Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jennifer Glass, Founder of Business Growth Strategies International, located in Teaneck, NJ, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I am a business and profit acceleration specialist, helping business owners figure out their next steps to stop leaving money on the table.
I work with these small business owners, helping them:
- Figure out which marketing strategies to use that will generate the most significant returns.
- understand their financial statements to make better business decisions related to the business.
- Develop systems to ensure that the day-to-day activities and long-term projects stay on target and keep moving forward.
Tell us about yourself
Before I started coaching clients, I owned a payment processing company. I was coaching clients, helping them develop new marketing campaigns related to the payments ecosphere. I branched out to the coaching side primarily after working with my coaches because I wanted to have the most significant impact on the small business community.
From what I have seen and continue to see with my clients, when they start working with me, they generate more revenues and more opportunities and have a more precise destination in mind as to where they want to be.
As a result of all they have, they are now hiring more personnel, donating more to the local community organizations that depend on small businesses' support, and being more involved in the community at large. Being there to help small companies keeps me going. I want our communities to be stronger and our nations to be stronger.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment is seeing how my clients continue to grow and how much more they are involved in their communities after working with me.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Managing time is one of the hardest things for a business owner. As a worker, it's easy to say, "I'll clock out at 5," but when you're the business owner, there is no clocking out - you need to finish what you need to do for your clients, or the money doesn't come in. Other areas tend to creep up on you, giving you a keener understanding of your time and how to manage it.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Top tips to start/run/grow a business:
- Find a good mentor and get an advisory board in place, even if it is an informal board. This board should include an attorney, accountant, banker, insurance person, and mentor. You want this board to be there to answer questions before they become an issue rather than after. So they can advise you throughout the whole process when deciding where to go.
- Know your market. Too many people fail on this and assume things will go as expected, only to find the market is not interested in what they have to offer. There are times when a particular product or service needs to be taken off the market to avoid being a strain on the overall profitability of your business and being the "final nail," and knowing when to cut your losses is critical.
- Hire those that do not match your skillset and those that will be contrarian to your way of thinking. If you're good at marketing but not at sales, don't hire another marketer - you need a good salesperson. And you want someone that isn't always saying "yes" to you and your ideas since the only way to see how things may turn out is to get an alternate perspective.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.bgsicoaching.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thejennglass
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejennglass/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thejennglass
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyglass/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.
