This month we are celebrating an anniversary! It’s 5 years since we started in biz. Looking at statistics, it’s a minor miracle.  Almost 80% of businesses don’t make it past the 5-year mark.  Fascinating! Looking back, I wanted to share some of the most crucial components that have kept the ship righted as we’ve weathered some storms along the way. And it’s not about keeping up with what your competition is doing…actually it’s quite the opposite.

The last 5 years have been an interesting ride, to say the least.  There have been times when I’ve ridden cloud nine, and times I was scared I’d have to go back to my corporate job. What got me through it all? Well, as much as I love my big Italian hubby in my personal life, a little Italian dude has helped me crush it in my biz.  His name is Vilfredo Paredo. Why do you need to know him?  Well, he was an economist back in the day…and is the godfather of the 80/20 rule. Officially known as the “Pareto Principle”.  It states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.

Why is this so crucial for biz?

Because most businesses try to follow what most of their competition is doing. That’s the 80% of biz owners. They are spinning their wheels. You say to yourself, “I wanna be like them.”  In truth, that just accelerates you to be a follower. And followers don’t get noticed. They don’t get picked by their prospects. They don’t stay in biz past 5 years.

Ask yourself, why keep busting your hump to be like 80% of all of the other businesses out there?

Here’s the crucial key – stop that and do this – take a look at what the 20% are doing. Those are the people standing out getting noticed, the sought after experts with staying power in their biz.

Capice?

This has been the secret to success. Hands down. Do what others aren’t willing to do. You’ll come out in front of the pack!

How can you use Pareto’s Law to shift this into high gear for yourself? Here are 3 ways to get you started:

1. Speaking – this is the fastest path to cash and jump starting your business. Eighty percent of US women will never give a talk in front of a room and speak to a crowd. They suffer from a real diagnosis called “speaking paralysis”. With speaking, you’ve already crushed 80% of your competition.
2. Follow up – when it comes to great biz leads, 80% of business owners never follow up with their best prospects.  Crazytown, right? Put together a simple system to touch base with your best prospects once or twice a month. Mix up your communication to keep it fresh – call, email, comment on their social media, send them a relevant article, or even send them a handwritten note. Once again, crush your competition by converting prospects into clients with this simple tool very few are using.
3. Profit – statistically 80% of all US small businesses aren’t profitable. Mind blowing! Just to be clear, revenue is the money that comes into the biz, but profit is what you keep. You can profit in your biz from day 1. Yes…from DAY 1.  Remember the old saying, “pay yourself first”? If you haven’t been doing this, go do this now! Even if it’s only 1%…5%…of your revenue, be sure to pay yourself each month. While you’re banking ching, your competition is blowing all of their revenue month after month.

Which one of these can you start with immediately? If speaking gets you jazzed, here is a link to a great resource to get you started:

https://thompsonpros.isrefer.com/go/rise/a451

If banking profits tickles your fancy…stay tuned for our next newsletter! I’ve lined up a blockbuster interview with a multi- million-dollar entrepreneur and New York Times best-seller to share the exact steps of how to become profitable in your biz consistently month after month!

Stay tuned…and in the meantime…crush it with Pareto’s Law.