What is the most crucial component of your business?

My skills, experience, and education. With those, I can make a living anywhere. Without them, I’m back at the beginning.

The only things that are crucial are the things that you cannot do without and that depends upon your business model. There are people who have tried to do business online without having a website or an email list. How successful they have been in the long term I don’t know but it has been attempted.

Susan

Many internet marketers say the list is the most valuable part. With it, you can start over. I’ll stick with having the knowledge and ability to put together a list. With that, you can go on even if the list is lost.

The most important part of the business for me is self-discipline.

Without it, nothing else happens.

While my knowledge, experience and skills are, of course, an important reason I am able to build this business, they would not, for the most part, exist yet if I were a young person, just trying to start one. So… I’d have to rely on the knowledge, experience and skills of others.

So… the most important component of my business is the relationships I’ve built and hopefully, will build here.

They’ve become my mentors, coaches, friends… and many of them comprise my list.

Elaine

The client?

You can have a business without me (Zig Ziglar died and his business goes on)
You can have a business without marketing (Probably not much, but people keep contacting me about a business I shut down years ago)
You don’t have to have skills (Heck, there are frauds that don’t even try)

But without a client or customer you have no business.

In fact, your client determines the very nature of your business.

Just how I see it, your mileage may vary,

Scott Hogue CChH

I would say the crucial component of any business is how well you know your client/customer.

Once you have clarity around who you serve, everything else is built around that.

I agree with Don. Many will tell you that your list is the most important part of your business. I would reword that to say it is not the most important part of your business but rather an important part of your business.

Someone can take away my list. It’s a tangible asset that I could ultimately lose. No one, however, can take away my marketing knowledge.

Go ahead and take away my list. I have the knowledge to build another one. . .and another one. . .and another one. You get the point. No one, however, can take from me my knowledge.

Now, let me say this: If you’ve seen any of my previous posts, I’ve said that knowledge without action means nothing. I stand by that; however, if you have the knowledge and re-implement it, that’s another story. You’re using it to move forward.

Bottom line, use your knowledge to take action. No one can take that away from you. Make sense?

Scott, you are spot on!

The most important part of my business is the PEOPLE I help!

Sean

Claire,

Most of my best business comes out of the blue. Hurting people just find me somehow. That means the most crucial component for me is to be spiritually ready to answer the phone or email with love and a desire to see the broken healed.

I guess that means websites, emails, comments on forums are important, too. Because that is how people find me in the first place. As an example, a year ago, two unrelated people called me for help. Back to back phone calls. In fact, their family members had to call because they were both too sick. The had both seen the same comment I had written 15 years ago on a forum.

Mark