to get noticed. So if you’re planning to join any business group, check out what 2 CEOs had to say on efficient networking. (Feel free to contact us if you need recommendations for any mentorship/mastermind.)
Don’t Let Social Media Discourage You
Mentorships and masterminds are blessings of the modern world because we can absorb knowledge from leading global experts without getting off the couch. Yet, the world has dark sides too. They make some people feel like they don’t want to get off the couch again.
And who’s responsible for that?
“Columbus!”
True, but social media are confidence-eroding machines.
The modern world makes us impatient. Seeing the success of others makes people anxious. But in most cases, we only see the tip of the iceberg. Successful people have invested energy and time. They just did what they had to do. Michael Phelps hasn’t missed a training session in 5 years. Kobe never had vacations with other NBA players. They had the consistency of Sisyphus and knew what to do at every moment because they had a rock-solid plan.
But sticking to a path that leads nowhere isn’t wise either. Agencies and other businesses sometimes set unrealistic goals because someone on LinkedIn made millions by selling pigeon poop by the highway in Prague.
“If they’ve done it, so can we!!” – Not Necessarily True!
Chasing a white whale is a trap many digital agencies throw themselves in. It costs them enormous amounts of resources. There are more areas where digital agencies often fail, but read that later. Now we need to mention VAs. Everyone’s favourite guardian angels.
VAs Help More Than Mentors in Some Cases
Mentors are the light that shines the path before you. They have all the knowledge you need. Mentors are like your business parents (luckily, you can choose your business parents, so choose wisely). But even the perfect parents can’t solve every problem.
In such situations, we turn to our friends. And if mentors are parents, VAs are best friends.
Hiring a virtual assistant is good culture-wise. You have someone who’ll support you, remind you of stuff and do a lot of tasks that don’t need your attention. That’s how you ensure you get the best of your time, money, and career.
Look at this example…
Many (coaching) businesses stagnate because they aren’t visible enough. But it’s not easy to find time for branding if you don’t have a team.
New solopreneurs might be happy with kind words from friends, but later, once they scale, they need to find someone more experienced to teach them and give them feedback. That’s why most stagnate.
Someone from the outside could push you toward breaking it to the next level because they’ll ask the right questions and push you to self-realization. And a good VA whose skills align well with yours would do all of that.
Consultants Make You Work Smarter
We mentioned mentors. They stand by your side and lead you where you want to go. But it’s often wise to combine mentors, VAs, and consultants. That gives you the holy trinity of support for your business.
Mentors are helpful because they have vast knowledge in the area you want to master. But that doesn’t make them perfect. Everyone has strong and weak sides. Smart people call consultants to fill in the gaps their mentors can’t.
You can get a consultant in a narrow area. Let’s say you want to discover a simple way to get more done in less time without burning out. You wouldn’t call a painter to teach you that. You’d call someone specialized in helping companies become more efficient.
People often have everything they need but need help from the environment. Proactive people find it easier because they require less motivation to make that leap of fate. The difference between making it and stagnating is often a mentor or a consultant.
Maoio consultants cover different business aspects, but we’re proud of our marketing knowledge. With our marketing consulting service, we lead our clients to massive changes.
Don’t Stick to Toxic Masculinity (Even if You’re A Lady)
We mentioned this already, but it’s vital to repeat it. Consistency is the key, but not every consistency is created equal.
Consistency with something that doesn’t work doesn’t take you closer to your goals. It takes you in the opposite direction. But we understand that it’s not always easy to know if you’re doing everything well.
That’s why, we love Filip’s favorite quote: “Do what you do best, pay for the rest.”
Don’t build on your weakness. If you’re great at what you do, stick to that. Let someone else take over your marketing or any other business aspect. That will turn you into the absolute monster in your field without sacrificing your present peace or future happiness.