Two Paths for Small Business Success(səkˈses)

Two Paths for Small Business Success(səkˈses)

By Steve Pavlina

On my path as an entrepreneur(-ˈnər,ˌäntrəprəˈno͝or), I realized(ˈrē(ə)ˌlīz) there were basically(ˈbāsik(ə)lē) two paths that would lead me to some level of business success.

Path #1 was to get really good at marketing and selling. If I could become an expert(ˈekˌspərt) at persuading(pərˈswād) people to buy, I could earn plenty(ˈplentē) of income that way. This path would involve(inˈvälv) things like copywriting, conversion rates(rāt), and search engine(ˈenjən) optimization(ˈäptəˌmīz). I might not create a lot of products, but maybe I’d only need a few, and then I could learn to market and sell the heck(hek) out of them. Lots of Internet marketers use this strategy(ˈstratəjē). Sometimes their material(məˈti(ə)rēəl) is pretty generic(jəˈnerik), weak, or even inaccurate(inˈakyərit), but they know how to sell, sell, sell.

Path #2 was to get really good at creating. If I could become a prolific(prəˈlifik) creator of value(ˈvalyo͞o), I could afford(əˈfôrd) to be very generous(ˈjenərəs). I could give away copious(ˈkōpēəs) amounts of free content and let word of mouth do the rest(rest). This would create an interesting relationship with my audience(ˈôdēəns) too. My focus would be more on supporting others rather than selling them. If I excelled(ikˈsel) at this, I wouldn’t need to sell much at all. I could attract(əˈtrakt) a sizeable audience and only need to sell a little here and there. Even a really poor conversion(kənˈvərZHən) rate could still produce enough income to cover my costs, so I could afford to be very selective and only sell in ways that felt good to me. I wouldn’t have to push people to buy.

Of course it’s possible(ˈpäsəbəl) to do both simultaneously(ˌsīməlˈtānēəslē), and many larger companies do, but I felt I’d be better off if I focused primarily(prīˈme(ə)rəlē) on one side or the other. I think that was a wise(wīz) decision(diˈsiZHən) in retrospect(ˈretrəˌspekt).