Wendy Keneipp

Big concepts with many details are hard to digest in a single go. There is just too much to properly take it all in. When you are knowledgeable enough about your subject, you can break down an idea into a single big concept that people can understand and begin to learn and use in a rather rudimentary way. As the learning and skill ramps up, introduce the next detail or nuance and continue repeating to mastery. It's much easier for the learner to adapt an idea to an existing knowledge base.

We focus exclusively on the employee benefits ecosystem, from independent insurance advisors to solutions providers. The ideas we have for helping these professionals grow their businesses are universal, but by narrowing in so specifically, we can apply ideas from one client to another and help facilitate conversations and peer collaborations between clients. When you know a single market like this, you will find that you know more about their businesses than they may because you have extensive experience seeing, discussing, and resolving the same challenges over and over. The depth of knowledge you develop makes your growth opportunity much richer.

Your brand should be as clear in your mind as your business model. Marketing is the communication of your business model, and your brand is the face of it. If you don't have a strong vision of what you want your brand to feel, sound, and look like, spend time looking around at companies in all industries. Don't simply look to your competitors - that will just help you build a different version of the same thing. Look to industries that have nothing to do with yours, and see what strikes you: imagery, colors, language, design, layout. All of it is important to pull the image together in your mind so you can communicate it to others who will help you build it.

Make your calendar your best friend. Block out time for all the things that matter, and hold yourself to your appointment times. If it's important, it should be on your calendar, and your team should know it is not an interruptable time. Be clear with yourself that when you make a financial investment into something, you need to make an equally appropriate time investment to ensure you and your team use it well and effectively. Wasting money is a quick way to bring the entrepreneur's dream to an end.