How I Sold $100K My First Year in Business

Recently, I asked the Facebook-verse what they’d like to know most about business. My cousin-in-law, the first responder, said, “I’d most appreciate honesty, rather than bluster about how someone became successful.” Her comment was dittoed by several others, and so here we are, where I will share my story of business success, more specifically how I sold $100K of photography products and services in my first year. Hey, you asked for it! 😉

Before I get into the details, I’d like to mention a few things:

• Earning $100K is only one definition of success, and not one that I particularly subscribe to in my day-to-day life. However, this is a story I have, and so this is the story I’ll share.
• The list that follows is not meant to be prescriptive, nor is it meant to encourage anyone to do anything. You won’t simply be able to follow the steps to create your own version of success. Who’s to say your version matches this one anyway?
• It is also not meant to be lecturing or boastful. The list below is simply the lessons that I take away when looking back at my first year in business. As they say, hindsight is 20/20, so things that are apparent now—six years later—wouldn’t necessarily have been obvious when I was living it.
• Also, I’d like to acknowledge that the success I experienced was doubtless a result of many things, including timing (it was pre-economic downturn, during 2006-2007), location, preparation, conscious choice, and even dumb luck.
  

CC license: 401(K)2013 via Flickr

So without further ado, here are the “secrets of my success”:

1. I specialized in an in-demand, sells-itself kind of service.
2. I was decent at it.
3. I surrounded myself with successful peers and got their referrals.
4. I was excited.
5. I was in a right-sized market.
6. I was probably too cheap.
7. I trusted my instincts.
8. I looked and acted the part.
9. I did the work.
10. I believed in myself and acted accordingly.

What do you think? A good start, I think, but maybe this list is too pithy and vague. I hear ya, that’s why this post is the start of a new series through which I’ll delve into each of the above in greater detail. Check back next Wednesday for more about specializing in an in-demand service and knowing your craft.

In the interim, do you have any questions? Shout ’em loud below.

Cheers,