How to Grow Your Business Fast
I listen to this guy everyday. Some days I want him to take a long walk off a short pier. But that’s the power of a virtual mentor that agitates you to think deeply and to question yourself.
On other days, I agree with him and feel that he hits the nail on the head. Like in this post…
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Fast Growth
Seth Godin writes, “Fast growth comes from overwhelming the smallest possible audience with a product or service that so delights that they insist that their friends and colleagues use it. And hypergrowth is a version of the same thing, except those friends and colleagues quickly become even bigger fans, and tell even more people.”
“Often, we get sidetracked when we forget about “smallest possible.” If you make the audience you’re initially serving too big, you will dilute the very thing you set out to make, avoid critical mass, and compromise the magic of what you’re building. You’ll make average stuff for average people instead of something powerful for the few. By “smallest possible” I don’t mean, “too small.” I mean the smallest number that eventually leads to the kernel of conversation that enables you to grow.”
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Great advice, and my business partners, Deven and Ben at Sprayable Energy took that advice. They attended the www.BlackSmithCamp.com with an idea. That idea led to action with our advice. And that action has turned into a multi-million dollar business.
“We started shipping our Sprayable Energy product in sort of mid-2014,” Deven said. “It really took that year just to understand more of our customers better and figure out how we could get in front of more of those of people. Before we launched, we didn’t know if it would be college kids or working professionals or travelers that would be liking the energy product.”
They didn’t know everything. They didn’t wait for the situation to be perfect. They just got started.
“Through a lot of our surveying, we found out that it ended being people that were sensitive to caffeine or that were for some reason were health conscious and didn’t want the chemicals in energy drinks. So we decided to double down and find as many of those people as possible and get the product in their hands because we knew they’d love it and become lifetime customers.”
Test. Double down. Test again. Check results. Adjust course. Brilliant.
“The biggest concept that we took out of the BlackSmith Camp was using a tripwire offer,” Deven said. “This meant offering a very low cost small samples of our Sprayable Energy product that you could use to introduce to people that are kind of interested but may not want to make a full purchase. Having something for $1 or $2 that they can try out minimized the friction of making that first purchase.”
“We decided to do the same thing with our second product, Sprayable Sleep. Before we launched we made thousands of sample units that we shared with our existing customers and the media so that they were able to use the product and see how much they liked it. I think that’s been a real key to success for Sprayable Sleep.”
Just get started. Start simple. Start small. Start with a low-priced, high-value tripwire. Test. Double down. Test again. Check results. Adjust course. Brilliant.
That’s why they were able to raise over $350K through crowdfunding. Check out their campaign here. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/sprayable-sleep-first-topical-melatonin-spray
Start small and grow,
Craig Ballantyne
You must look at what can be, not what is. You must also look at what is going to be if you don’t change. You can change and things can be different. It’s up to you. Never quit on what is important to you. If you stumble, get back up. Stay accountable. Get support. Stay strong & Keep on Pushing on.