Episode Summary

Welcome back to Begin As You Mean To Go On. I am coming off of my self-imposed break to celebrate the first anniversary of the podcast. I wanted to come back and celebrate with you and debut a new feature of the podcast that will make it even easier to take action on all of the advice that I've been offering you over the past year.

Today we're talking about 'gotchas.' This topic is inspired by many conversations and things I've seen both in discussions with clients and with prospects on the internet over the past couple of weeks. I wanted to have an episode where I talk about things people do that they don't really think much about but come back to bite you in your business. I hope this episode will help you not to make the same business mistakes.

Action Guide:

Gotcha #1: Using your Google or Facebook login for software tools.

• Using your Google or Facebook information to sign in to all other tools and websites is a big “gotcha”. What happens is later, when you realize that you want to hire help, you’ll also realize that your new hire will need access to your stuff. That means for them to get access; theoretically, you would have to give them your Google or your Facebook login.
• That is a big NO. That’s like handing over the “keys to the kingdom,” and you don’t want to do that with someone you hired off Fiverr.
• If you have 10 different things that you signed up with through your Google and Facebook, you're going to have to unravel all those things before you can get help. I highly recommend that you fix it now! Trust me. You’ll thank me later.
• Always sign up with an email and password because those will be much easier to change if you need to.

Gotcha #2: Using GoDaddy.

• If you’ve been following me, you know this is a topic close to my heart. I hate GoDaddy and always have. Maybe they’ve gotten better over the years, but they still wouldn’t be my preferred choice for anything.
• GoDaddy is fine until it isn’t. If your server gets slow, or you’re doing a redesign, and you need to transfer your DNS to a new host, GoDaddy moves slow. That’s one of the reasons I don’t recommend them.
• There are tons of other great hosts and domain registrars out there. Check out Flywheel and Hover which are my favorites.

Gotcha #3: Crowdsourcing technical advice.

• It’s not that you shouldn’t ask for advice,  but consider the source you’re seeking advice from. 
• If you just go on your Facebook profile or you go in some group full of coaches and ask, “What software should I use?” that may not be the best choice. Those people probably don't know about software or your requirements in general. And whatever advice they give may or may not be the best thing for you.
• Go back and listen to episode 14. We run down our entire tech stack and more importantly, why we use that tech stack. You can listen to that too and see if anything matches what you’re doing.

Gotcha #4: Not owning your digital assets.

• This one is huge. I have been soapboxing about this, literally since I started a business doing internet things. Listen to me, you have to own your digital assets.
• This is especially important if you’re a non-techy person. Don’t hire someone and allow them to set up and purchase your domain, hosting site, or anything else that you should own. 
• You need to own your shit, even if you're non-technical, even if you feel overwhelmed. A good service provider will walk you through setting up those accounts and then give them access because you didn't sign up with Google. 
• This gotcha is especially important for things like your domain name or setting up your Google Analytics account. For instance, you cannot transfer ownership of a Google Analytics account, so if someone sets it up for you, they own it. 

Gotcha #5: Making software decisions based on price

• Please stop making software decisions based on price. If you want to use things that will help you build your business, you need to pay for them. I understand that you're on a budget, but you are starting a business, and a company means that you expect people to pay for your services. If you want people to pay you, you should also be willing to pay for other company’s services as well.
• And if you feel like you can't afford to pay for your software, you need to look at your pricing and business model because running a business costs money. It doesn't have to cost a ton of money, but if you're going to hire software, it should be doing a job that creates a return for your business.

Gotcha #6: Not using a password manager

• I would say that 95% or more of my clients come in, and they're not using a password manager. And worse than that, they're using super weak passwords. I have legit had people give me passwords with password in the password. You need to start creating strong passwords, and for that, you need a password manager. 
• One password has been my favorite for many years now. You just have to remember the one password, hence the name, to get your vault open, and then you don't even have to type log-ins. I haven't typed a login for a long time. Get the password manager and actually put all of your stuff in and just embrace the secure way of life.

Gotcha #7: Not trusting your gut and intuition

• There are so many coaches, gurus, and information overload out there, and everybody promises you that their framework and their template and way of doing things are going to save you. And yes, there's help to be had by following someone else's process until you get your own.
• But there's also a lot to be said for knowing yourself and trusting your gut and intuition. Filter all this advice and all these things that are coming at you, even if it’s from me, and pick what works for you.

Gotcha #8: Doing everything in your business by yourself

• We love to be superheroes and solopreneurs. But if you want to build a business, a collection of systems that produces profit, and you want to be able to step away from that in any way and not have your revenue dip, you will need help. You don't have to build an empire, but you're going to need some help.
• Start to build that muscle of recognizing when something is not the best use of your time. And you don’t have to hire a full-time person right away. You can start with someone working a few hours a week. Just get used to getting help, get accustomed to asking for help, and stop doing everything yourself.  

Gotcha #9: Waiting too long to get help

• How do you know if you're waiting too long to get help? Here’s the metric I go by, if you’re struggling with the same problem for more than a month or two months (depending on the situation), then it's time to get help.

Gotcha #10: Not understanding the value of your offer

• Half the battle is understanding the things you worked so hard to get good at that feel so easy to you are valuable to others. Just because it's easy for you, it feels good, or you have fun doing it doesn't mean it's not helpful. Your job as a business owner is to understand the value you're bringing to people and then charge accordingly.
• And it doesn't have to be monetary value. There's more than just ROI that matters to people. People buy for all sorts of reasons. Make sure you understand what kind of transformation they are getting from your product or service.
• And if you don't know, start asking your clients what they have achieved since working with you. Or how do you feel after working together? You should be gathering testimonials anyway. It's good for you because it makes you understand what you do and how it impacts others.

Gotcha #11: Ignoring the basics

• You need to crawl before you can walk, and you need to walk before you can run, and maybe you've had some success, and you've made some money in your business. It's still always worth it to go back and make sure that you are doing the basics.
• Let me give you some examples of what I mean by the basics.
• I can't tell you how many times I’ve seen something that somebody has posted online, and I have gone to their profile because it was terrific. I want to know more about that person. I want to sign up on their email list or find their website, and I go to their profile, and it is blank. There are no breadcrumbs for me even to find out. I might want to hire them. How do I do that? And before I do that, I probably want to stalk you a little bit.
• That's what I'm talking about, nothing super complicated. If you’re reading this, go to your profiles right now and make sure that they're up-to-date that they say what you do. Check your profile and make sure that if people want to hire you, there is a straightforward, obvious way to do that and watch your sales improve.

How to get the podcast Cliff Notes Action Guides

One of the things that I know that many people struggle with is the audio format of podcasts. We have created cliff notes, also known as action guides, for every single episode. They’re going to include the breakdown of all the juicy nuggets and all the actionable items so you can take that and print it out or save it in whatever fashion you want. That way, you have a reference and can implement the things I’ve said. As great as it is for you to listen to the podcast, what would make me happy is if you take the things that I say and implement them into your business.

We have prepared all the cliff notes for all the past episodes from the first three seasons. You can go to karveldigital.com/cliffnotes to get them. And you've got two weeks to grab those cliff notes. Then we're going to make those available for sale.

If you're reading this now, go to https://karveldigital.com/cliffnotes. Grab the cliff notes, then come over to the Service CEO's Facebook group and tell me all about the things you are implementing and the results because I genuinely want to hear it.

Takeaways:

• Don’t use your Google or Facebook login for software tools.
• Stop using GoDaddy to host your website or domain name.
• Stop crowdsourcing technical advice.
• Stop letting other people own your digital assets.
• Don’t make software decisions based on price.
• Please use a password manager.
• Trust your own gut and intuition.
• Stop doing everything in your business by yourself. 
• Don’t wait too long to get help.
• Understand the value of her offer.
• Stop ignoring business basics.

Resources

• Full Episode: E37 Avoid Common Business 'Gotchas' with Kronda Adair
• Content Bootcamp | karveldigital.com/bootcamp 
• Pot 'o' Gold Content Database | karveldigital.com/gold 
• Podcast Cliff Notes | karveldigital.com/cliffnotes 
• Episode 14: Choosing Your Tech Stack with Kronda Adair

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Lesson Activity

Download: Action Guide: E37 Avoid Common Business 'Gotchas' with Kronda Adair