Beginner Business Series – Part 3: Setting Up Shop
Episode 178: Show Notes
We’re back for part three of the Beginner Business Series! First off, the response has been great and we just want to thank you for your comments on Facebook and Instagram – we love hearing from you! Keep using the hashtag #bbs. It helps us keep track of your questions, concerns, comments and feedback. If you’re just joining us now and don’t know what the hell this is, we’d advise you pause right now and go back to part one and part two and then dive into this one. So, let’s go!
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In this episode, we are going to do a quick recap of where you should be at and make sure that you’re ready to tackle part three – setting up shop. Websites are where we see so many people get stuck. Often, they get so obsessed with perfecting it and hold themselves back from actually doing what their business is supposed to be doing – which is making money, honey! Sound like you? In this part three episode, we’re going to be tackling this challenge with you step by step. We’ll be focusing on the four core pages that get people from landing page to checkout, feeling confident in their purchase and believing that you are their superhero. We’re going to help you put the most relevant information on these pages and show you just how easy it really is.
Where You’re At and Where You’re Going
At this point in the journey (after part one and two), you’ve established what you’re good at, we’ve done some self-discovery and we’ve found out what your ideal audience needs from you. We then cut that out and decided what your most viable product is right now with the skills you have. We then honed in on what that product offer is, asking “How much are you going to charge?” and “What are the things you’re going to package it up with?” Now, you are ready to come to the place where you can get it all set up and people can actually start paying you those dollar bills!
A Quick Back-Pedal On The Complementary Courses
We wanted to touch on a comment from a listener who discovered that she had a product but was slightly freaked out about not being sure what to add to her product to make it sexy, i.e., a complimentary course. So, we wanted to back-pedal quick and address this because we’re pretty sure a lot of you might be in the same boat. So, the complimentary offer is really great to offer for service-based businesses. And we want you to know that if you have just one thing, it’s okay to live in that one thing right now. What we want you to just start thinking about other things you can offer your audience. Maybe that’s a Facebook group, a podcast or even a free PDF, a book, a challenge or just your Instagram account – those are your complimentary products for now. Even if they are free, they are expanding your reach and are helpful for your audience. We don’t want them to be a lot of added work for you at all. We did not create complementary course products for almost a year. We sold the exact same program over and over for 9-10 months so we could perfect our pitch, figure out how we wanted to sell and ask questions. So don’t sweat it if you can’t think of anything right now.
Why Your Website Does Not Have To Be Perfect
Websites – the brick walls covered in spikes and mayonnaise! This is the challenge people run in to every single time they are creating a business. We get so hung up in making this piece absolutely perfect. A lot of people have this mentality that having their website a certain way is going to dramatically change their potential income and this is just not true. Of course, something that looks trashy versus something that is polished is going to make a difference BUT it doesn’t have to have this perfection you have in your mind. You can either sit in the camp thinking, “I won’t be successful until I launch my utterly perfect website.” Or you can sit in the other camp of, “Fuck it, I’m just going to make money however best I can and this is just a doorway into other things that I have.” If you put the latter mentality on, you’re going to put your focus on the thing so few people realize they should be focusing on; profit first. We want you to be making money before you have this crazy beautiful branded genius. You are wasting time continuing to perfect that when ultimately it’s not going to increase your value.
The Initial Two Website Pages You Should Focus On
We want you to really just focus on two key things when it comes to your website. One, what do people land on? So, what does your initial homepage look like for you? Where are you sending them? The objective of a homepage is to get someone to say “yes” and pick a direction from there, leaving the homepage. People often get very hung up on what to say and what to put there but the truth is, initially, they just want to know what you do and how you can be of value for them in a short, simple, quick and effective way. The second page we want to dig into is your about page. The biggest mistake we see people making with the about page is making it about them! It’s actually about serving your people well. Paint a picture of what their life could be like with you in it. Highlight the problem they face and how you are a superhero and then give them a solution and lead them to the next place; the place to purchase. Resonate and connect on this page. This is where people go straight to in order to find a connection with you.
The Most Important Page: The Sales Page
The next page is by far the most important. It is the page where people buy your sh*t! This could be a full-on sales page or it could be a picture of your product with some info and a checkout button. The point is to get people to buy your product. Here, you really have to be clear on what it is you are selling and how people can buy it. What is the end result? What do they get out of it? Focus on the specifics of the product: How is it made? Where is it shipping from? How long will it take? Don’t assume your audience knows this stuff. This is what they want to know and you need to give them as much detail as possible to help them make an informed decision. This also eliminates time spent with back and forth correspondence between you and your customer.
What Is Your Actual Purchase Process Like?
This is your checkout page and a lot of people forget to triple check that this page is functioning! A lot of websites have a built-in structure for checkouts but remember, you need to go in and check to make sure the links are working and that it is specific to your product/service. So Google “fake credit card number on Strike” and a number will come up that enables you to test your own checkout page. It is worth doing! Even if you have to charge yourself a penny to do it. Because these holes come clear when you pretend to be your customer. And this is crucial to wrapping your product up on brand with a bow. So, go through it, find the holes, fix them and then present your whole site to someone who hasn’t seen it and ask them to go through it (while you look over their shoulder). Watch where they go, what they click on and where they get confused. Do not ask people what they think of your website. You’re not asking for their opinion on what it looks or feels like, you are wanting to test functionality. So, our challenge to you is to get just those four pages in check. Not perfect, but functional. 1.) Your landing page. 2.) Your about page. 3.) Your product description and 4.) Your checkout. No matter what platform you choose to put your product on, just pick one and be confident in that decision. Get it done and move on.
Homework Time!
We want you to really think about these two questions that will really help you with your about page, which is where a lot of people get stuck. So get out your notebook and actually write this down. Question one, what is the problem you are solving for your customer? (Not what you’re selling, but solving). The second question we want you to ask yourself is, what is the end result you are wanting your people to achieve at the end of the day? What do you want them to achieve in their life? People buy based on emotions so answer those deep questions, tap into their desires and present something that has true meaning in their life. If you unlock this, it is going to do magic things for your business. Answer these questions, start working on these tasks and post your draft in the group for feedback! Lastly, here is the one sentence minimum that we want you to post in the FB group using the hashtag #bbs. In the post comment, you are going to write “My customer struggles with ............... and by using my product or service, they will achieve ................ ”
Two more episodes coming up in this series. Stay tuned for next week’s!
Quote This
We want you to be making money before you have this crazy, beautiful, branded genius.
Highlights
Where You’re At and Where You’re Going. [0:03:22.1]
A Quick Back-Pedal On The Complementary Courses. [0:04:22.1]
Why Your Website Does Not Have To Be Perfect. [0:06:50.1]
The Initial Two Website Pages You Should Focus On. [0:10:50.1]
The Most Important Page: The Sales Page. [0:18:23.1]
What Is Your Actual Purchase Process Like? [0:21:50.1]
Homework Time! [0:28:42.1]
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
KEY TOPICS
Website design, Checkout page, Landing page, Product description, Online sales, Marketing tips
