Over the years I’ve seen a lot of people try and take their note business to the next level, but struggle. They either contact me but can’t afford the hundreds in our Marketing Assistance fees, or they’ve struggled on trying to figure out what to do and it hasn’t really worked. I thought I would share some of my findings. It might save you wasting some cash, but more importantly it might make your business finally fly. I should be charging a fortune for this information.
Struggling in your note business or pursuit of “the dream,” is common. In fact, I would tell you, it’s necessary. Oftentimes, we view the struggle negatively, or as if it is a consequence for a decision we made along the way. While that may be true, the fact is, struggles give us an opportunity to make a choice: Resent the struggle or face it optimistically.
Struggles are real. I know, because as a business owner since before 1991 I’ve experienced my shares of struggles too and they don’t stop coming. The good news is that after all these years of experience, I’m finally starting to see each struggle as a challenge, not as an obstacle that can’t be crossed.
Below, I came up with a list of common struggles that note and other business owners go through. Regardless of who you are, or what role you play, you’ll identify with most, if not all of them. Reading this list of struggles isn’t meant to commiserate together, but to ask ourselves, “How could we view them differently? How can we face these challenges and the many others, with optimism?”
A small business faces a lot more problem than a large-scale business in any industry. The struggles that a small business goes through are absolutely real and you cannot avoid it. However, successful note business owners believe that consistency, discipline, and patience are key to success for any small business.
The market for your note business is vast. It may seem blurry from the outside, yet the road might look plain and simple. When you enter the note market as a competitor, you compete with large firms that have more manpower, more capital and more almost everything. However, the experiences acquired from this tough competition can give us huge rewards in the end.
Many struggles usually come in unexpected situations that might not have been considered while starting your note business. These uncalculated scenarios might become big issues while you strive for long term survival. This is the ideal time when the right opportunity for being successful lies. Here are a few issues that every note business venture has to face:
- Lack of Marketing: I talk and write about this subject all the time. The ‘secret’ of success is marketing. Marketing is a very vital part of your note business development which is often ignored. Most note business ventures struggle with a good marketing strategy especially at their initial stages.
- Getting Note Holders (Customers) : Note business ventures struggle with finding note holders that need to sell and more than that they have to struggle with engaging the note holders and subsequently following up with them for future business if they do not need to sell right now.
- Money Management: As the profits pour in, money management is where most fail. A strong cashflow is required for any business, no matter the size. The struggles of small scale note business ventures are that the money is often too little, and there is a demand for more elsewhere.
- Online presence: The struggle is not to show an online presence for your note business. The struggle is to maintain the online presence. In this highly digital world, an online presence is what every business needs. Therefore, a note business venture can be boosted by maintaining a good online presence.
- Time management: Time is what every note business demands. There is technically no way for a note business to succeed just when starting out, it takes time to build a business, especially a note business. However, the business does not demand its time but yours. Therefore, manage your time wisely, and half of the problems will be solved. Also, in this highly competitive world, being late can cost a lot sometimes.
Every business has struggles, and without struggle, there is no success. However, these above issues can be avoided easily if the business owner is attentive, careful and smart. You don’t need Marketing Assistance if you can’t afford it. And not being able to does not mean that you can’t grow.
I’ve done this hundreds of times over the years for struggling note businesses. I have built the marketing plan templates. I’ve assessed the market over and over again. I know what works for me and assist people in finding out what works for them. I also know what doesn’t work. I know all of the above is easy for me to say, it’s what I do. But with a tiny bit of help, it’s can be easy for you too. Feel free to email me for my free Marketing Plan Template. Be kind, keep safe and stay healthy. Remember success demands action, keep on marketing, it’s going to work! TWITA! (That’s What I’m Talkin’ About!)
Jeff Armstrong of Armstrong Capital has been a note investor specializing in the performing seller financed note industry since 1991 as well as a professional appraiser of promissory notes since 1999. For more updated and current information on how he can help you with your note business, note investments, note appraisals or to request pricing options on a note visit www.armstrongcapital.com to email him and subscribe to Jeff’s Weekly Training & Tips Newsletter. You can follow him on Instagram and Facebook @ TwitaJeff