Building Your Money Machine

In this episode #1 Bestselling Author and Highly Acclaimed business & Entrepreneur Expert, Mel Abraham reveals the considerations for getting your business name.Today I answer a frequent question—"Is the name of your business really that important?"The short answer is YES. Your name is the first piece of branding that you are going to do. It is your first message to the world.Here' are the 5 things that come about from your name:Precept: It creates a legal identity and introduces the company to the marketplace.Position: The business name can portray your position in an industry or marketplace. It creates a visual impression.Personality: Your name can signify the kind of personality traits or reputation the business portrays.Product: Your name can also be something that you offer as a product. Be careful and think broader to have a name that will not limit you down the road.Preferences: The name can be driven from the market that you are specifically focusing on. It can be influenced by the past or who you are planning on serving.If you engineer it carefully, the name you come up with will deal with all five of these. Think about your identity, position, personality, offering and preferences before throwing a name out there.The 4 steps to go through to build on your name:Priming: Prepare by collecting data and resources. Set the criteria of what you want your name to denote.Propagate: Get the list together and brainstorm. Take everything you have come up with and find a common theme.Process: Reduce the list according to the criteria. Grade, filter and prioritize it.Protect: Search and see whether you have created a name that is similar to someone else's trademark. Also look for its availability on the web.Do's and don'ts for business namesWhat shouldn't you do?Choose an irrelevant business name.Geographically limit yourself.Limit your product or service.Have confusing long names.Borrow from other similar brands.What should you do?Make sure that the name is relatable to you

In this episode #1 Bestselling Author and Highly Acclaimed business & Entrepreneur Expert, Mel Abraham reveals the 8 traits of successful businesses.These traits increase the chances of growth and success immensely.The 8 traits of Successful BusinessesStrategic Plan: You must have a formalized plan to build a business, access and connect with your market. When you have thought about its strategic execution, you have already developed ways to find alternatives and take on challenges. Analyze and exercise based on this strategic plan.Market-driven refinements to increase value of your existing products and services: Have a mechanism to listen to your market and know what they are telling you. Continually adjust things to increase the value exchange with customers ultimately raising the price and profits.Committed vs. interested: Be committed to the outcomes and do everything that is necessary to make them a reality. Put the time and effort required to move forward. Challenges will come and in order to get through it, we need to be committed.Clarity of Market and identity: Have clarity on your ideal and specific customer. You can't just sell to everyone. Also, have clarity on what your business is about. Resources will be used properly when you know what you stand for.Constantly looking at the scoreboard: Measure the prime indicators of your business continuously. Analyze it and see whether it is taking you towards the right direction or not. It allows you to make proactive strategic decisions and shift courses as required.Mentors in Place: When people surround themselves with others who are able to elevate them while avoiding the potholes, they're going in the right directors. Mentors and business coaches are those that can accelerate your success and you can lean on them for support.Aligned team and don't control everything: Strategy is important but it's secondary to culture. Develop a culture that aligns teams with proper values. Grant teams their freedom to learn from mistakes and build on it. Give them the openness to come to you with solutions.Rise above the daily details: Entrepreneurs should be able to look ahead and have the bigger vision for their business. They should get down to the details to make the vision come true; continually looking out for the next action to make everything better, efficient and convenient.___________________________

In this episode #1 Bestselling Author and Highly Acclaimed business & Entrepreneur Expert, Mel Abraham reveals the 8 signs that your business may be in trouble."What are the things that I look for that might give me an indication that a business is in trouble?"There are 8 things to look forNo Growth or Margin Squeeze: A business is in trouble if it doesn't show trends in growth. The increase should not only be in revenue but also in profit. If it is lacking, the business can be considered to have a problem. We need to go back and evaluate what is causing it.Low Productivity: In business productivity is key either form an equipment, people or attitude perspective. We have to see how people treat customers, team members and each other. Challenges in having the right attitude means that we need to separate the people and understand the cause or dynamics at play.Loss of Market or Concentration: Profits will decline when there is erosion in market share and that is not a healthy sign. We need to look at the cause behind our customers leaving us. Another side of it is when concentrations occur. That is when a single customer or employee provides the maximum business.Unpaid Taxes: When businesses start to fail they stop paying their taxes. The taxing authorities will always be there to take their share in your business. The government will come after those taxes any way. So, it is better that you pay the bills.Eroding Capital: The business can't be considered self-sustaining when assets continually shrink. It shows that the operations of the business are costing more than what is generated. Re-evaluate to keep everything at bay.Pricing Pressures: With competition there is bound to be pricing pressures. It is necessary to make us distinct from the competition by keeping ourselves state of the art and having a leading edge. Only then will we be able to have the desired margins.No Strategic Plan: A business should have a strategic plan. Think through the risks and benefits from all possible perspectives so that everything is analyzed strategically. Plan for the future and take actions.No Formal Measurement System: A challenge with businesses is measuring their performance regularly. It should be done to make adjustments for maintaining growth. Without formal measurement systems in place, a business cannot be steered towards the right direction.___________________________ABOUT MEL ABRAHAMMel is the founder of Business Breakthrough Academy and Thoughtpreneur Academy where he helps entrepreneurs bring their businesses to the world and build the lifestyle that they want.

In this episode #1 Bestselling Author and Highly Acclaimed business & Entrepreneur Expert, Mel Abraham gives you a framework to make sure you know exactly what your customers want so they buy from you.This process is about taking and testing our products.For a product or service to be a commercial success, the market should believe in and buy the product. An entrepreneur might think that it is life changing and unique but the market might not have the same thoughts. Hence, before investing and going all in, we must give some serious effort to test our idea and listen to the market. Then depending upon the collected information, we go back and redesign things.Six Steps to Testing the Market1.     Create a Sample: Put your idea out there in a small way to get feedback from the market. The information should be used to make better choices and decisions.2.     Show it: Once the sample is ready, show it to some of the customers. Let them experience it so that they will give you valuable feedback.3.     What's the Pricing: Learn how much customers are willing to pay for it. Don't just work from a place of cost. Know how much the market values it and make necessary adjustments to the pricing strategy.4.     Ask Questions: Ask the market everything about what they like, don't like and even what they are thinking. Ask questions about expanding and follow-up products.5.     Look

In this episode, #1 Bestselling Author, Mel Abraham continues the journey and drill further into defining our customers. After we have an idea of who the CORE market is, we need to figure out the identity and persona of the specific customer we are trying to serve.Concept of and Defining the Customer ProfileAn intimate relationship with customers will help us gain their loyalty. It will make them come back for our products with great support. They will also refer us to others. For this, we will have to:Listen to customers: Focus on what they say and do. Learn what they are saying to others in different places. Follow their actions on places like social media. What we are trying to understand is their needs and frustrations. Participate in the conversation to get the insights to their actions.Discover what they are looking for: Examine the features that they want. Identify the changes that they are looking for by going out there, creating a dialogue and mixing with them. Know what is liked and disliked about your products and services. The common gripes will help you to fix and tweak the things you provide.Find what customers are seeing and hearing: It is beneficial to know about the information that reaches the ears and eyes of your customers from different media sources. Know everything that is being said about your products and stay a step ahead. Create products that will allow you to direct the communication.Learn what is frustrating your customers: Gather information about the obstacles that are aggravating them. Do not speculate at all. Without pretending to know what customers want, learn their real aspirations and dreams. Elevate a step higher to fulfill their aspiration and give them something greater.Understand what customers are thinking and feeling: People buy from us because they want to feel something. They are looking to get a benefit from the product. When you recognize them deeply, you will understand their pain and gain. You will be able to speak to them at a level that will create intimacy.So, ultimately take the core market and define the ideal customer persona with great precision. Ask questions and get involved to understand what they are hearing and seeing, thinking and feeling. Put that all together and change the dynamics of your relationship with customers.   ___________________________ABOUT MEL ABRAHAMMel is the founder of Business Breakthrough Academy and Thoughtpreneur Academy where he helps entrepreneurs bring their businesses to the world and build the lifestyle that they want. Mel is one the most sought after entrepreneurial mentor and strategic

In this episode, #1 Bestselling Author, Mel Abraham digs further into understanding who the target market and customer is. Understanding it is vital because customers are the key to success. You have nothing if there aren't any customers that are willing to buy the things you sell.So, we need to develop a commercially viable product that is able to create a difference in people's lives. Those people aren't just your customers but everyone who is associated with your business.Concept of Market SelectionFor market selection, understand the six elements that we need to consider. It will help us to recognize our CORE market. CORE market is where you can have a Connection, Originality, Results and Excellence in.1.   Identity: We need to identify the people that we are trying to serve. Find their demographics like age, gender as well as their geography like where they live. It will take some direct research methods like interviews for getting this information.2.   Clarity: We need to solve three kinds of problems: (1) known and spoken, (2) known and unspoken, and (3) unknown and unspoken. Find the exact problem that you are willing to solve. Then come up with a viable solution that is elegant and distinct so that people are willing to pay for it.3.   Location: Don't just find out where the customers are physically located but also figure out where they are looking for solutions. Know where the marketplace looks for the answer to the problems you defined. Once it is located, you will know where you need to be.4.   Define the Solution: Describe the solution in terms that your market understands. Clearly state how will you be solving their problems in a unique or distinct way.5.   Objections: Find the major objection the market might have. The target customers might not know about you, your products and whether it works or not. Do the things necessary to overcome these objections. You can use social proof, testimonial

Mel Abraham, Bestselling Author and Expert in Thoughtpreneur Business, discusses the steps to take as an expert, consultant, or coach. He shares his journey of starting with consulting, then speaking, writing, creating training programs, recorded programs, and finally writing a book. He emphasizes the importance of finding the right approach to deliver expertise, such as through books, speaking engagements, and training programs.

This episode #1 Bestselling Author and Highly Acclaimed business & Entrepreneur Expert, Mel Abraham continues the discussion on the subject of value creation. We dive into these two frameworks: Value Sectoring Framework and Value Focus Framework.Value Sectoring ModelThink about where you are in the context of what you provide to your customers and clients. Place it on two axes with one of them being the connection you have with clients and the other one is the distinction that exists for you in the marketplace.There are four levels or quadrants in this model that we need to understand:1.     Commodity: It is the lowest in terms of connection and distinction so it is easily replaceable. Things like loyalty and relationships do not apply. The only things that have an influence are price and convenience.2.     Connected: There is a high connection with the customers but the distinction is low. There is a sense of loyalty but despite the good connected relationship with the customers, the product or service is easily replaceable.3.     Incrementalist: There is a high distinction but the connection with the customers is low. The product or service is unique but the relationship with clients does not exist. It is able to generate high profits. But once the competition enters, the only way you are going to win is to make sure you have a connected relationship.4.     Valued: The final one is a step higher than the incrementalist perspective in the quadrant. This is a high connection, high distinction level which creates a valued customers and relationship. It far surpasses anything you can do as you create a values based loyalty.Value Focused SpectrumIt differentiates between the potential value and the

This podcast explores the concept of creating value in business. It discusses the different levels of value creation, including utility based, service based, experience based, and value based. The importance of enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty is emphasized, along with strategies to create a connection with customers through messaging and products. Overall, the podcast provides insights on how to generate revenue by creating value in someone else's life.

In this episode, #1 Bestselling Author and Highly Acclaimed business & Entrepreneur Expert, Mel Abraham deals with something that many of us struggle with and it is fear. We talk about what fear is, its causes and the ways to tackle it. As an entrepreneur, you will have a constant battle to tackle fear and anxiety. Fear causes paralysis and it blinds our mind's capacity to see the options in front of us. You focus on the wrong things.