I started my first million pound business when I was 26 years old.

I had enthusiasm, a reasonable business concept (and my best friend by my side) - but really, I had no idea what I was doing.

In the 18 years since, I’ve worked with business owners all over the world helping them grow successful companies of their own.

My almost 2 decades of experience on the front line of marketing (and I mean proper marketing, not designing the odd fancy brochure) has taught that me that there are only 7 things that a business needs in place in order to dominate their market.

Here they are:

1. An identity that is distinctive and memorable.
   Too many companies copy each other and end up being boring clones with no cut-through.
   

2. A mailing list of prospective customers that is constantly growing.
   
   

3. A simple website with products and services that are clearly articulated. Most websites are too big, too confusing, and are very inefficient at converting.
   
   

4. A reliable, scalable source of web traffic that converts into leads (or sales).
   
   

5. Weekly communication with customers & prospects by email and social media. Staying top of mind is a big deal.
   
   

6. Proof. A growing archive of case studies and examples of your product or service being used by real customers. Articulated as: Problem > Solution > Outcome.
   
   

7. An Ecosystem. Products that range from free or low cost to high-ticket. (Free and low-cost to build the mailing list and awareness - high-ticket to make serious money.)

In my experience, if you have a business that has these 7 elements in place, you’re unstoppable.