Todd Hatch “Since leaving a job less than a year after graduating college over 20 years ago, I’ve been fortunate enough to be self employed.”
Todd Hatch – Reflecting on the time I have spent growing organizations. I am only now fully appreciating the many factors of success in entrepreneurship. When I first made the leap and stepped out on my own, I spent the first two years following a plan created by a successful friend. Said friend who had already done very well for himself with said plan. In the process of creating a national network of outside sales reps, hoping they could replicate his success and helping to further grow his company.
Todd Hatch – At that time, as a single guy, I had very little overhead, allowing me the opportunity to give it a shot. I figured that even if I had moderate success, I could cover my few expenses. During those first two years, I worked a system which was already in place. I knew what to do when I woke up in the morning to create new leads for myself, I knew what to say when the potential customers called the business phone in my house, and I knew my product well enough to feel confident presenting to a potential client.
Todd Hatch – Having this model allowed me to step into entrepreneurship – I did not have the industry experience or knowledge to come up with my own product offerings, my own pricing, my own marketing materials and methods, nor would I have known how to pitch a new prospect – or close the deal.
Todd Hatch – During those two years, I did spent the majority of my days in traffic – learning two different metro areas, but the investment was worth it. I gave many sales presentations, sharpened my sales skills and learned more about the needs of the business owners who I was lucky enough to meet with. It was a good feeling, being able to create income daily without being dependent on others.
Todd Hatch – The majority of my meetings were with fellow entrepreneurs who start a turnkey business. One client in particular I connected with was very unabashed and had a great energy. He was an airline captain and also a true entrepreneur who worked very hard for his success. We became friends and met up several times to talk business and brainstorm marketing ideas. He was able to see beyond the local sales opportunities in my business model and the potential in the industry. We we decided work together and a new venture was formed.
Todd Hatch – I was well aware of the difficulty of creating new contacts or sales opportunities while sitting in rush hour traffic. Thanks to fresh ideas and my new partner’s contacts, we changed the marketing methods and switched the business model into a business of referrals and phone sales. This solved many flaws and created new potential for growth. Instead of seeing a few customers per day, our name and phone number were being seen by customers nationwide! This created many more sales opportunities. Going forward, we both spent the majority of our waking hours talking to dozens of clients per day. I welcomed the sales leads created and the efficiencies of mass marketing, and did not miss the days spent in traffic.
We started with a proven, successful model and took it a step further, transitioning into a model with unlimited potential. My partner picked up the pitch right away and for the first couple of months, we handled all phone calls ourselves. I was working at my home office and my partner was working from wherever he was at the moment. He would retrieve voicemail from the airport between flights, or from taxis, hotels or receive calls at home to make sales. We signed up our clients using paper contracts back then, so he always had his briefcase with him – even while flying a jet. As the call volume grew beyond our ability to keep up, we added our first sales person. She joined in, learned the program quickly and together, we did our best to keep up with the incoming sales leads. Needing more help, we rented an office in the loop and added staff to maintain the growth of the business. The “getting an office and employees” was not part of our original business plan so there were some growing pains, but thanks to hard work and surrounding ourselves with smart people, we were able to continue our success for many years working together.
Todd Hatch – A lot of the success came because of hard work, luck and timing, but none would have been possible without first stepping into a business model which had already proven to be successful.
Todd Hatch – When I made the initial leap into entrepreneurship, I followed the path of someone with some great sales and marketing skills. Once I learned a proven system, I met the right people and together, we used our creativity, ambition and abilities to create an actual business with dozens of employees and growing revenue.
Todd Hatch – During the years following the formation of our initial company, I have attempted to start a handful of other businesses from scratch, hoping to duplicate at least a portion of the success I was able to attain with our original venture. Some have done well and others not so well. Starting a business from scratch – building that foundation is a lot harder than people think. Up until I tried myself, I had taken for granted that all of the moving parts had initially been provided to me – the product, the pricing, the marketing, the pitch and the margins. Someone else had the courage and vision to create and prove the business model which I stepped into. Attempting to create a new business and making all of the moving parts come together to have it grow into a successful company is not easy. There are reasons that many start–ups fail while only a handful go on to experience great success. How are the successful companies able to build the solid foundation considering all of the factors necessary for success?
Todd Hatch – Looking at all of the business opportunities, distributorships, franchises available right now, I am thankful for the visionaries who have contributed so much to our economy.
Their ideas have allowed the rest of us a chance to try something new and a chance to do our best to create personal success. Not all opportunities are the right fit, but they do all have something in common – your success is up to you. If you are willing to learn everything you can. Are willing to take advice. And, work really hard entrepreneurial success is likely within your reach.
Choosing the right opportunity is not easy, but hopefully BusinessOpportunity.com will continue to be your resource and a guide when searching for the right business model to plug yourself into. Like you, I am thankful for the people with the vision, creativity and who spend countless hours creating the opportunities which are now available to the rest of us. We hope you are able to find the right model and the right people to work with to create an environment for growth and prosperity.
One business we have created a solid foundation for is BusinessOpportunity.com. Thanks to a bright team of fellow entrepreneurs we’ve created a positive environment of enthusiasm. Not to mention hard work, growth and ideas. Working as a team and with our clients has been a great experience and we look forward to helping you find the right business, or to grow your existing business.
Todd Hatch
President
BusinessOpportunity.com
