Can you believe the first month of 2018 is nearly over? If you’ve already broken all your New Year’s resolutions, you’re not alone. Here’s why New Year’s Resolutions rarely work (and what you should do instead).
In that vein, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to make 2018 my best year ever. I figured I wasn’t alone in this thinking. Having connected with more than 500 CEOs last year, I also wanted to invite some new voices into the conversation and see what they had to offer.
My best advice to you is not to try and do everything, but rather find one or two ideas from the insights below and implement them with everything you’ve got. As Tony Robbins likes to say, “Taking massive action beats great ideas every day of the week.” So see what ideas resonate with you and, rather than getting overwhelmed by so many of them, focus on the one or two that will really move your business forward.
- “Use Influencers to grow your brand.” Placing your product in the hands of an influencer can be the key to your next viral moment online. Alex MacLean is the CEO and Founder of East Coast Lifestyle, an international brand that is growing all around the world. MacLean says, “Influencer marketing is the most powerful marketing tactic that businesses are still not utilizing. Allowing others with dedicated followers to promote and grow your brand not only increases sales but also builds consumer trust levels. Consumers trust who they follow on social media more than the brands they busy from. If influencers are promoting your brand, this will likely increase trust in your brand and thereby increase sales. With my business, East Coast Lifestyle Clothing, we work with influencers of all demographics around the world which has allowed us to grow a global following.”
- “Personalize your content based on the way users interaction with your brand.” Marty Martinez is the Founder and CEO of Social Revolt, a Digital Marketing Agency. He says “Potential customers expect marketing to be tailored to them whenever they interact with your brand. It is imperative to start giving your customers what they want and when they want it if you are going to be successful in 2018.”
- “Just get started.” Sometimes that first step is the hardest. Once you’re on your feet, the ball starts rolling. J Rich is a 20 year old serial entrepreneur. He says “Dropshipping is the best and only business where you can start and become successful quickly at a very low cost. “We live in a digital gold rush and the opportunities are all in front of you, just reach out and take advantage of them.” J Rich is known for generating over $180,000 in dropshipping revenue as well as helping others achieve success in the e-commerce industry.
- “Grow your presence on social media, especially Instagram.” Sean Kelly is the CEO of Jersey Champs and runs one of the largest jersey companies in North America. He says, “Social Media Marketing accounts for over 80% of our sales and is one of the cheapest marketing channels.” Having a strong social media presence gives a company extreme trust and credibility especially among millennial shoppers.
- “Consider an investment in cryptocurrency to unlock more growth.” Some cyrptocurrencies see substantial increases in a matter of hours. When you learn the rules of the game, you can really profit. Anish Pradhan is a successful entrepreneur who has build his business and lifestyle from cryptocurrency trading. He recommends that you “place bets based on your own comfort and level of speculation. Don’t let the media and other people sway your bets. Whenever I invest, I use technical analysis that better increases my odds for profit.”
- “Diversify your streams of income.” Remember those old one way Christmas lights? When one light goes out the entire section goes out and then you have to spend hours trying to find the one bulb that was causing all the issues. The same can be said for business. Do not depend on one streams of income. Launch multiple ventures that allow you to have stable residual income even if one of your other ventures goes offline. Andrew McCarthy, a 19 year old internet entrepreneur, has created many ecommerce stores amounting to over $120,000 in monthly revenue. He says, “Launching multiple successful ventures allows you to build a system that will enable you to continuously make income while growing your online presence. I use many large social media accounts that I grew to push multiple stores that sell a range of items. I built a formula and I applied it so that everything runs smoothly and I have less of a dependency on one store.”
- “Find a mentor.” Without someone to lead you out of the darkness you may just be lost forever. Finding a strong mentor who speaks the language of your business and can be an asset to your operation may prove valuable to you. Zaki Mohamed (The Real Zaki) is a mentor for hundreds of rising stars. He says, “Mentors were one of the things I lacked early on. I would have been much more successful early on if I was able to find a mentor to help me figure out the rules of the game.” Today Mohamed is known for generating almost ninety thousand dollars of income in one month.
- “Embrace the obstacles.” The path to success is not always linear. You always have roadblocks that throw you off your path and it is your job to stick to it. That is what makes you resilient and a gives you a better business IQ/EQ. Nathan Storey is a 16-year old serial entrepreneur. He works other businesses to help them with website development and marketing as well as bring in a steady income through dropshipping. He says, “I have been involved in many different projects under many different roles. When your business is taking off, you don’t have much bandwidth to delegate, so you end up wearing many hats. It is important to be able to be flexible in your work and not let any struggle throw you off your original goal.
- “Be real and original.” There are a lot of people who are trying to reinvent the wheel and it is getting annoying for content consumers. Zander Shine is a successful content creator and business owner who has worked with companies all over the world. He says, “just be yourself. There is too much unoriginal content. There is a lot of copy cats so don’t end up blending in, be a chain-breaker don’t stand in line.”
- “Execute on your idea by listening, learning, and diversifying your skill set.” Niko Porikos is successful entrepreneur who is known for multiplying his sales monthly on his newest venture, iTough Accessories. He says, “there is no one size fits all plan when it comes to growing startups, and the best way to learn is from your own failure and success. If you don’t feel challenged or uncomfortable in the early stages you’re doing it wrong. You need to constantly learn and teach yourself new things to stay ahead of the competition.”
“Convince everyone.” John Lyotier, Co-founder and CEO of RightMesh, a mobile mesh networking platform using blockchain technology, that is working to change the way the world connects, “As an entrepreneur, your success depends on your ability to tell a story. You need to be able to convince your investors, your customers, your partners, your employees, and most importantly your family, that the journey you are on is one that is worthy of your time, energy, and passion. Your journey must give you purpose, and you need to able to draw others in.”
For more helpful resources, check out the best social media tools to leverage in 2018, latest video marketing guide, and how best to unleash your company’s greatest assets. And remember, don’t get discouraged. Remember why you started your company in the first place and stay true to your mission!