Create the business you want without sacrificing the lifestyle you deserve The majority of new entrepreneurs (and even those with a little more experience) are finding themselves trapped, controlled, and consumed by their own businesses. They are struggling just to keep their businesses running, let alone actually growing their companies and experiencing the success they anticipated.
Conquer the Chaos speaks to you as a small business owner by making sense of the overwhelming demands on your business and providing a twenty-first century recipe for success with sanity. With engaging stories, quotes, and examples, Conquer the Chaos leads you through the six strategies you can incorporate to bring order to your business today. Find the money, time, and freedom in entrepreneurship that inspired you in the first place
- Successfully juggle customers, prospects, management of employees, marketing, sales, accounting, and more
- Get from just surviving to growing your company and experiencing success
Conquer the Chaos gives you the no-nonsense, ready-to-go guide that gets your business exactly where you want it to be.
Table of Contents:
Foreword xi
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xxiii
Section I The Quest for Freedom 1
1 The Entrepreneurial Revolution 3
The Path to Revolution 6
The Hierarchy of Freedoms 15
2 Enter, Chaos 23
The Infusionsoft Story 28
Symptoms of Chaos 32
Causes of Chaos 37
3 Grow or Die 45
A Mentality of Growth 48
Why Entrepreneurs Choose Not to Grow 50
Scenario #1: You Don’t Want to Grow Your Business 51
Scenario #2: You’re Relying on Referrals and Repeat Business 52
Scenario #3: You Believe You’ll Just Figure It Out 53
Scenario #4: You Do Everything Yourself—Manually 54
Introducing—The Strategies for Conquering Chaos 56
Section II Mindset Strategies: Achieving Balance 59
4 Emotional Capital 61
Your Emotional Capital Bank Account 64
Making Deposits in Your Emotional Bank Account 67
Spot-Check Your Emotional Capital 78
5 Disciplined Optimism 79
The Three Components of Disciplined Optimism 83
Opportunities to Practice Disciplined Optimism 88
Practical Ways to Cultivate Disciplined Optimism 92
Disciplined Optimism and Passion 94
6 Entrepreneurial Independence 97
The Advice You Get 100
Facing the Challenge of Independence 103
The Benefits of Independence 108
Section III Systems Strategies: Controlling Speed 115
7 Centralize 117
The Need to Centralize 119
Multiple System Chaos 122
The Struggle of Disjointed Systems 123
The Value of the Right System 128
The Process of Centralization 131
8 Follow-Up 137
The Most Neglected Marketing Principle 140
How Lack of Follow-Up Is Creating Chaos 143
Why Follow-Up Breaks Down 146
The Benefits of Follow-Up 149
The Science Behind Effective Follow-Up 151
9 Automate 155
From Manual to Automated 158
What You Can and Should Automate 163
A Story of Automation 169
Section IV Find Your Freedom 173
10 Avoiding the Backslide 175
The Myth of Long, Hard Work 178
Harnessing Your Unbridled Passion 180
The Belief Your Business Will Fail without You 182
11 The Liberated Entrepreneur 185
Climbing the Hierarchy of Freedom 187
Giving Up the Chaos 192
Appendix: Small Business Resources 195
References 197
About the Authors 199
Index 201
About the Author :
CLATE MASK is the cofounder and CEO of Infusionsoft, the leading provider of Email Marketing 2.0 software for small businesses. Clate loves to help small businesses grow. His passion for entrepreneurship is infectious and obvious from the moment he begins speaking. His dream is to revolutionize small business growth through smart automation.
SCOTT MARTINEAU is the cofounder and VP of Product Management at Infusionsoft. Scott is a serial entrepreneur who can’t imagine ever working a “regular job.” He is a technologist at heart, driven by his vision: to create an easier way for entrepreneurs to run their small businesses.
