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From selling decorative hangers at the age of seven to appearing on a TV show broadcast in 160 countries, the Property Brothers all the time knew they desired to be their very own bosses. Twin brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott he built an empire on HGTV with shows like Property Brotherswhich first aired in 2011, and continues to expand its legacy with this latest series, Don’t hate your own home with your property brothers.
While the names Drew and Jonathan are now household names, they didn’t achieve their level of success by starting out as experts. Like every entrepreneur, their careers were defined by their desire to learn and grow as business owners. The most significant lesson they have learned throughout their entrepreneurial journey is the power of integrity. Drew said this is the most significant element of business growth and repute.
“You don’t have to know everything,” he says. “It’s much better if you just say, ‘Honestly, you know what? I don’t know the answer to this question, but I will do my best to find it for you.» They will respect you much more for it. This will help your business grow because you are building it on integrity.”
Jonathan also suggests that by embracing honesty, business owners can recognize its potential business partners and, more importantly, detect inauthentic relationships.
“If you ever meet someone who thinks they can do all these wonderful things that seem unrealistic, I guarantee you it’s unrealistic,” he says. “How many times have we had people give us advice and not have the space to give the advice, or people who tried to come up with an amazing miracle of an idea, only to find out it wasn’t genuine…Trust your gut with these partners.”
Trust in your partners is crucial when building a brand of any size, but when your online business ambitions or intuition are questioned, sometimes the right move is to trust your vision.
This lesson became increasingly necessary when the brothers desired to grow to be involved in merchandising the Property Brothers brand, which they didn’t have at the time. When they proposed the idea of a network, they were rejected. Instead of getting discouraged, the brothers decided to trust their courage and the vision of their brand.
They asked the production to write down in writing that they didn’t agree with the merchandising plans and decided to build their brand on their very own. Through their very own efforts, the brothers grew the company’s retail sales to $100 million. When the production was a success and demanded half of the profits, the Scotts showed them a document stating that that they had rejected the idea. Shortly thereafter, the couple acquired the rights to Property brothers.
This is just one example of why the most successful business owners are those that build a team behind their vision. For Drew and Jonathan, family is the north star, their very own and others’. They wish to help families live in protected, blissful, healthy and inexpensive homes. This business mission guides their every move, including their ventures beyond television.
The more families Drew and Jonathan met, the more they realized how necessary home health was. A moment of illumination led this pair to creation Healthy Home Innovation Fund (HHIF) to speculate in startups focused on developing technologies that may make homes healthier for families.
“Whether it’s decarbonizing your home to make it healthier, the air quality in your home, how you go about buying, selling, renovating – whether it’s any aspect of your home that can be improved with people in mind, that’s what we’re going to invest in ”Drew says.
Deciding where to speculate time, energy and capital is one of the most significant and difficult decisions for business owners – but Drew has a quick math tip for owners to assist them see if they’re investing the correct amount of resources to… drive profitability.
“In some categories, it might take up 80% of the team’s time, but it only brings in 20% or less of the revenue,” he says. “Is it really worth it? Instead, focus on areas that offer better margins or that cause less stress for the team.”
They emphasized the importance of one business area that basically moves the needle in any industry: marketing. Jonathan claims that in real estate he beats the competition and makes money consumer trust is the most significant thing, and marketing allows business owners to do each.
“Everything in life comes down to marketing,” he says. “It doesn’t matter if it’s your dating life. It doesn’t matter if it’s your business. It all comes down to marketing. No one will make you successful. You need to work on this yourself. We have always focused on long-term strategy and integrity. Lost consumer trust cannot be regained.”
While marketing is a part of building trust, the brothers also recommend listening customer reviews. Not only do reviews and opinion forums help customers feel heard, Jonathan says additionally they offer opportunities for corporations to innovate.
“Feedback was important to us from the beginning,” he says. “We actually began using social media very early because we thought it was a great technique to connect directly with the consumer. We receive about half a million messages a week from fans on social media. Some of the innovations in our products have actually come from suggestions.”
While some corporations review at the end of the 12 months to take into account such suggestions, Property Brothers will implement the changes the very next day.
Inspiration can come from anywhere, but never underestimate the power of customer feedback to encourage that golden idea. Like all entrepreneurs, the Scots took a likelihood on their vision and built an empire on it. All that they had to do was follow their North Star.
Season after season, Scots adhere to the following basic principles of entrepreneurship:
- Marketing moves the needle. If you would like an extra hand write content or handle social media, the brothers recommend hiring a contractor or student with marketing experience. Either way, marketing is the key to building a successful brand.
- Feedback is a gift. Exploitation customer reviews can take your online business to the next level with modern suggestions that you might not have considered yourself.
- Honesty is the best policy. Admit it if you do not know the answer, but try to seek out it for the client. This will allow you to build a repute for honesty.
- Choose a realistic business partner, not a salesperson. Business partners often come up with great ideas that will not be realistic. Ground yourself and ask if what is promised is too good to be true, because most frequently it is.
- Focus your time on the business areas that generate the most revenue. If one area generates 80% of revenue, the time spent on that area must be proportionate. Conversely, if something only generates 10-20%, evaluate whether the time invested in it is well spent.
Listen to the episode below to listen to directly from Drew and Jonathan, and subscribe Behind the review for more information from recent business owners and reviewers every Thursday. Available on Spotify, Apple PodcastsAND Pandora.
Editorial contributions by Erin Palmero and Kristi Lindahl