I was sitting on the couch last night after a big day catching up with clients thinking of all the things I need to do to grow my own business. And it came to me that building a business is like building a skyscraper.

You need a plan. You need the right tools. It takes a certain amount of time. And you need to do it one step after the other.

There’s no other way to build a skyscraper.

For instance, right now I have a number of steps planned which include writing 15 sales letters… creating 15 new products… getting more traffic for More Customers Made Easy - running a taguchi test on my web site to bump the conversion… setting up an affiliate program… writing a letter to get a handful of very, very large clients… writing a regular email newsletter… and so on.

All of these things work in tandem and by following each one of these steps, just like building a skyscraper, eventually I’ll get from where I am to where I want to be.

But the problem with most businesses I have come across is they don’t have a very well thought out plan because they are so focused on what they do rather than realizing they are essentially in the business of marketing.

We all are. It doesn’t matter if you are an accountant…a mechanic… a gym owner… a hairdresser… or a restaurant owner… you are in the business of making money. Making money comes from attracting customers and that’s a skill you need to master.

But most businesses don’t have the right tools to get the job done. In fact, they are building the skyscraper while relying on nothing other than their own two hands. That’s a slow time-consuming process. In reality, if you tried to build a skyscraper in the same fashion, you would still be going a century later… creating wealth at a snails pace. (and let’s face it, you’d probably be dead by then) Companies who build skyscrapers know they need leverage. They get this by employing machines… getting staff… etc.

But the leverage in growing your business lies in using the power of the written word to multiply your effectiveness.

For instance, you can write one sales letter… get it working… and send it out to tens of thousands of people to generate new work.

Yesterday I had a client day and met, spoke to and talked about a handful of people who were millionnairres many times over. The one thing they had in common is they knew how to use the written word via print to get leverage for themselves.

The basic premise is: write an ad… test it small… and if it works, roll it out like there is no tomorrow.

The problem is most people have to pay a copywriter like me obscene amount of money in order to do this. And while my copywriting services have often been worth 100 times (and more) what many of my clients have paid me for my efforts, you can learn everything you need to know to write a great ad or sales letter by yourself (online or offline) here

All for now,

Scott Bywater

P.S. Every builder knows a house needs a solid foundation. But most business owners forget this and instead rely on one marketing medium which could fall over at anytime (i.e. google slap, telemarketing or fax laws change, phone directories become less effective, etc). If you want to make your business as solid as a rock, hop along to “more customers made easy” and learn over a dozen different strategies you can put in place to ensure even the most vicious cyclone (such as the one the world is going through right now) wouldn’t even make your business blink.

I had a mate up on the weekend who’s an international trainer on emotional intelligence… customer service… management skills… etc.

Over the last few years he’s done extremely well. Travelled the world. Pulled in a six figure income. Been put up in 5 star hotels. And basically lived THE life.

But just a few years ago things were very different.

He was in a rut and couldn’t quite reach the breakthrough he was looking for.

That’s when I said to him: “”Pete, you’ve just got to pick up the phone… send letters… and get out there. If you knock on enough doors, you’re eventually going to get these big companies to take you on.”"

At the time, I predicted the first few months would be tough. But within 6-12 months, things would really take off for him.

Turns out that prediction was right. He’s done incredibly well and never looked back.

That reminds me of a quote I saw recently by the football player, Jerry Rice:

“”Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.”"

Notice Jerry didn’t say “”so today I can accomplish what others can’t?”"

You’ve got to allow for that lag period. Most people can’t. Most people throw in the towel before the results have a chance to take effect. And that can kill a business.

In the book “”The road less travelled”" by M. Scott Peck which I skimmed through about a decade ago, while I didn’t agree with all his thoughts, I think his concept of delayed gratification makes a lot of sense.

Don’t think everything has to happen today. Make the phone calls today. Send out the letters today. Make a blog post today. Write an article today. Set up a squeeze page today.

And know that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Obviously, if you’re using the right strategies, such as those you can check here the lag period will probably be much shorter.

But there is still a lag period… whether it be a few days or several months.

What seeds are you sowing today? Are they the sort of seeds which will leave you struggling to cope year in and year out? Or are they the kind of seeds which will help you get the sort of results you’ll find at this web site or over here

Worth thinking about, isn’t it?

All for now,

Scott Bywater