Dear street food business owners, Business has a global language: Its customers, and regardless of the nature of the business, it is the same for all entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are always worried about growing their business, about how they can convert loyal fans into long-time customers, and also about what customers really need from a business. If all kinds of businesses ask themselves these questions, then street food business owners are not left out. The online business world has made these answers very easy to gain access to. This is the reason we come your way with this special digest. We are going to learn from entrepreneurs whose sole job is to make other entrepreneurs succeed in their chosen fields. The online market, like the food industry, deals with direct customers. So these lessons may have nothing to do with meals, but they are about customers and sales, about business and the experience.

Seth Godin’s theory of trust

Seth Godin is a writer and an acclaimed innovator. Today, many entrepreneurs run to him for tips and ideas on how to jump every hurdle in business. His ideas have been processed into life principles by many individuals. In his theory of trust, Godlin stipulates that it is a fundamental wrong to target to reach lots of people in a business. It is easy to put up a show and pull a crowd of watchers. It is easy to set up a promo and have hundreds of customers scrambling over your goods. People will always stop at an unusual sight, or at a website doing giveaways. According to him, to be known to many people should not be the goal because you have not built that trust that keeps organizations strong even in the years of financial dryness. Trust is and should be what you are after; to be known, to be heard, to be talked about, to be essential. This is to say that whenever you are about doing a promotion, or planning a social media content, you must balance the objective of reach to that of trust. If you are after misleading your audience by putting up a false content just to garner many followers and views and clicks, you are on the wrong track and this is the easiest way to kill any business. You must aim for repeat customers, for people who will stick around when the crowd must have dispersed. What we take away from Seth Godlin is that you must have to be real in your business approaches and real brands aren’t for everyone. Those who your brand was made for and meant for will always find you, and when they do, they will stay.

The Pam Slim Business Lessons

Pam Slim preaches many business strategies that help retain the life of a business for a long time. First, you must always close the loop. You may feel ill or incapacitated at the moment but you must always learn to close every loop. Send out replies to mails. Send feedback and replies to comments. Hold that discussion you promised to hold. Acknowledge the messages you received. It is also important to give your business some time to build. It is usually frustrating at the beginning but when you finally get a grip on what works for you and what does not, it becomes easy. The important thing to be consistent with your content and conversation. Give your business some time to grow. Consistent action is boring but it works. You usually want things to be effortless and easy. You also want to be in control, to be in your comfort zone. You resist the hard and the uncomfortable. But those hard concrete and boring steps are the secrets to a successful long term business plan. Pam Slim also advises that you reduce the number of times you land yourself in rooms where everyone knows you, where you have friends who share similar ideas and personal histories with you. It is time to begin going to rooms and functions where people do not know you, where you can learn from people who are better than you are. It is in these rooms that you grow from awkward to curious, and then you learn new business models. You may also find in these spaces opportunities to gain new partnerships and alliances especially if you are open to change. Do not forget to breath, Pam Slim says, because breathing is extremely calming. Also possess a growth attitude. When two people are presented with the same opportunities, the person with growth attitude will move forward even when there are obstacles. Your attitude towards a problem is a determinant to your success. Finally, in the middle of hustling, and building, listen to people always.

What your customers want – Paul Graham.

Paul Graham teaches entrepreneurs to always focus on what their users and customers want instead of focusing on rolling out products. It is important to be open to change. Sometimes you may discover that companies who start out with a particular product may change it in the course of their business operations because they have discovered what really works for their clients. Some companies even change their names to suit their market. It is ideal to always be willing to pivot your ideas if your market demands it.

In all – you need to define what success means to you and what you can do to reach it. Success can mean different things for you. It could mean a six-figure salary, more customers who are loyal, or when you finally settle on your business and worry less about getting a full time job under someone else. Whatever success means to you, please pursue it by all means.

Business is a process, it never really ends. It is just as continuous as learning. Promote yourself throughout this process of growth. Learn to build a great trust in your customers. Learn to embrace new strategies. Listen always to feedback and to conversations. Be consistent with the boring discomforting details. Be the best you can be.