Adam Khoo has done it again.
He has created a comprehensive guide to making money -- this time it's a book on making money by building million dollar businesses. As he has done in his investment book, for example, Adam has packed several books' worth of information into one big and very readable volume.
And don't feel intimidated by the title. If you believe that aiming for a multi-million dollar business may be reaching too high and that you'd prefer something a little -- or a lot -- smaller, suspend that thought for now.
First of all, the strategies in this book can be used to build and especially grow a business of ANY size. So just because you may have a small consulting firm, for example, or a local specialty restaurant, and would like to keep it that way, aside from wanting more clients or customers, don't think this book isn't for you.
And the second reason why you should keep reading is this:
As Adam points out in all his books I have read so far, your mindset is crucial for your success. Unfortunately, most of us place too many limitations on ourselves in terms of what we believe we can achieve. You'll discover ways to break out of those limitations and set your aim at higher goals.
In fact, after sharing his own rags to riches story, Adam provides a manual on creating that success mind set. Doing this kind of work for himself has started Adam on his journey from failure to millionaire, and he continues to provide guidance on how to do the same in his training seminars as well as in his books, including this one.
And you won't be just reading about it, but there are exercises included and worksheets to fill out, so you'll have the opportunity to get actively involved and recalibrate your own mindset.
You may find that you've been holding yourself back all these years, and that now is the time to break free and go for what you'd really like to accomplish.
From there, Adam continues with a wealth of very solid information on how to set up and run a business, and how to take it to the level of a million dollar business (and beyond, if you so choose).
In fact, at the end, he even shows you how you can take your company public and/or turn it into an international corporation. High aims. But it's your choice just how far you want to take it. Adam himself discusses his personal choices in this regard -- and the reason why he has made them. I found that very interesting and helpful.
Here are some of the specific things you'll learn:
* What kinds of skills it takes to be a successful entrepreneur and how to acquire the skill set you'll need.
Here, Adam demonstrates how a pattern of blaming is holding most people back, and he offers concrete how-to steps to overcome that limitation. He also provides examples, as he does throughout his book, from his own experience as well as other businesses. Those examples make the chapters highly compelling reading and effectively illustrate what not to do -- and what to do instead.
He provides a case study from his own experience -- when he first tried to market a seminar on NLP for business success. First it flopped -- just one person signed up. But Adam didn't buy in to the excuses those around him offered and instead took responsibility. He asked his customers why they hadn't signed up, got the three main reasons, took care of those as he redesigned his presentation, and bingo! People started signing up.
Another skill set is constant innovation. Nothing works forever, so regular tracking is crucial -- that and flexibility.
He provides more examples here, from his own company and others. Remember Alta Vista? It failed to keep up, and Yahoo took over, at first, and then Google came along. Now, when we talk about looking for something online, we just Google it!
Yet another key skill set includes money management, as well as operational and systems development. He provides McDonalds and its founder Ray Kroc as an example here.
Once the basics are in place, Adam proceeds with the how-to for actually setting up that million dollar business. Here are some of the things you'll discover:
* How to come up with a million dollar business idea. The key here is to develop a revolutionary product or find one that exists and deliver in revolutionary way.
If that, and the requirement to be the "best," sounds intimidating, just keep on reading. There are countless ways to achieve that. Adam lists what it will take, from passion, and specialized knowledge to a unique competitive advantage. And one of the best ways to get that advantage is to solve the problems that your prospective customers have, often with competing service providers.
One of his examples is 7-Eleven. At the time they got started, convenience stores were open for much shorter hours, making it impossible for people to get what they needed later in the evening or earlier in the morning. Now, of course, 7-Eleven has its stores all over the world.
To help with that, Adam shows you how to select your target market and analyze what that market wants so you can give it to them.
Next it's time to actually plan your business, and the section that shows you how to do that doubles a guide to creating your whole business plan.
Then, once the business is in place, you'll need to know how to run your business (rather than letting your business run you). Part of this section includes information about effective hiring and employee management.
The following section on how to market your business is my favorite:
This is in fact a chapter that's highly valuable for any business. It includes all the key ingredients, including how to set up and implement a marketing plan, how to write a sales letter, how to sell face-to-face, (an excellent primer on sales!), and so on. And yes, lots of great examples to illustrate how they work, and worksheets so the reader can actually implement them.
One of the most powerful tools in that chapter is Adams Profit Multiplication Formula, where you basically just plug in your numbers and can see instantly how you can improve your profits. Of course he also provides detailed plans for how to increase profits over a period of time by implementing a variety of strategies. Included is a list of 46 ways to increase your leads.
In the next chapter, Sales and Profits, he shows you many ways to connect with your leads and converting them into paying customers. From building rapport to asking the right questions and listening, it's comprehensive primer on sales skills. This chapter includes several lists of things you can do to increase sales and revenue.
Once you've gotten that far, your business should be humming along. Now you'll need to build an effective team, so he gives you a manual on hiring, training, and how to turn your employees into a team that can operate without constant need for hand-holding.
And that's crucial if you want to expand because otherwise, you'll run yourself ragged and set yourself up for failure.
Finally, there's a big section on money management, and one on taking your company international (and public, if you so choose).
All in all, an excellent manual on how to build your business, one that will be useful to any business owner as well as those who would like to become business owners.
If I had to criticize something about the book, it's the fact that the title might scare off a lot of people who might really benefit from reading it. Yet I realize that the title also represents the unique selling proposition of this book, and Adam definitely delivers.
No comments:
Post a Comment