How To Build An Empire With Tim Dick

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The fundamentals don’t change. Relationship will always be the ultimate key to building a successful business.


Creating genuine relationships with customers is one of the biggest keys to building a business that is successful and sustainable. In today’s world of online marketing, many entrepreneurs are taught that automation is the ultimate goal. We are taught that we don’t need to communicate directly with our customers, and if we have the right systems in place the profits will roll in.

While automation can be a valuable tool, it can be detrimental to your business when applied to communication with clients. When direct communication is eliminated, business owners are forced to operate solely on assumptions of the client’s preferences, rather than gaining validation from clients. Feedback is a vital component to make improvements in your company. Companies that achieve massive success take the time to learn about their customer’s needs, create products and services to meet those needs, and provide excellent customer service.


“Facebook ads have blown up and a lot of us are scrambling wondering where we should put our money and how we should leverage paid traffic.” - Janelle Lara (2:30 - 2:48)


There are some necessary fundamentals that must be in place in every successful business.

In order for your business to achieve long-term, sustainable success, you must first build a great product. What you’re offering needs to solve a problem or to add value to your potential customers. Your product needs to have the right market fit, which will vary depending on if you’re serving a small business or a Fortune 500 company.


Once you have a viable product, you need to give your customers an excellent experience during all stages of their customer journey. That includes providing fantastic customer service, listening to feedback, and periodically checking in with clients after they’ve made a purchase. Customers don’t expect perfection, but they do value when you make intentional effort to show you care.

Sustainability is best achieved through businesses that create repeat purchases. Many entrepreneurs fail to provide the best customer service because they devote most of their energy trying to acquire new customers. Focusing efforts on your customer experience will build relationships that foster trust in your brand. This trust equity will make it more likely for you to receive repeat business.  


“Before acquiring customers, the absolute most important thing is to have a solid product that solves a real problem or provides value.”

- Timothy Dick (35:02 - 35:14)


Before you start marketing your product, you need to make sure that the fundamentals of your business are strong. If you try to scale without them, you won’t be able to sustain the growth, and it will impact your business negatively.

With the fundamentals in place, you can start thinking about the best way to market your product or service. Paid traffic is likely to be an essential part of your overall strategy, but there are also other elements of success when it comes to marketing.

Three tips for marketing success.

1. Track your marketing efforts as much as possible using analytics software. Google Analytics is a great tool to help you analyze your business’ metrics. You never know which one of your campaigns are bringing you the best results until you look at the data. Knowing what’s working and what’s not will allow you to allocate your resources more effectively.

2. Experiment with running ads on different platforms. Try diversifying with Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn, instead of relying heavily on any one of them. Great marketing is about communicating your offer effectively and building trust with your audience. As long as you can do that, you’ll be successful regardless of which platform you use.

3. Remember, you don’t have to restrict yourself to online marketing. You can build relationships offline through your local Chamber of Commerce groups, or you can reach out to your market through direct mail. The more your potential customers get familiar with you, the more they’ll trust you, increasing the likelihood they’ll buy from you when the time is right.


Yes, building an empire requires strategy, effective marketing, and tenacity. However, the strongest empires are built upon the sturdiest foundations. Devote your energy to building the fundamentals of your business, and the growth and success will follow!

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    1. For more resources, information on my coaching services, and a whole community of Part-Time CEOs, find me on Facebook at The Part-Time CEO® Group, my website, or email me at janelle@janellelara.com. 

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Janelle Lara