How To Do Things That Don't Scale & Grow A $Multi-Million Business with Courtney Caldwell, Co-Founder & COO ShearShare
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🍵 Here's Your Weekly Tea
"Market to the people that it’s for first and let the rest of them find it." - Billy Porter
One of my favorite questions to ask founders is who is your "hell yes" customer? You’ve probably written down your ideal customer. Oftentimes, these are generic AF. For example - "Our customer is a millennial woman who is passionate about blah, blah, blah." These profiles are typically created to validate what a founder wants to believe. Unfortunately, this is a great way to run your business into the ground because you’re spending a ton of time and energy chasing after a generalization. Ain't nobody got time for that! Instead, figure out your "hell yes" customer. The people you don’t need to convince. They get it, they want it. What do they have in common? Find more of them and deliver the best possible experience. They will become walking billboards that will allow the rest of them to find you.
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💸 HERE'S YOUR TRACTION BRIEFING
Founder: Courtney Caldwell | Company: ShearShare | Location: New York, NY
Receipts: Seasoned marketing exec, Courtney Caldwell has led demand generation for giants like Oracle and has spent more than 20 years as a B2B marketer. She's now a pioneer in her industry building a novel business and raising $5.6 million along the way.
Here's your traction playbook...
How To Stay The Course Especially When Things Get Difficult
Find Your Inner Tenaciousness - "Entrepreneurs just have this inner tenaciousness about them to see the cup as half full instead of half empty and to keep on going. And you need to have that internally. You have to have that positive mindset" - Courtney Caldwell. Cultivate a positive mindset. Sounds cliché, and you've probably heard it from every self help guru under the sun. However, as Courtney says, the entrepreneurs that get sh!t done are the ones who have built resilience by harnessing the power of a positive mindset. Optimism will be your competitive advantage.
🛠️ TRACTION TOOLS: How to get it done...
Here's what traction looks like in early stage startups. Build Your Traction Strategy: Access our traction tracker that has increased revenues 5000% here. Finding The Right Product-Market Fit: Here's how Nicole Bassett found the right product-market fit and crafted a successful go-to-market strategy.
How to Slay Sales & Marketing In The Early Stages
Do Things That Don't Scale - Don't be afraid to do the hard things. ShearShare grew their business by doing the small things that did not necessarily make sense in the beginning. That included going door to door to different businesses, making those difficult cold calls, etc. A lot of these things are not scalable - but they are what matter. Today's market is focused on viral marketing but these little things are what builds relationships and build trust. Additionally, those personal conversations gave them insights and data into what their customers wanted and influenced their future paid marketing efforts.
🛠️ TRACTION TOOLS: How to get it done...
Here's why doing things that don't scale is important. Focus On The People Who Matter: Learn here how Sarah Smith built by strategically focusing on the 1%.
How to Secure Investor Confidence
Get Your Skin In The Game - Investors are more inclined to back your business when they know you have a stake in its success. Yes, all founders want their businesses to succeed, but not many are willing to invest almost everything they have into their business. Courtney and her co-founder took money out of their own pockets and even drained their savings. While you might not have to take the same measures, you need to be able to show that you believe in your own idea.
🛠️ TRACTION TOOLS: How to get it done...
Here's why having skin in the game matters. Bootstrap To 7 Figures: Stephanie Neale was able to bootstrap a consultancy to 7 figures using these money lessons.
Support Courtney in Scaling Impact: Tell your favorite nail technician, hair stylist, barber, microblading artist etc. about ShearShare! If they have space in their salon, they can list it on the app and make money even when they are not working!
🤓 ACCESS YOUR TRACTION LIBRARY: Whether you are struggling with a limited budget or don’t know what channels to focus on, the Get Sh!t Done Traction Library is here to support you. Access your library here.
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November 10th @ 12pm EST | The Don't and Don't-You-Dares of Copywriting: Join copywriting expert Kate Bradley Chernis for a tactical, cliff-notes-style run-through of writing essentials that will make you lean forward and think DUH.. RSVP here.
November 18th @ 1pm EST | Founders Mental Health Circle: Debunking The Perfect Mindset Myth: There is no such thing as the perfect mindset. Take a break from all the expectations. RSVP here.
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