Maybe you started your business because you wanted more freedom from life. Not being shackled down to a cubicle, being fed up to “here” with reporting to someone else. Someone who has no care for you, your time, or your mental health.
Burn-out is a huge risk on the road. In fact, not even from being on the road. Burn out can happen while you’re simply living. Waking up and getting out of bed is a struggle for most people!
How, if putting on their day clothes is such a burden, are people supposed to tackle the business world and dominate that agenda rolling around in their head?
Falling over dead from stress and anxiety? Happens to me almost every other month. Even when I’m not on the road. I didn’t heed the warnings, early on in my entrepreneurial adventure, of people who said you have to work hard. Harder than most average people.
Because success is allergic to average. It is! People who are average, do average things, and run their businesses like everybody else… Won’t see long-term success.
So you started your own business to see that kind of success. To reclaim your life, and draw up possibilities that’d transform your dream into a reality. You’ve done away with “if only”s and “what if”s.
Famed Anne Dorko (with her degree in Media Arts) did away with those, and got to see the world. Freely, while using her degree! Isn’t that the ultimate goal? Being able to sit at The Feast with the top 5% of successful people?
Now it’s time to take it to the road and expand, expand, expand.
Photo by Alexas_Fotos, CC0 1.0
Here are some sage tips for keeping your business’s head above water while you’re out on the road.
1. Make Sure Your Brand is in Tip-Top Shape
Before hitting the road. This is no time to have a flimsy branding message you one-off’ed in a couple hours. Even if you’ve done all the necessary steps with your team to chisel out the rough diamond that is your message…
Rehearsing it until you know it by mind, by heart, by soul, and becoming “one” with it… is crucial towards a successful road run. (Plus, it gives you opportunities to make it less boring. Keep things fun, and interesting. Nobody looks forward to being bored by a talk or speech or image.)
Because the chances for impromptu events, seminars, or just meeting some of the local flavour – chances like that are high. Extremely high.
Take the instance that you met someone new. You didn’t know you two would meet. You just went out to a local drive-in and, on the walk back to your hotel, someone says hi to you at a crosswalk.
And you two get talking. And meshing. They’re as interesting as you are! Somehow, someway the experience comes to your business. What are you going to be? Prepared to wow or prepared to bore?
2. (Background) Research Wifi APs
Does this seem like a no-brainer? Making sure that each and every single place you visit or stay in… has a stable and secure wifi access point? If not, having this mySpot can come handy.
If it does – that’s good. That’s real good. That means you’ve done your diligent research in verifying (thrice, if need be) that every pit-stop you tackle and visit is capable of…
Fulfilling the reason you’re on the road in the first place.
Don’t be one of those business owners who travels abroad in the vague hopes places have a sturdy and fast internet connection. Run a finger through your itinerary and cross-check haunts you’re going to pass through.
3. Stay Ahead of the Blogging Curve
Blogging day to day, on a regular basis, takes commitment and superior focus-management skills. Unless the way you manage your hours is meticulous, well thought-out… while keeping your brand’s edge, and your followers/friends in mind… Blogging is pure hell.
Here’s why: blogging in and of itself doesn’t pay much. No, the genius behind blogging (on your own site and guest blogging for other people) is twofold: 1) You establish yourself as an authority and, 2) You’re building quality, active leads.
It’s easy as 123 to get started. And, if you already have, you know what I’m talking about. Many successful entrepreneurs cite blogging as their numero uno method of “reaching out” to people. Building awareness. Putting your stamp on the world.
Bonus: You can update your blog, on the run, in an hour or two and keep your visitors in the daily loop about your happenings. Isn’t the whole point of blogs about sharing information, knowledge, and insights? It isn’t just a marketing platform.
4. Make Businesses Money Writing Copy
When you’re on the road, you need a source of passive income. You need to. There’s no way you can have a monumentally successful (financially, personally) business without auto-pilot income. This is why copywriting (what legendary copywriter Claude Hopkins called, being an in-print salesman) gives you a strategic advantage, over your competitors, when you’re on the road.
Because in the end, it’s all about the royalties/commission you get. World-renoun copywriter Dan Kennedy, in his hey-day, demanded 10% royalties. In his contract. The man wrote sales letters that sold for tens of thousands (up to millions!) of dollars, and made his clients huge $$$$’s.
In fact, check out this Amazon listing for Dan S. Kennedy. He has a plethora of “No B.S.” marketing books. Some of them were written YEARS ago! Isn’t that the dream? Being handsomely paid a king’s ransom for work you did a long time ago?
5. Utilise Butt-Saving Apps
Communication is paramount. I’ll say it again: in business, communication is vital toward ensuring your business’ success. Everybody knows that!
Yet, many failed startups sink after a year or two (especially when they’re travelling) because the team didn’t keep in touch in real time. Services like Google Drive would help you. Having the right apps, such as Skype (which is the norm, I’m sure you know) or Trello keep you and your team on the same page.
Even when everybody’s spread continents apart.
Bonus: Staying in the loop gives you better chances to delegate tasks to your colleagues and partners. Isn’t the goal of “freedom” in business to do LESS work?
Like these awesome app that turns your mobile into a timesheet. Winning.
Bonus Tip: Remember
Take it from me, the road is long. It’s tough. I’ve met eight, nine entrepreneurs (and solopreneurs) – at one seminar. Back in my early jumping-pad as a marketer (for poets. Not a huge market or income. I wasn’t in it for the money back then). I had three following seminars and workshops to get to.
It’s easy to forget why we do things – things we presumably love, what we obsess over. What pulls us towards something. If you can remember that? If you can cement the why behind what you’re doing?
The long journey towards success will be even sweeter than it is now.
Source: B2C
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