I was boiling over with excitement when I finally hit “Publish” on my website. After two agonizing months, I was about to realize the untold earning potential of starting my own business.
But it wasn’t only that: I would be in charge of my destiny. I had the ultimate business vision. I made the final decisions. I determined the rules for my career and day-to-day operations.
Developing Business for a Startup F-ing Sucks
Fast forward 30 days.
I spoke to 2–3 prospects and was still upbeat and excited. But a small drop of doubt fell from one dark cloud and tainted the pool of excitement.
At 45 days, I still had no clients, and that drop of doubt had multiplied. I even looked at LinkedIn job postings in case it never happened. I had sworn I’d never return to working for someone, but I have bills and kids. I need to earn an income. What kind of man would I be if I sat here pursuing a pipe dream while my partner paid our bills? How is that fair to her?
I also started wondering why those prospects had suddenly ghosted me. Initially, they had sounded as excited as I was.
I started to fear they had found something disparaging about my reputation online.
You see, I went through a period where alcohol ruled all of my daily decisions, and my reputation and career suffered.
Had they found out about this period of my life? Or had they spoken to someone from my past? Perhaps this person didn’t like my work. Or maybe I had shown them up at some point?
I just couldn’t figure out why I had not landed a client yet, especially after hearing that peers of mine had done so within a few weeks and were continuously landing new prospects and clients.
I also considered the fact that maybe I wasn’t trying hard enough.
I’ve never been the type of person to announce myself overtly. I’m not a “salesman” in the traditional sense.
This is why I like the term “business development.” It allows people to get to know each other, understand possible issues, and determine whether they can help each other.
It builds long-term relationships instead of quick wins with short-term revenue generation.
Trust Your Experience and Skills
What should I do? Was it time to ask for help? What’s my business development process? Do I even have a business development process? All of these were going through my mind.
For me, my training starts to kick in.
I mean, I’m in marketing, right? I could create a marketing strategy in my sleep.
And half the battle of gaining clients is showing them that you can do what you say. They call these “testimonials,” “client success stories,” or “case studies.”
But what if you haven’t had clients yet?
Easy.
I would use myself and my company website as an example to show others what I could do. I could use my process on myself and use the results to prove I knew what the fuck I was doing.
In actuality, this blog is part of that ongoing process…so thanks for reading. If you know someone who needs content services in any form (SEO, ad copy, website content, blogs, videos, or podcast scripts), well, I’m your guy.
Promoting Yourself is an Important Part of the Startup Process…
Sorry for the shameless self-promotion. But guess what? Another part of business development and marketing is marketing yourself.
You must position yourself as an industry or product space expert.
That’s easy, too, right?
Hold on to that thought.
I realized that part of this meant I had to put myself out there finally.
I had to get in front of my peers and those I respected, show what I knew, give an opinion or direction, and stand behind my ideas.
I had to make some waves and essentially say, “Your way is good, but mine is better.”
It’s not something I’ve gotten used to doing because I try to be diplomatic and non-confrontational when I first get to know you.
Weirdly, I’m great at talking about my clients and helping my clients talk about themselves. But when it comes to myself…I don’t deal well with that sort of attention.
So, I’m getting over myself, shedding the fear of being wrong, and losing the apprehension about my skills and abilities.
…So Get Over Your Fear of Talking About Yourself
But where does that fear come from?
I’ll tell you where. It’s weighing on me because I haven’t actually tested my process and found success.
So, it would seem I’m actually on the right track. I simply have to trust the process.
But that isn’t paying bills, providing child support, or putting food in our mouths, is it? Those are what I call “now” issues, and unfortunately, most entrepreneurs don’t have the luxury of saving up thousands or millions of dollars to cover all costs until they get off the ground.
Like me, they’re gambling on themselves and their skills, hoping to begin breaking-even quickly.
Try These Startup Business Development Suggestions
What to do? What to do?
Here’s one tried-and-true solution: Get help.
Yes, I know budgets are tight, but seek and ask for help (which is not easy for potential entrepreneurs).
This help can come from peers, coworkers, or past coworkers, or you can bite the bullet and get professional help to develop sales.
Call it part of your initial start-up budget.
Another piece of advice that’s kept me on the right path is that I started putting operational pieces in place early. I thought I should act like an enterprise company, even though it was just me.
So, I keep all of my business details organized. I highly recommend reading Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte. This one book has helped me in my personal and professional lives.
Now, when I have ideas or need to find information to ensure my business keeps moving forward, I have a system to cut through the chaos.
Speaking of chaos, get used to feeling like you’re always on the edge of it.
Get used to living with the thought in the back of your head that things can and will go wrong at any second. Personally, I believe that’s what separates an entrepreneur from the rest.
They’re the ones who are comfortable with the risk of losing it all.
Overall, Believe in Yourself
Ok. So this started out as a commentary on developing business but after writing it, I see there are a few things to worry about before you get to that phase of your startup.
As for that nervousness, you’ll have it while you wait, hope, and pray for your first client.
Don’t worry. It will happen.
I know this because you wouldn’t have started up your business if you didn’t know what you’re doing. So, in my experience, the most important thing is to have your processes and systems in place for when you do get that client.
The last thing you want is to be scrambling when you should be delivering.
OK. I’m sure there’s much more to say about this topic, so feel free to leave a comment or message me on LinkedIn.
Deven Bhagwandin 