The entrepreneur is that person who jumps off a cliff, and builds an airplane in the process “, Reid Hoffman. Who would jump off a cliff without at least a parachute? It seems pretty unreasonable, doesn’t it? This metaphor illustrates very well the realities of entrepreneurship, from launching a project to its eventual failure or success. In fact, there is no doubt that starting a business is hardbut the part that is even more difficult is making it successful and profitable. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs fail to build their plane during their fall and end up failing. As for me, it’s been a month since I jumped off the cliff and I’m building my plane little by little. In other words, my Twaino SEO Agency was launched a month ago and I thought it would be useful to share with you the results obtained so far. Note that in addition to this case study, I reveal to you the mistakes to avoid after launching a business and 10 valuable experience shares of entrepreneurs who succeeded with their startup.
One month of startup Twaino | SEO Agency
Find in this video the analysis of my results after one month of existence of my SEO agency Twaino:
Twaino SEO Agency: Timid results after 1 month of launch!
Before talking about the results I’ve had since the launch of my business, it’s important to first talk about the efforts I’ve made so far.
The work done in 1 month on my SEO Agency Twaino
1. The website: Twaino.com
In 1 month, I had the opportunity to create my website through :
- The purchase of domain name and hosting;
- L’installation of WordPress ;
- L’theme installation ;
- The creation of Logo ;
- The choice of colors of my brand ;
- The passage from http to Https ;
- The installation of Google Analytics and the Search Console ;
- The creation of a blog ;
- Etc..
The result after this period is satisfactory, but we must recognize that the website is not yet perfect.
There are sections that clearly need to be reviewed or improved.
For example, it is obvious that the page ” Training for example, it is obvious that the “Training” page of my website needs to be adjusted and completed with content.
2. Creating Content on Twaino.com: Videos and Articles
Within a month, I spent most of my time creating content for my SEO Agency’s blog.
My content is starting to become much more structured as I’ve combined the creation of YouTube videos with writing large articles.
As you can see in the video that accompanies the article, I have just under 20 articles created based on the videos I’ve had the opportunity to make. They are more or less long articles with an average of 2000 words, but others are nevertheless quite substantial. There is for example ” Business Plan │ 60 good questions to ask yourself. “, an extremely dense article that took me an enormous amount of time to write.
Overall, I made a lot of videos to show the different steps to create a website based on the creation of my own website, Twaino.com.
In addition, there are also videos and articles that I have produced on business creation.
Keep in mind that my current efforts are motivated by my “belief” that creating content on my website will pay off over time through SEO. I am, in a way, investing in the future since my content is of quality and will rank in the SERPs in the next few months.
3. The use of social networks for my Twaino Agency
For the moment I have not communicated much on social networks. All my videos are uploaded on my YouTube channel, but as for any beginning, there are still almost no subscribers, which is quite normal. You can see that I have only two subscribers on my YouTube channel for the moment.
On the other hand, as far as videos are concerned, I have already made a lot of recordings with about twenty videos. Note however that there are some videos that have been kept private and are only visible by myself. This gives me time to improve them before making them public.
Apart from YouTube, I had the opportunity to put both on Facebook and on LinkedInthe first video I made: ” 5 steps to create a website “. Also published on my personal wall, I had about ten shares and a few Likes
On LinkedIn, I also created a page to present my SEO Agency, Twaino. As you can see, I am really at the very beginning of my page and there is still a long way to go.
On the rest of the social networks, I haven’t done much. These include:
Statistics after 1 month of working on my SEO Agency
The most important thing to note is the fact that I managed to acquire two clients after 1 month, and I will make a video to explain in details how it happened. In addition, I collected the data on the 1 month of hard work through Google Analytics.
Among other things, there are:
- Users: 46 ;
- Sessions 51 ;
- Bounce rate 52,94% ;
- Session duration 1m52 ;
- Etc..
If you think that in less than a month I already have this small world coming to my website, think again. In reality, most of the time it is my own connections. Google Analytics considers each of my connections as unique, while I often do tests from my phone or in unknown navigation to appreciate the presentation of my website. I also sometimes ask for Mariana’s phone to see what it looks like from her phone.
Finally, I have almost no traffic after a month of hard work and if your traffic is similar to mine, know that this is quite normal for a start. Keep in mind that traffic is going to be relatively deserted for the first 6 months minimum.
Lesson from this analysis after 1 month of launch
I wanted to show you what an agency looks like after one month of launch. If you are starting your business or website, don’t be surprised if you don’t get any traffic in the very first weeks/months. In the beginning, it is almost impossible to get visibility, especially if you have not created an audience beforehand in some way.
In these conditions, it is legitimate to think that the process is slow, but the most important thing is to stay the course and be consistent in creating your content. In fact, I started with a domain name, Twaino.com, which doesn’t necessarily have any authority in terms of SEO.
So I started from scratch and starting to get some traction is going to take some time. For that, I’m going to continue to create content for my website on a regular basis, sharing it on social networks to gain a little more visibility.
Another point, when I published my first video on LinkedIn, I was able to reconnect with people who were in my network and I hadn’t heard from for a very long time. These opportunities may help me to get my next contracts.
Note that the note that the first clients are the most difficult to get. But once you have them, you will be able to put references on your website and if you are lucky, you can be recommended by them. In my case, the first client I had, recommended me for a second client. So above all, don’t lose sight of the fact that word of mouth is a very powerful business generator.
It is a kind of virtuous circle or snowball effect that can allow a business to grow very quickly. The rest, you just have to persevere to reach your goalsbut there are some mistakes you should avoid if you want to be effective.
The 10 mistakes to avoid when you start your business
Learning from others is one of the best ways to quickly develop your own business. You will avoid a lot of mistakes that you can easily fall into when you start your business. I list here the 10 that I consider the most important, assuming that :
- You have actually started your business if you are still hesitating to start your business, tell yourself that it is normal to be afraid. Even if it is not easy to do so, do not back away from your future difficulties when they are not there yet;
- You have chosen a theme that interests you it is easier to develop a business in a field you like. Especially since your determination will be unshakeable, creativity will come more easily and you will have more ease in developing your knowledge to improve your performance.
- You bring a solution to an important problem imagine that you propose a revolutionary solution to stop global warming, you wouldn’t even need to go looking for clients. On the other hand, when the problem solved by the product is not important enough, you may have very little traffic no matter how hard you try.
If you have followed these three principles, you are probably on the right track to develop your business. Here are some mistakes that you should avoid to ensure the success of your business. Needless to say, I try to apply them personally in my SEO agency Twaino.
Mistake 1: Starting with false expectations
” Don’t believe everything you think “Anonymous
Building a successful business is a big challenge, so don’t expect it to be easy or quick. If you don’t have any time to devote to your business on a daily or weekly basis, you should know that it will be very difficult to make it prosper.
There is no such thing as overnight success and this is a bitter truth that people rarely talk about, especially on the web. If you have a well established plan at the beginning, know that it will be reviewed several times to take into consideration the business evolution of your market, your customers, etc…
In fact, building and successfully developing a business often requires dedication and hard work over several years.
If you can, don’t hesitate to get in touch with other entrepreneurs to talk to them and ask them questions. It’s true that you won’t have exactly the same experiences as them, but there will rarely be any significant differences. This knowledge allows you to know what to expect and to make informed make informed decisions
Mistake 2: Not having competition
Charles de Montesquieu said: ” it is competition that puts a fair price on goods and establishes true relationships between them “
If you’re looking for a market without competition or a new product that doesn’t yet exist, you may not get started quickly. Even if you do find that product, chances are other people will start doing the same thing as you and you’ll end up with competitors.
Keep in mind that an industry with a viable business model and a known need will always have competition. You will hardly avoid it, but you can take advantage of it by studying it closely. I show you how to do this in my article oncompetition analysis.
Mistake 3: Wasting time daydreaming instead of executing
” Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. ” Thomas Edison.
If you spend more time thinking than acting, you need to rethink your strategy. Learn how to make decisions quickly so you can quickly take action. Sometimes scorned, execution is for me one of the most important qualities to succeed in building your business.
Mistake 4: Waiting too long to launch a product/service
” If you’re the kind of person who waits for the right thing to happen, you might be waiting a long time. It’s like waiting for all the traffic lights to be green for five miles before you start the journey. ” Robert Kiyosaki.
When you start building your audience through content creation and other means, it may happen that you have no product or service to offer. In this condition, some people wait until they have a large enough audience of thousands of loyal users and others, don’t launch products because they are simply afraid that no one will buy their product.
If you are in one of these cases, know that it is a mistake. Building a business is not easy, which is why you need to attack the biggest risk of your business from the beginning creating a product or service that no one wants to buy.
At the beginning, there is very little chance that your product will be perfect, and this is quite normal. It is through iterations that you will succeed over time to offer a better quality service / product. In this logic, the faster you put something on the market, the faster you will learn to improve.
Mistake 5: Not listening enough to your customers
” Your most unhappy customers are your best source of learning. “Bill Gates.
Customers are “always right” because without them, your business would have no reason to exist. Therefore, pay special attention to your customer feedback and keep in mind that customer satisfaction must be a top priority for you.
Listen to the people who tell you that they don’t buy and try to understand the reasons, to see if you can use these elements to adjust your offer. Listening and being humble are crucial to improving your chances of sustaining your market.
Mistake 6: Differentiate yourself from your competitors
” People don’t buy products and services. They buy relationships, stories and magic. “: Seth Godin.
Typically, customers have a choice of companies to meet their needs. If you are in a competitive market, you need to make sure that customers choose you over your competitors.
Therefore, in addition to the product that you offer and that others also offer, make known your company’s personality, its values and its mission. Furthermore, I advise you to follow the strategies of a successful company to the letter, thinking that you will also experience the same success. Indeed, you risk being seen as a “pale” copy of the original, which can be very detrimental to you.
To be able to stand out from your competitors, it is essential to do a analysis of the competition.
Mistake 7: Not spending enough or spending too much
” Nothing is ever without consequences. As a result, nothing is ever free. ” Confucius.
Technology has evolved to such a point that even with 0 euro, you can reach and touch your audience. But if you want to develop your business by setting up a website or a blog that will be regularly updated, you will have to make a minimum investment.
For example, you can hire a website developer, a writer or an sEO professional professional to get more visibility for your business. Note that if you are in pursuit of free, you may waste a lot of time, taking the risk of getting it wrong regularly
Personally, I don’t think this is a problem in itself, it just seems important to me to specify it, and not to expect spectacular results in these conditions.
On the other hand, if you have a lot of money, I don’t advise you to delegate all the tasks blindly, without knowing a minimum of what they consist of. Indeed, this is the best way to see your money being squandered in no time.
Thus, I advise you:
- To be careful not to hire without reason, and to have clearly in mind the objectives you want to achieve by hiring someone. Also, make sure that this person will be able to achieve your expectations;
- Don’t invest in any marketing campaign without studying its profitability;
- Be creative in your approach, this is often a good way to avoid spending huge amounts of money.
Otherwise, you risk emptying your savings, which will make the task even more difficult
In short, be prepared to make expenses, but make sure they actually add value to your business.
Mistake 8: Trying to do everything yourself
” When men work together, mountains turn into gold”: Chinese proverb.
No one can run a business alone, you need customers, suppliers, employees and many other people. Not to mention that you need the support of other entrepreneurs like you or with more experience than you to make your business successful.
The more you develop your networkingthe easier it is to achieve your goals. If you want to develop your network, you can turn to conferences and trade shows to meet other professionals like yourself.
Mistake 9: Thinking that a “blog” is not a “business
” A blog is not a blog, it’s a business “Neil Patel
A blog allows you to expand your audience by sharing your ideas or knowledge and is one of the best ways to connect with your target audience. It is therefore a privileged tool to get in touch with your audience, and therefore allows you to increase your authority and credibility.
You should consider the blog as a unique lever to build your influence, by publishing free content likely to please. Indeed, blogging allows you to increase the chances of being known on the internet by proposing quality content.
You need to bring useful content to your customers according to the level they are in your sales funnel. Talk about their different problems and provide all the options they have to solve them.
Mistake 10: Not finishing what you start
If you fail to finish the tasks you set for yourself, you may not get very far. To do this, you should try to have a good organization and a good schedule. Without this, you risk being less focused on your actions and losing priorities. This lack of focus and organization can prevent you from reaching your goals in the long run.
Therefore, develop goals and tasks to achieve them in a clear and precise way. Afterwards, you must also be flexible and keep in mind this thought of Ulrich Kevick : ” If plan A doesn’t work, there are still 25 letters left in the alphabet. “.
Conclusion: 1 month after starting Twaino: Very few timid results and more perseverance!
No one can deny the difficulty of launching and developing a business. After one month of launching my SEO Agency Twaino, the conclusion is clear. I have made a considerable effort, which has resulted in very meager results. It is therefore for me to present here the harsh reality of entrepreneurship that is often forgotten / ignored by many people do not master before starting their business, which often results in failure. If you are currently struggling to get your business off the ground, it is important to keep in mind that the beginnings are usually like this. It takes wait several weeks or months before you start to reap your first returns on investment. To do this, you need stamina and persistence. As Steve Jobs : ” I am convinced that what separates the 50% of entrepreneurs who succeed from the 50% who fail is persistence. “. So be persistent and courageous in order to achieve success with your business.
And you, what is your biggest challenge?
