I get asked a lot, “What do you wish you would have known a few years ago that you know now?”

OMG. Soooooo many things.

When I started my business, the pandemic hit literally two months later. Awesome timing, right?

We were living in a new city. I had no friends. I had no network … and then sprinkle in a pandemic for grins and I felt like I was swimming upstream without a paddle.

I hired an online business coach who I found after a few weeks of trying to find help. She was “meh” at best, but I learned some things that worked — many things that didn’t — and then took more online classes to fill in the gaps. Then I hired another business coach who taught me so much, and since then I feel like I’m cooking with gas and not waiting for the electric stove to finally heat up.

The top three things I’ve learned that have transformed how I do business include the following:

  • Lesson No. 1: Don’t waste your money on a website, logo and other brand assets if you aren’t clear on your message first. In other words, if you haven’t nailed down the words that articulately describe what problem you solve and how you help, a website won’t do it for you.
  • Lesson No. 2: Don’t waste your money on a website, logo and other brand assets if you don’t have a crystal-clear picture of your perfect client. You MUST be able to identify and understand his or her pain in a way that emotionally connects you to them. If there’s no emotional connection, a website won’t do it for you either.
  • Lesson No. 3: Hire a business coach who knows how to guide your messaging. If you start with the marketing first and neglect how to message to your perfect client … you guessed it, a website won’t do it for you either.

It’s natural for business owners to want to have a logo, website and some ads developed to promote their business. I see this ALL. THE. TIME. But the fact of the matter is this: your message dictates your marketing and sets you apart from everyone else in your industry.

Get the messaging nailed and the marketing comes easy.

This article was republished with permission from www.heatherlisle.com. Read the original article here.