Seven Ways We Got To Be Fourteen Years Old

Success Networks International was launched on January 1st of 1996. In the course of the last fourteen years, we've done many things wrong. We've tried things that didn't work and sometimes stayed with them longer than we should have. We've missed opportunities and were slow to take advantage of some that we finally did. But in the long haul, we apparently did more things right than wrong. Only one in nine businesses makes it to their tenth birthday and then go on to their fourteenth. None of this could have happened without great members. What follows are some of the key factors responsible for us being able to celebrate over a decade in business. 1. We knew what we wanted.rnOur vision was pretty clear: build a community of people from around the world who want to be successful. We wanted to be a trusted resource for information, inspiration and ideas that help people and organizations operate at their best. The way to achieve this wasn't always clear, but we were open and flexible about making it happen. We were mission-driven and vision-powered. 2. We kept our overhead low.rnWe had to. We didn't have any money to invest. We weren't sure what was going to work so we couldn't afford to spend much on something unless we were sure it would. Perhaps we could have done better if we'd grown faster, but not having any business debt and keeping our overhead to a minimum has really paid off. 3. Whenever possible we over-delivered on our promises.rnWe kept our promises and practiced FTA Energem #4: Give More to Get More. We kept our word. We did our best to meet every deadline. I still maintain my commitment to double the value of our membership program every two years. 4. We practiced CANI—Constant and Never-Ending Improvement.rnI studied the masters. I studied marketing. I studied the Internet and affiliate marketing. We were constantly looking for and trying better ways to deliver our products and services—faster, less costly, easier. 5. We used the power of the master mind.rnI had a master mind—sometimes several—throughout the years. Some were project- or subject-specific and others were just plain good support. We also partnered with others in real win-win joint ventures. 6. We hung in there.rnWe were—at least for the most part—consistent and persistent. We tried to be a plow horse and not just a show horse. We kept what worked and dropped what didn't. And we did it every day. 7. We stayed focused on what mattered.rnEspecially over the last couple of years, we've had good metrics. You can't change what you don't measure and understand. And we've developed scores of ways to monitor every aspect of our business. Interestingly enough only a small percentage of these are financial. I do my best to focus on three things every day: Increasing exposure and traffic. rnEnhancing real and perceived value to our members. rnImproving our systems and organizing and automating what we do so it works better.rnWe've learned a lot in the past 120 months and we expect to learn even more in the years ahead. We'll do our best to share our findings with you.