12 steps to building a profitable business from day 1

1 2 S T E P ST O B U I L D I N GA P R O F I T A B L E B U S I N E S S F R O M D A Y 1T h e c o m p l e t e g u i d e f o r b u i l d i n g a s u s t a i n a b l e b u s i n e s s .

MariaWhitsett

b y

t h e b o s s m o v e a c a d e m y . c o m

http://www.thebossmoveacademy.com/

COPYR I GH TNOT I C E

Maria Whitsettt h e b o s s m o v e a c a d e m y . c o m

Copyright © Maria Whitsett, 2020

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the

use of quotations in a book review.

5 . I n t r o d u c t i o n

6 . P e r s o n a l e v a l u a t i o n

8 . B u i l d s o m e t h i n g y o u b e l i e v e i n

1 0 . D o y o u r r e s e a r c h

1 2 . M a k e a b u s i n e s s p l a n

1 4 . L e g a l i t i e s

1 6 . C r e a t e a s t a r t u p b u d g e t

1 8 . K n o w y o u r t a r g e t a u d i e n c e

1 9 . D e f i n e y o u r g o a l s

2 0 . D e f i n e y o u r b r a n d

2 1 . S e t u p y o u r s p a c e

2 2 . P l a n y o u r m a r k e t i n g s t r a t e g y

2 3 . C r e a t e y o u r g o - t o - m a r k e t

s t r a t e g y

table of contents

Five of those years, I held a leading role asthe Head of Marketing for a global companyheadquartered in Germany, overlooking allelements related to the North Americanmarket. But when my desire for morestarted to prosper, mixed with my relentlessnature, I decided to leave the corporateworld and start my own agency, which wasable to reach six figures in just eight shortmonths.

Though I may sound like a workaholic,which I sort of am, I still make time for otherthings that I value in my life. I love travelingaround the world, expressing my creativeside through artwork and different projects,playing the piano, and staying active withoutdoor activities. Life is all about balance,so make sure that during yourentrepreneurship journey, you take care ofyourself along the way.

Maria Whitsett

I am a highly motivated and passionateentrepreneur, with a mission to help otherwomen with the same aspirations as meachieve their self-sustaining goals. With myfervent background and experiences, Ihave a strong foundation and a deepunderstanding of how to take side-hustlesand turn them into highly sustainablebusiness operations.

I have a Bachelor of Science degree inMarketing and have over eight years ofexperience in this field.

My mission is to help 500 women build sustainable profitable businesses and achieve their greatest aspirations and dreams.

H e l l o !I ’ m M a r i a

“

@ T H E B O S S M O V E A C A D E M Y | W W W . T H E B O S S M O V E A C A D E M Y . C O M | P A G E 4

For any woman looking to build a business today, it’s so important that you are ready for the numerous challenges you will face. As a woman business owner, you have so much to think about and consider. In truth, the challenges that you face can seem even more extensive than they would be for other people. Sadly, the world we live in is neither equal nor fair.

However, that does not mean that you cannot make a success of yourself in this world. With enough perseverance and enough effort, you can make a transformative life decision today. That’s why I’ve put together ‘12 Steps To Building A Profitable Business From Day 1’. In this guide, we’re going to break down the most effective steps that you need to know before you start building a business.

Starting a business especially without a lot of help can seem daunting, scary even. Trust me, I know how that can feel. However, building a profitable business on your own is no different to building it as part of a team. You just need to take on more challenges, and likely be willing to face up to the challenge of doing it all on your own.

It’s hard to do, but I have some very important things that you should think about. If you take the following information on each page into account, you might just find it easier to build that business you had always dreamt of. So, without any further delay, let’s get started looking into what you can do.

To get the most out of this eBook, we recommend that you take a look at The Boss Move Academy. This is my exclusive entrepreneurship program that I created for women like us from my strong foundation and deep understanding of how to take passionate ideas and side hustles and turn them into highly sustainable business operations. Be sure to check it out!

introduction


Before you can start a business, you need to know what you want to do. After all, how can you start a business without knowing exactly who you are and what it is that you bring to the table?

I have one question for you to think about before you start…

WHY do you want to start your own business?

This is a question that many of us don’t really think about or focus too heavily on. However, the only way that you are going to succeed in business is if you know why you got into business in the first place. Here are some common reasons why you might see yourself as the flag flyer for your own business:

Independence. Sick of working to the rules and to the demands of others? Perhaps you want freedom and independence.

Flexibility. Not a fan of having to start work when the boss tells you? Want to work when you feel like it?

Work-Life Balance. Want to spend more time with your family? Be present for important events and activities?

Passion. Are you passionate about something that you want to pursue full time?

Using Expertise. You know that you have something to bring to the table. What is your primary expertise?

Notice how I didn’t call out money. Money shouldn’t be your why. Businesses rarely make money from the start, so the dream of money alone will not be reason enough to see it through.

Now that you know why you want to start a business; you need to work out what kind of business you wish to run.

What are your skills?

This is very important to work out, as many people don’t realize how vital it is to know what your skill actually is. What is your primary talent, and how can you bring that to a business?

For example, let’s say you are skilled at art. Now, you could take this in quite a few different directions. You could choose to sell your art and make that your business. Or, you could get into art consultation and help businesses design their logo, their brand, that kind of thing.

Basically, the best thing that you can do with your skills is start reading about them online.

01Personal evaluation

So…

It’s not important what your reason is, to be honest…you just need a reason. You need something that gives you the desire to keep fighting when things aren’t going so well.

“


Look into how other people are using the skills you have. You might be keeping things too basic. If you are a skilled artist, you don’t have to merely create art. It’s the same for any industry, though. You can usually be a service provider by doing, or a service provider by getting involved with helping others utilize your knowledge.

To help you work out what skills you have, ask yourself the following questions:

What kind of industries are you aware of? How do you think you could help them out?

What kind of people are you intending to target as your business? We’ll discuss that later.

Do you have the tools that you need to start your business? Could you start work today?

What kind of places can you find work? Could it be done online, or is it a local-only option?

What kind of skills do you have within your industry? What can you provide to clients?

We recommend that you get used to going through this kind of key personal evaluation. After a period of time doing so, you will begin to really appreciate just what that kind of evaluation can do for you. It will ensure that you go into starting your business without any doubt or uncertainty lingering over you.

The challenge comes from making sure that you are ready to make this work.

“


If you are doing something because you think it can make you easy money, or because it’s not challenging you, think again. You should only really look to start a business and use it for good. Starting a business purely to profit is not a good idea; profit often clouds performance.

Let’s look at two very important questions. This should help to properly align your belief systems.

What if money wasn’t an object? How would you spend your day?

Let’s say that you had unlimited cash, what would you do with your day? It’s easy to think “I’d just spent all day on the yacht!” but even that can get boring after a little

while. If you want to enjoy your success, you need something to push you on every day. You want to feel as if you are making a difference to the lives of others. If you are someone with a genuine interest in being able to help others and improve their life, then you need to do that for a living.

Take the time to really evaluate your passions. For example, let’s go back to the art thing we spoke about in the previous section. Your skill is in art, and your passion within art is historical imagery. So, if you had unlimited cash, how often do you think you would be going to see historical events and areas and create art involving them?

That’s something that you could genuinely use to make a difference in the lives of others. Your business could, for example, be an art design company that specializes in helping businesses ally to their local history. From finding local flora and fauna

02Build something you can believe in

The most important thing about running your own business is that you believe.

“


to major landscapes and landmarks, you could incorporate that into their design theme.

This sets you apart from just another logo company. It also helps you to be someone who actually looks to get involved and improve the lives of those who you work for. It’s about giving them something more unique. If money wasn’t an object, you would be using your artistic qualities to go the extra mile for clients. So, why not make that the theme and focus of your exciting new business?

What really matters to you?

The next thing we think you should really focus and drill down into is what matters to you. The emotional weight and volume of what you are dealing with here is very important. If you want to build a business that thrives, then it has to be built on the kind of things that you feel a genuine interest and passion for. Easier said than done, of course.

It does not even have to be your primary skill, but a skill that you wish to learn about. For example, let’s go back to art again. You love art, but your true passion is the environment. Why not make your business built around helping environmental companies build an audience and stand out to grow attention?

You could use your artistic skill, combine it with your environmental knowledge, and make art. It’s the ideal way to help you give your skills out to someone else and let them benefit from utilizing your expertise and your knowledge.

Without doubt, this is one of the most effective ways that you can build something that you genuinely believe in.

If you want to thrive in business, you have to feel like you are making an actual difference.

By building your business in a niche that you know about and can help within, you can really make your business a success.

For a woman with a vision and a desire to make changes, though, I can’t think of a better industry to work in than your biggest passion.

“”


So, before you go ahead and build up your business you must must must go out there and research your industry. This is so important and will be a make-or-break factor in how your business actually turns out. If you intend on making your business a crucial success, then you have to be ready to full do your research. By this, we mean carrying out all of the following searches:

Who are you looking to target when you start your business? Whose problems can you fix?

What kind of area could you target? Do you need to stay local or can you go online?

What kind of people will you be targeting? Who is most interested in what you have to do/sell?

What age groups are you most likely to find success in? Who is most suited to your audience?

What kind of tools will you need to make your business a success?

Where is your competition? Who are the biggest companies locally, nationally, and globally?

What does your competition offer that you can’t? What can you offer that they can’t?

When should you be focusing on your audience most? When is the busiest time of year?

The majority of these searches can be done online.

It’s also important to start uncovering some numbers that help your reader to better understand how big the market is (locally, nationally and internationally), approximately how much revenue it generates every year, if it’s a growing market and how much it’s expected to grow over the next 5-10 years. It’s also important to discuss trends here. What recent emerging trends have you developed your product or service in response to? Are there any new technologies that have emerged recently that make your product or solution possible? It’s also important to note that conducting a market analysis can actually help you uncover any blind spots and prepare you to compete with other businesses. More importantly, it will help you understand your customers so you can deliver the best possible service to them.

03Do your

research

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A business plan is essentially the blueprint for your business. Your excellent business idea can be totally useless if you can’t formulate, execute and implement a strategic plan to make your business idea work. By taking the time to work through the process of writing a business plan will make for a smoother start-up period and fewer unforeseen problems as your business becomes established.

Some important sections to include are:

Executive SummaryCompany OverviewMarket OverviewProduct or Service OverviewRevenue ModelOperating ModelCompetitive AnalysisCustomer AnalysisMarketing PlanManagement TeamFinancials

No two business plans will ever be exactly the same. The key takeaway here is that every great plan incorporates the same basic elements that gives your readers the information they need when determining whether your business idea has legs or not.

04Make a business plan


Writing a business plan will take a lot of time, but is necessary as it will give you the blueprint for how your business will succeed.. It’s all about showing that your business is more than an idea – that it has a genuine pathway from the pages of your business plan to the progress you intend to make. It will show that you not only pay attention to how your business could work, but how it will work in practice.

This will make it much easier for you to not only convince others to see your business as viable, but it will give you a great place to learn from on your own. It’s great for securing proper finance, and for minimizing risk. By showing you have a clear plan of what your business involves and the potential challenges it will face, you maximize your chances of success moving forward!

Your business plan is likely going to be the difference between finding funding, partners, and suppliers. If people don’t like your idea or think it’s nothing but fluff, then you might just find it too hard to get the funding that you need.

Your business plan is the ticket to getting funding and taking your business a step further forward.

“”


This is a part that is very much going to be defined by where you live. As such, I can only recommend reaching out to legal and government help. If you are based in the USA, then rules for company incorporation (and the options open to you) will vary from state to state. Other nations, like Australia and the United Kingdom, have their own rules about company set-up regulations.

It's important that you consider the following:

Take the time to look at your state’s website on business incorporation laws and rules.

Arrange a discussion with a legal professional who can show you the options open to you.

Discuss your options in terms of company ownership – limited liability? Publicly listed?

Understand the obligations that exist for you on running a business the way you intended.

There are numerous legal entities that you need to take into mind, especially if you are operating in the United States. The legal structure of your business is essential. For example, you’ll need to have a business structure chosen, and you will then need to register your business with your state. Once this is done, you will need to a tax ID, or EIN, number to file for all of your needed

licensing and permits. The most common forms of entity in the US include:

Sole Proprietorship. This is the most common type of business and gives you complete and sole control over everything. However, personal assets will not be separate from the business itself, so keep that in mind as you scale and grow. This means that if you face legal action, it’s not just your business that is at stake – it’s your own personal assets.

Partnerships. A good choice if you intend to run a business with someone else. these are good for making sure that one or both parties have unlimited liability, or limited liability. This helps you to avoid having to pay double taxation, as you aren’t a corporation. However, it means you are personally liable for all financial obligations of the business.

Limited Liability Company. LLC’s are a mix of partnership and corporation. Your company and personal assets are kept separate, and your profits/losses don’t get taxed at corporate level. However, you’ll need to handle things like self-employment tax contribution to Medicare and Social Security.

Corporation. Another good choice is a corporation. It’s got its own legal rights and requirements and is entirely separate from you. It can be legally sued, it can buy/own property, and it can sell ownership of the company in the firm of stocks. However, expect to pay double taxes. If you worry about personal liability becoming a huge burden on your finances, this might be an option to consider.

05Legalities


Also, in terms of legalities, you will need to work out things like insurance. Make sure you invest some time and some money into getting things like professional indemnity insurance, property insurance, and life insurance for you and/or your staff.

As ever, make sure that you listen to a legal professional on setting up your business properly. It’s something that can be deeply complex and confusing if you have never managed the process before. Given this changes from not only nation to nation but region to region, seek out local help.

Even if you intend to be a business that does most/all of its work online, you need to be registered in your state to start paying etc.

So, make sure that you do all of this in the correct manner. It’s almost certain to help ensure you get the business set-up properly. Advice for this section is crucial; always listen to a government business set-up official and a legal professional.


One of the most important choices you will make when starting a business is selecting the type of legal structure.

“

It’s so important that you have a proper start-up budget in mind to make your business a success. For one, you need to have genuine capital to help fund things like costs of start-up, wages for staff and running costs. Creating a start-up budget is something heavily covered in the The Boss Move Academy, and something we highly recommend looking over.

You need a good estimate of what your business is going to cost, especially if you are going to seek funding. Having a guesstimate is not really good enough; you need to be able to cost everything your business needs to start actually turning a profit. It will give you a clear idea of how much capital you need. From the décor or your office to the cost of buying and retaining supplies, your budget has to cover quite a lot of questions. Where, then, should you begin?

As part of your business plan, you likely have to include some kind of figures. These figures can include but are not limited to:

The kind of funding you would need to get started – this includes things like buying premises.

The cost of services such as decorating, painting, professional services fitting etc.

Long-term business rates on things like property, insurance, and storage of goods.

The kind of equipment you need to get the job done – what equipment would you require?

The level of funding needed to pay staff and also cover your own remuneration over time.

The kind of sponsorship that you will be seeking, if applicable to your business.

Marketing investment, which is one of your most important costs.

06CREATE A STARTUP BUDGET


This is going to make up the lion’s share of your budget. Basically, how much do you need to get everything bought and paid for so that you can start your business and get the most out of it from today?

This is a tough thing to get right, but your budget has to be both realistic and authentic. It also has to tie in with what you think you can make back. Basically, your budget should show what you need to raise versus what you intend to bring in across your first few years.

These figures should be managed and put through with either a business plan writer or an accountant. They can work out if you are going to be presenting a realistic case. They can also look at your competition and their own financial figures (if they are available). This will give them a good idea of what you need to bring in so that you can get started.

Before you go and try to secure funding, then, you need to come up with a budget that is built in realism and authenticity. That’s the secret to making your business actually take off. If you need funding, you need to convince people to give you the funding that you need!

It’s important that you create a budget that is built on realism and authenticity

“


We touched on this briefly before, but it’s something that we want to focus on quickly. Basically, every business needs to have a target audience. This is your dream customer. Try and come up with a profile of the person you will be targeting. Try and think about everything from age to gender, occupation to income, location to hobbies & interests.

With the nature of social media today, we can pinpoint people based on everything from location to personal interests. This will play a role in making sure that your marketing material and that your general business is aimed at the right people.

While your business should be open to all, it should have a particular kind of person in mind. For example, if you are running the art company we spoke about before then you would be looking for people who need your help. This could be business owners with poor/no branding, local businesses with little local connection, and local freelancers and looking to grow something from the ground up.

Your target audience is something you have to get to know and appreciate. They are the lifeblood of your business. While you might get work and clients from other backgrounds, you need to know the ideal person you can target.

What is their problem, and how can you help them to solve it?

Work on this through extensive research, ideally with a business profiler. They can show you where you might be going wrong, and how to better ally your business to a particular kind of individual.

07Know your audience

The single biggest mistake you can make as a business owner is to target everyone. “ ”


Every business today needs to have a clear set of goals that it can push for. As a business owner, these goals are going to be the yardsticks of your success. Goals are hard to come up with when you are first starting out. However, once you have answered the above questions about what you do and who you target, it will become much easier.

Goals, are about more than simply profitability. For example, let’s say that your local art business wants to get recognized locally. That should be your first goal… to try and gain some local praise. This could come in the form of a newspaper article, a blog from a happy customer, or an interview with a local business group.

It’s all about having goals that are achievable. Saying that you want to have a turnover of $X million when you have literally not even got a logo yet is foolish. Set a clear level of expectation. Understand that this is going to take time, and that you will need to build slowly. If you expect instant success, then your goals will be near-impossible to achieve. Set some very clear goals.

For example, what do you make today in your current job? Aim to have earned around 75-100% of what you earn in your normal job by the end of year 1. By year 2s end, aim for 100-150% of your previous earnings… and so on

It’s important to set realistic expectations.

08define your goals

Make your goals attainable, realistic, and something to consider. You can then use these to help you stay well

focused as you move towards lasting long-term

success.

“


Every great business has great branding. Branding is more than just a logo, website or name. A brand is an emotional experience, and it exists in the minds of your business. Brands are tied to emotions, beliefs, and attitudes, and when a customer sees the brand, they’re connected to an experience, and this experience pushes them to choose one over the other.

It’s really important that your brand stands for something fundamental, and this fundamental platform is called positioning. Your brand should be authentic, relevant, consistent, and committed.

As you work on creating your brand, start by thinking of the brand promise. What kind of experience do you want your customers to have when they encounter your brand?

Storytelling is also a powerful way to spark emotions. A lot of brands begin with telling their origin story. The more your customers can relate, the deeper the bond they’ll begin to form with your brand.

Isn’t funny that a good story always seem to come with a struggle? We have an easier time relating to challenges than we do with success. What did your company have to do to get where it is today?

Ultimately, your brand should be clear, reliable and believable to both your customers and employees.

09Define your Brand

It’s important to understand your audience and competitors

so you can develop a brand that promises the right things to the

right people.

“


Whether you intend to only work locally, or you want to tap into a global audience, you need an online and offline space.

If you intend to work locally, then you need to invest most of your funds into the actual place of work. It should be easy to find, it should be vibrant, and it should encourage people to come in and see you. Create advertising and marketing in and around your local area that lets people know you grasp their problems and can find a common solution.

Your offline space is important even if you are working online only. You need an office space and a place to work that allows you to get things done, to store your objects etc.

Take the time to invest in the following things:

A place of work that allows you to get things done without being distracted or put off.

A location to store your physical products, should you be selling anything physical.

A website preferably designed by a professional and local web designer.

An online social media presence, covering the social media sites most suited to your audience.

For example, older people tend to use Facebook while younger people are on Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok. You should therefore look to have an online and an offline space. For an offline-only company, the online presence allows you to capture local leads. For an online-only company, the quality place to work will improve productivity and keep performance standards nice and high.

Space is so important and making sure you have enough space to operate without limits is very important indeed.

A physical environment can also deliver a meaningful brand experience to make the personality, values, and even key messages of your brand tangible.

10Set up your space

Branded spaces make customers more loyal,

and they make your loyal customers feel right at

home.

“


If you intend to ‘make it’ as a business, then I recommend that you take the time to build a solid marketing strategy. To do that, you need to do the following:

If you are working offline and locally, then invest in local advertising both online and offline. This means using things like local newspaper ads, and local advertising campaigns.

Get your company lined up on as many directories as you can, both locally and nationally.

Invest in creating a solid digital marketing strategy, including social media.

Utilize social media to hunt down people based on their local area and their interests.

I highly recommend that you make digital marketing a key component in your business strategy. Companies that have a clear digital marketing strategy see faster growth by 60% than those without a digital marketing strategy. And this is simply because the number of potential customers online is much larger than the group you are able to attract locally.

We are living in a digital age now. Traditional marketing alone will not give you the results in terms of profits that you’re looking for. It’s almost like a requirement and there’s no way around it. It’s important that you invest just about the same amount of time and energy you put into developing your product or service into a digital strategy to introduce your offering. When this can be executed effectively, you can set yourself apart from your competitors and build sustainable success.

11Plan your Marketing Strategy

8 Core Elements of a Solid Digital

Marketing Strategy

1. Website2. Search Engine Optimization3. Paid Ads4. Social Media5. Content6. Email7. Blog8. Analytics


If you are truly serious about making this business work on your behalf, then you need what is known as your ‘go-to market’ strategy. This is the long-term plan of your company by using your resources to help you progress. How many people do you have on the ground floor helping you to push your business and make it a success?

What kind of sales force do you have to bring you clients? What kind of distribution system do you have for getting products out to people on a consistent basis?

This is all about making sure that you can have a plan that allows you to showcase your unique value to the customer. It’s also to help you build a clear, competitive advantage. Basically, the aim is to try and make sure that you can show people that you:

Have a solution that they need.Your solution is available and affordable.They can benefit from taking action and getting involved.

If you get into the habit of building your marketing around this kind of thought process, the results can be simply spectacular. We recommend, then, that you focus a lot of time on trying to get your market strategy to work for you.

You need to come up with a way to help market your business, show its benefits to your customers, and then show them how to make an easy purchase/usage of your service. The whole aim of a go-to market strategy is to show how you intend to push on pain points and then encourage people to take action.

12create your go-to-market

strategy


Okay, so now that you hopefully understand the challenge of building and running a business, it’s time to take action.

But just remember that this is a long-term endeavor.

It might take some time for everything to fall into place. If you lack experience in running a business, you will make mistakes. You simply cannot go flawless from day one. That’s why bringing in all the support that you can afford is likely to help you make the right decisions and build a profitable business.

Just don’t expect everything to take shape one evening after you get started. Even six months from now, you could still be in the process of landing those first crucial clients. This is simply the life of a business owner, and it’s vital that you accept and even embrace this.

The sooner you realize that progress is going to be a long-term thing, the easier it will become to build a business you can be happy with. Instead of seeing our progress as ‘not fast enough’, take the time to appreciate your incremental growth.

Once you do that, building a successful business really is attainable. You just need to find patience, perseverance, and a passion for what you do. Once you do that, you’ll have the confidence to keep going even when things seem bleak and challenging. If you worry about not being able to build a business fast enough, then you are looking at this with the wrong perspective.

Remember, if your aim is to start building a properly profitable business, then you should look to join the The Boss Move Academy. It’s one of the wisest decisions that you can make, and it should go a long way to really helping you improve the quality and depth of your business building. With the help provided via the Academy, overcoming the various hurdles that can be put-up in front of your business will no longer seem like such a difficulty!

Best of luck!

There will be challenges, but with enough planning and persistence you can achieve your goals! “

It ’s a marathon, not a sprint


Do something today that

your future self will thank

you for.

Sean Patrick Flanery

w w w . t h e b o s s m o v e a c a d e m y . c o m

You did it!Thank you for taking the time to read this eBook. Now it’s

time to put a plan into action!

W a n t t o l e a r n m o r e ?If you need more help, you might also like The Boss Move Academy. This is my personalized entrepreneurship program that gets you the

support, tools and guidance you’ve been looking for. It’s truly the business building roadmap you’ve been looking for.

It’s time to make a BOSS MOVE.

Click here to learn more

http://www.thebossmoveacademy.com/

12 steps to building a profitable business from day 1

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