Okay, I've been slacking here on the Conversion Marketing Experts blog for the last few weeks. But now I'm back after taking a bit of a summer break. (I got to go on a camping adventure with our 27 year old son. It was perfect, even the working through the severe altitude sickness from playing too hard and not hydrating enough in Telluride, CO! Ouch.)
Today I want to walk you through Bill Gross' phenomenal TED Talk from March of 2015. Take a look at the points I make in the video because once we get past the first revelation he shares about the top 5 factors for start up success, you'll see his #2. I submit this is the "one thing" we all need to make our #1 business priority.
Considering that Bill is who he is, one of the most prolific start up and business minds on the planet Earth, and the fact that his research included 200 companies, the power of what Bill talks about in his presentation can serve as perhaps one of the most significant guideposts for entrepreneurs yet. Success is mostly about focus once you put the luck and timing factors aside. But the key is to focus on what counts the most. In order to do this we need data. But most small businesses we meet for the first time have zip for useful data, order history, segmentation data, etc. So we build from where we start which is a vast improvement from flying blindly and shooting from the hip with sales and marketing investments. Oh, and of course, let's not forget the massive time, money and energy that goes into introducing and properly integrating new technologies we rely on to compete.
It may seem like a bold statement to say that what Bill share is the golden nugget. But I sense it is appropriate because of how he discovered what he knows. We all know starting, building, selling, marketing, etc. is tough stuff. Lots of things can and do go wrong. Our plans get steamrolled faster than we can finish articulating them to the people on our teams who count the most. And the wipe out rate, people who get taken out of the start up and small business game, is huge.
Bill shares what worked from a pool of 200 companies. Check it out when you see the whole video. These are companies you will know by name. Others are dust in the wind at this stage. I will take a guy like Bill who walks the walk and lives in the veritable trenches with us at the small business and start up stage. It can be brutal down here!
Why? When it gets right down it the reason is we focus on the wrong things. Here's the list Bill shares in his talk, and not in the order he suggests in his research. I'll let you watch the video here and if you're interested, onto the whole TED Talk here. Which would you see as the #1 to #5 in order of priority for start up success?
- Timing
- Team
- Business Model
- Funding
- Ideas
Is there more to building and succeeding in business than what this post or Bill Gross has to say? Of course. There are the sales, technology, investment and all the related minutia that tie to the list of "big 5" dynamics for small business and start up success.
Please let me know if you agree by leaving a comment or post here on the blog. I also appreciate your questions because we are here to simplify your business and your life by providing expert marketing advice.
To your success!