The Small Business Success Secret

I’ve got a secret technique that gives me an advantage over 99% percent of all other small business owners. The great thing about this technique is I can tell it to everyone I know, write about it in a blog post for the world to see and I will still be in the minority of people who use the technique.

My technique is the key to most of my business success. It’s not a complicated technique, although it’s not not something you can easily replicate. Whenever I make a significant step forward with my business it’s because of this technique. It’s powerful yet accessible to anyone reading this article.

Are you fed up with my teasing yet?

Okay, I’ll tell you my technique on one condition – You have to promise me that you will actually do more than just read my technique, more than just nod your head and agree with me, you will take action and implement my technique.

Agreed? Good.

My secret technique is to follow in the footsteps of entrepreneurs that have come before me. You see most of what I do in my small business, my day-to-day activities, are nothing new, nothing that thousands of other entrepreneurs haven’t done before me. I’m not revolutionizing or creating a new industry. I’m not inventing new products or fundamentally changing how anything works.

It’s true that no one is doing exactly what I am doing because I combine my resources in my own unique way and have a specific set of skills that no one else does. However when it comes down to the raw details other people have mastered most of the methods I use to run my business and I’m stupid if I don’t study and implement what has proven to be effective.

Educate Yourself

In a nutshell what I am saying is that education and repeating what other people have had success with is the key. By studying techniques that specialists have perfected and by absorbing all the different ways other people have done things you can apply this knowledge to your own business.

You may implement things different to these people. You may even look for ways to enhance and improve on their techniques but there is no reason for you to start from scratch and do something when there is an established effective means of doing it.

To run my business I do many different activities. I run pay-per-click advertising campaigns. I build websites. I write sales copy, use email autoresponders and make use of various marketing techniques. My business process is not complicated but it could be considered complex, especially looking from the outside in.

Almost every single method or technique I use in my business has a person or company that has tested and studied and experienced all facets of the method and learnt how best to implement it. They have taken the time and made the mistakes for me, all I need to do is learn from them and follow their blueprint.

It’s simply more cost effective to educate yourself by studying what others have done. You can avoid making mistakes, you don’t have to go through a steep learning curve and can focus on what works. This saves money and time. Strangely enough most people will resist buying the education upfront even if over time it will save them so much more than the cost of the education.

I don’t have the time or the patience to test everything myself. I don’t want to learn how to do everything from the beginning. I purchase e-books on how to use Google AdWords. I read books on copywriting. I scan forums and ask the experts I know for their opinion on the best software to do something and the best autoresponder service to subscribe to.

How To Find Experts

The one pitfall with this technique is locating the real experts. There are many people making claims and selling “quick fixes”. It’s easy to be lured in by promises of amazing results in short timeframes. There is no sure fire way to find the real experts, until you actually sample knowledge you can’t be certain.

Generally I do the following to “test out” a teacher before buying his or her information products.

1. I take their free sample course. Most online information products have a free e-course or newsletter you can join before buying the full product.
2. I ask other small business owners which product/book they purchased to solve a particular problem.
3. I look for testimonials and verifiable proof that the teacher is actually succeeding at what they are teaching.
4. Look for the real gurus. There are many people proclaiming to be gurus (right now in fact I’m claiming to be the Blog Traffic Guru – do you believe me?) but with a little research you can usually spot the genuine gurus from the wannabes.

If you’re experienced you will know that the only way to really benefit from anything is to absorb it, make it part of your inner knowledge and then implement it over time for your business. When you find quality materials that result in you making more money and growing your business you will very likely become addicted to the advice from that source. That’s a good thing, but remember only trust someone for as long as they are bringing you benefits.

Don’t Blame The Teacher

Here’s the part where most people fail. You may be inspired by some education you receive. You may be shown the exact steps someone else took to make a lot of money and all you have to do is follow the same steps to be rewarded with similar success. Unfortunately most people don’t put into action what they learn. Most people talk about other people’s success, most people talk about what they could do or grumble about their own lack of results.

I’m sad to say that I’m not immune to this condition. I’ve read books and studied information products, been inspired by the potential, perhaps even gone on to take action….for a week or two, or even as long as a month. That’s when the wheels fall off. I get lazy, I lose motivation, I get distracted. Something happens and I don’t continue. I’m human but that’s no excuse, so I work hard to practice what I preach so when it comes time to teach others they believe me because I’ve had real results.

Very rarely it’s the method that fails, usually it is the student. If you want success learn from the best and implement the systems they teach. Work towards consistency, not perfection and don’t be afraid to ask for help, you don’t have to be good at everything, you only need to be good and following sound advice.

Yaro Starak
Student