The Giants Keep Growing

Apple became the first trillion-dollar company, and it’s all over the news. Shortly after that, Amazon followed suit. However, most small businesses struggle to pull in $1,000 in their first month, and even struggle with achieving $10,000 per month after doing business for a couple years.

So, what do companies like Apple and Amazon do that’s different from everyone else? How do they get so big? It’s not the product. It’s not even an improved sales process. (However, those elements do count for something!)

It’s the fact that they have a team of people who believe in the vision, including investors. You don’t have to have a wealthy company to get investors either, as Steve Jobs proved when Apple was failing and Bill Gates invested simply because “Microsoft needed the competition.”

How do they get where they’re at?

Today I’d like to talk to you about investors. But wait! Didn’t I say this email was to tell you all about how great Coaching by Rick works for people? Just hang on, as coaching is worthless without context.

I’ve been reading Elon Musk’s biography written by journalist Ashlee Vance. In the book, Ashlee writes about Elon’s first startup, Zip2. His story sounds A LOT like my own story at startups I’ve run, including the part where he seeks investor funding. Lately one of the company I run is going through the same thing: we’re seeking investors.

The sad part is that a colleague of mine, who would have gotten most of the money an investor procures, doesn’t even want to assist with the efforts of building a valuable pitch deck. Needless to say, we’ll still press-on, but he probably won’t benefit from the cash because he doesn’t believe in our mission.

Never let anyone dissuade you from your goals. Getting back to Elon Musk, the reason he and so many other entrepreneurs succeed is because they don’t take “no” for an answer. We don’t give up, and we know full well that determination always leads to success, even if that success is behind many layers of failure.

So, build your business into something that functions, even if it’s struggling, and build your pitch deck to show the investor who’s on your team, what your mission is, and how you plan to make money. Investors invest in people, not in businesses.

As I haven’t worked with investors as of the time of writing this, but I AM an investor, I know how I view the realm of investing. So, that’s where that information comes from. (Before you ask, no Rick will not invest in your company, and neither will Dragon Cloud. That would create a conflict of interest.)

Investors Speed Up Company Growth

I’m more of a guerilla when it comes to business. I prefer to keep my head down, and make my shots count. Many people prefer to compete with others by fishing in shark-infested waters, but I prefer the blue oceans, myself. When looking for new avenues to take my businesses, I take every possible path all at once, and see what pans out. Then, I prune things that don’t work, and focus on things to do work.

If you plan to use the guerilla strategy, you might look for investors in lesser-known investment companies, or if you know wealthy people who are legally allowed to invest in your company, ask them. (Be sure to talk to your tax and legal advisors about SEC regulations and also about how your business entity affects its investability.)

Once you have your investor(s) lined up, with your game plan in hand, use those funds to bolster your marketing. Place high-profile PR articles to gain the trust of the general public. Also consider a crowdfunding campaign for pre-orders of some kind. Launch those at the same time so the fact that your company name is in the headlines will get people to want to support your crowdfunding campaign. Get people excited to use your company’s products or services.

Now, if you don’t have investors, you can still find ways to grow your company, but money tends to want to be with other money in order to proliferate. So, instead of slowly building a town of cash into a metropolis, give those dollar bills some more “genetic material” to build your money metropolis right away! Investors help you speed up your company’s growth.

How does Coaching by Rick help grow my business?

Over the course of this email series, you’ve learned several ways to bolster your profits. These are only some of the ways you could elect to grow your business,and not all methods work for everyone.

Coaching By Rick takes into account YOUR business and YOUR specific goals to help you formulate a plan to grow your business.

Step 1: As coaching requires full-disclosure of critical parts of your business, we provide and sign a mutual NDA agreement before we start with any discussion of your business goals. Your coach will sign the NDA with you, not Dragon Cloud, as only your coach will have access to your information.

Step 2: Your coaching journey starts with a free and quick strategy call to see if you’re a good fit for the coaching program. If we can’t help you, we won’t bother wasting your time or ours.

In this meeting you’ll discuss the goals you have for your business, as well as what resources you could leverage to accomplish those goals. You’ll also discuss with your coach about the problems you’re facing, and what you’ve tried so far.

Step 3: If you’re eligible for our coaching program, you’ll receive a welcome message from your coach, along with an invoice.

Your coach then starts work on a game plan for you. Depending on your needs, as well as the coach’s schedule, your plan may take a while to research. So, plan on booking your session well in advance, leaving at a minimum of two weeks for them to prepare.

Step 4: The moment you’ve been waiting for arrives! At your meeting, you’ll spend the entire day with your coach over the phone.

Each coach teaches in their own way, so you may watch a slideshow presentation, traverse the internet to review information they’ve cultivated, or see other visuals to help bolster your discussion. Regardless of how they present the information, your coach will always prepare for a discussion on how they believe is the best way to meet your goals.

Don’t Sell Yourself Short

IMPORTANT: Please note that the views of your coach do not necessarily represent the views of Dragon Cloud or Rick in any way.

Everyone teaches a bit differently, and there is no guarantee of consistency between coaches. That’s why we suggest that you have an active Inner Circle membership for at least 6 months before investing in our coaching program. That gives you the opportunity to have many Q&A sessions over email with various coaches and form a bond with your desired coach.

If you don’t have a preference for which coach takes your project, then the one who has the most availability will take your project.

Ready to start with Coaching by Rick? Send us a message and we’ll get you started.