Unlock Your Growth Potential

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Daniel Pope, CEO of Be Known, LLC, located in Knoxville, TN, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Be Known: We work with online business owners who feel stuck working IN their business on all the "technical stuff." We free them from the weeds so they can stop "firefighting" and start impacting others again. We do all this by handling all their marketing-related technology, people & processes. The end result: they can stop worrying about "how will this get set up" and focus on growing their business.

Who is this for:

Primarily online-based businesses or heavily leveraging online sales channels. Mainly Thought Leaders or eCommerce-focused businesses.
Established business with a proven product-market fit. Revenues of $250k per year or strong revenue potential (customer list x average transaction amt.)
The owner still is the operator/integrator of their business w/ a desire to work on the business more. Understands that time is money, and we free them up to focus on higher income-producing activities.
Has been doing a lot of the marketing (writing copy) and technical work (building pages) already, so this is a breath of fresh air.
Understands that we are not here to grow their business for them; we are here to offload the burdens of tech, personnel, and processes.

Tell us about yourself

I've always had entrepreneurial blood in my veins. Growing up, I've had various "businesses," starting with a computer repair company I advertised via Craigslist at age 14. Over the years, I fell deeper into the rabbit hole of marketing, starting with website design and then going into social media management for clients. And now, here we are a decade later, and I'm investing in online-based businesses that we believe in to either acquire them or become minority partners alongside the founders. But one thing remains the same: I have a passion for helping others - being the go-to guy they can call in to fix, improve, or pivot things. My mission is to impact the lives of one million people over the next five years through the impact-focused businesses we work with. And it's been an incredible journey so far!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment has been taking 2 different online-based businesses from doing just a few thousand per month to $1.7MM and $1.1MM in less than 2 years each. This represents a 20X and a 39X growth in each of their businesses. I did this by taking the burden of the more technical marketing tasks off their hands so they could focus on selling & serving.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

From an online business focus: Going from zero to selling your first 10 customers (that are not friends/family). This is the "entrepreneurial valley" that every business owner must walk. Finding true product-market fit may take someone 3 months, 3 years, or even 3 decades.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

For people just starting out: Read (or listen to) the books "Ready Fire Aim" and "The Lean Startup."
Focus on one income-producing activity each day and do NOT try and multitask.
Identify exactly where your ideal buyers are "hanging out" and develop business friendships with the people who "own" those communities. (Example: create a relationship with a FB group owner with a group of 5,000 coaches).

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://beknownonline.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/D.ThePope
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniel_a_pope/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielapope/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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