Of the millions of entrepreneurs chasing their dreams and creating start-ups, many of them fail, and others stagnate. Of those that are ‘high-flyers’, some fizzle down after a big growth spurt and others crumble at the first sign of trouble. It takes a strong will to succeed at anything, especially one that can be life-changing if done the right way.
All in all, entrepreneurship is a tough nut to crack, and you need a lot of advice and information to keep moving. Otherwise, you’d realize too soon that falling is much easier than climbing up. Thankfully, there are those on whose experience we can ride and on whose success stories we can draw strength and inspiration for the journey ahead.
Gee Bryant is one man who came from nothing; a Philadelphia street kid who has walked the journey, paid the price and emerged at the top. He shares his tips to succeed in an uncertain path.
● “Always deliver more than you promise.” – Gee Bryant.
The secret to getting and keeping clients is exceeding their expectations. Now, don’t get cocky, Gee cautions, but you always need to put your best foot forward. To achieve this, start small by achieving your targets earlier and thinking of out of the box ways to serve your client. When you can solve a client’s need before realizing it’s a need, you’ll never lose a client.
“Personally, what keeps me going is my passion for serving and helping others achieve their objectives. The shift from that look of frustration when I first meet a new client to that satisfying smile at the end of every encounter is the biggest reward for me”, he says. In the end, you must avoid raising hopes too high and under-delivering. Let your results speak for you.
● “The focus of marketing is fully shifting to digital.” – Gee Bryant.
Ask CEOs who thought the digital media was a fluke just over two decades ago or those who saw it as a threat many years ago and they will tell you the sooner they embraced digital marketing, the sooner their businesses took a dramatic positive turn. The opportunities are limitless and so is your potential for growth.
It’s not a “will it, won’t it happen” thing anymore; it is stark clear that the future of marketing is digital, and if you want to succeed, that’s where you need to be. Gee says that it doesn’t matter what industry you’re in; the digital space is big enough to accommodate every industry. You can find your space early enough and begin building your business.
● “Your online reputation can make or break you.” – Gee Bryant.
Now more than ever, you need to manage your online reputation. More than half of the world’s population is online and that is the market you should be targeting. If you’re concerned about your image or brand reputation, it is your online presence you should be more concerned about managing because, believe it or not, more than 70 percent of your customers are online.
This is not just important for your business but also for your personal presence. Until you realize that you are as much a brand as your business, you may not get it right. Businesses have crumbled due to employees and managements having bad reps online. Gee states that referrals are now done online; word of mouth now means look them up.
● “Everyone is on social media and that’s where you need to be.” – Gee Bryant.
Social media saved the day in 2020 when the pandemic threw the world into a whirlpool. The pandemic aside, how people consume social media has changed as it’s their first stop when looking for products, services or even information. It is not enough to be on social media, but you must also engage your audience as frequently as possible. A social media following is a sure way to help you scale your business upward.
Your presence, content and engagement work together to help you build visibility for your brand. Gee Bryant encourages businesspeople to build their businesses online as that’s where the shift is heading, not just for the future but for now as well.
Lastly, Gee says you should never be deceived or carried away by the glamour or lies on social media. You must work and ensure that- if for any reason- you fail, it shouldn’t be due to what you did or failed to do.
