- Looking back over my entrepreneurial career
I've made a lot of really good moves,
but I've also made more than my fair share of
tragically bad mistakes.
Mistakes that have cost me tens of thousands,
hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of dollars.
Mistakes that have set my career back years,
if not even longer.
That's why in this video I want to share
the single biggest mistake I made my first year
as an entrepreneur so you can hopefully avoid the same trap
I fell into and dramatically improve you chances of success.
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Hey there my name is Adam Erhart,
Modern Marketing Strategist,
and welcome to the Modern Marketing show.
Where we help you make marketing that matters.
So if you're interested in learning
about the latest and greatest marketing strategies,
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Now no one ever said that being an entrepreneur was easy,
there's ups and downs,
and more ups and more downs
and even more ups and even more downs.
There's criticism and concern from well meaning
friends and family.
And there's certainly no shortage of fear,
anxiety, and self-doubt thrown in for good measure.
But for the right kind of person,
the pain is well worth the pleasure.
All that said, there still no reason you shouldn't
try to avoid as much pain as possible,
so you can enjoy that much more pleasure.
That's what this video is all about.
But first this video is brought to you by Charity Swipes.
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All right, lets get to it.
I thought that when things were good
they would last forever.
And that's pretty much exactly how I acted.
Trading in the habits that got me that initial burst
of success with a sense of pride
and the inevitable complacency
that ended up resulting in, well, a slow and steady decline.
And sure enough, because I stopped doing the things
that I initially did to get me to that level of success,
well, my success taper off and slowly start to decline.
Leaving me right back to where I started.
Which leads me perfectly into my second point.
Just like I thought when I was at the top
that the good time would last forever,
well now that I was back at the bottom,
I thought that this was going to last forever.
So, therefore, this vicious cycle started
and I'd get over confident and rise to the top
and then I'd get crushed and fall back down
and have all of this fear and anxiety and self-doubt,
kind of pull myself up by my boot straps
and pick myself up again and get back up
only to get overconfident and get crushed
and fall back down again.
Like a roller coaster from hell,
I'd rise up and get smashed down,
and then grind back up and get smashed down.
And this vicious cycle would repeat over and over and over
for months and months on end.
It was the classic feast then famine cycle
and unfortunately, at the time,
I had no idea how to stop it.
Fortunately, I do now, and ill share that with you
in just a second.
Sadly this up and down, or feast and famine,
or roller coaster ride cycle is all too common.
We see it everywhere.
Peoples Finances, in their relationships,
in their health, even in their marketing.
In fact, maybe especially in their marketing.
Entrepreneurs and business owners put off marketing,
because hey, things are good right?
Why would I need more business?
Sure enough this leads to complacency
and eventually a slow period follows.
Unfortunately, during this slow period
business owners and entrepreneurs often
make rash and really kind of irrational decisions
based on fear and scarcity,
forcing them to do what I call random acts of marketing.
Basically just grasping at anything they can think of,
often spending way too much for way to little results.
Now much of this is apart of life,
Things ebb and flow.
One minute you're up, and the next you're down,
but there is something that super successful people do
that roller-coaster riding average people do not.
And that's what I want to share with you here.
Fortunately, the alternative is really, really simple.
Now, its not easy, but it is simple.
The solution is two fold.
Now first, you need to pick a plan and then just get started
As George Patton said "A good plan violently
executed now, is better than a perfect plan,
executed next week."
Or if you'd prefer, the old Chinese proverb goes,
"the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.
The second best time, is today".
So today, right here, right now,
really is the best time to start.
Next, you really do need to stick with the plan.
This means daily actions and the progressive
realization of your goal,
with slow but steady progress toward it.
Consistency is key here.
Get rick quick schemes and overnight success stories
are just that, schemes and stories.
True success comes from repeatedly doing the thing
that others are unwilling to do.
This means being strategic about
the plan you choose in the first place,
and then taking slow but steady daily deliberate
actions towards your goal.
It's not sexy, but it works.
And just like how compound interest works with investing,
well, compound marketing works for your business.
Slowly but surely you end up building
this giant marketing machine
that puts you so far ahead of your competitors
they'll never have a change to catch up.
If I could go back oh so many years ago,
I'd tell my younger self these exact words.
Be strategic, make a plan, and then stick to it.
Enjoy the good times but prepare for the bad times.
Above all remember that consistency is key to success.
All right so thanks so much for watching,
I hope you enjoyed the episode,
so make sure to give it a thumbs up,
subscribe to the channel,
and say hello in the comment section below.
Also I'll make sure to link up more videos
that you might find interesting,
right on topic with what we talked about today.
Make sure to check those out right here on the screen,
or again in the description box below.
So thanks so much for watching
and I'll catch you next time
on the Modern Marketing Show.