Despite being bombarded with information everyday about how we should be doing more social media, more blogging, becoming more mobile friendly, more SEO, blah blah blah, becoming more visible online, generating new leads and making more money online is not always about doing more and more and hiring more help. Not at all. In fact it can be quite the opposite!
One of the greatest lessons I learnt in my life is how to find my purpose and doing what I should be doing. I now apply that to my own business and am still implementing the changes to my business. It changed my daily focus and I have spent the past 6 weeks doing more thinking, re-designing and implementing these changes slowly into my business.
Even though I am still at the beginning of implementing these changes the results and impact have been immediate. I have more time already, feel like I am working specifically towards my purpose and goals and therefore feel aligned and extremely excited about my business and my life.
The online world, although exciting, can be daunting, expensive, frustrating and leave you completely overwhelmed. You know the feeling I am sure. Now think about this. I set this company up to be a boutique firm, choosing carefully my clients whom I work with and industries to be involved with. I never work with more than 30 clients at anyone time. So just take into account how overwhelming your online work is, now multiply that by 20 – 30 times for me :-).
No longer am I running 1 Facebook page, but perhaps 20 on average at any one time, no longer worrying about 1 email campaign but 10-15 email campaigns at any one time etc etc!
Yes it is quite possible for me to take a shower and brush my teeth in the morning, thinking about that days work and how to help sell more Diamonds, plumber videos, Free downloads for those with anxiety, Teeth whitening ad’s, summer camp help, how to get more leads for sleep aid products, better meditation videos, nutrition eBook promotion, podcasts for better living etc…..It is fun I promise!
Now an important disclaimer here****This is by no means a whinge as this is the industry I choose and I really love. The point is this. If I am not organized, focused and disciplined, my whole business world will unravel within a matter of days! So these are some simple strategies or lessons I use and that you can use to help SIMPLIFY your online work and get you working on your ultimate vision and goals.
1. Your Vision
Where do you want to end up in 3 – 5 years time? What does your business look like? What are doing? How big is your business? How much are you making? How many people are working for you? Do you have an ebook published, a podcast series, added more services and products, focused on a specific niche, doing more lectures or what?
This is so important and is one of the biggest mistakes I see. Folks don’t know where they are going! How can you do your best and be aligned with your purpose if you don’t know where you are going?
Think of a ship leaving a harbor with no map and compass and no destination and no captain. Now compare that to a ship with a captain and crew, with a compass and destination co-ordinates. Which one will get to where it wants to go first?
Use your imagination and get this done. Don’t be scared and fearful. Write it down and be bold. Make sure it resonates with you and that is your ideal vision of your business life.
Be warned it may look very different to where you are right now. That is OK, as you can start with the skill set and experience that you have right now to tap in your new co-ordinates and start working towards that vision.
2. Set your Goals
Now you have your vision, set goals for your business for the next year, the next month and the next week. Have a action plan for each week, to get to your monthly goal, which then gets you to your annual goals and ultimately to your vision.
Don’t be scared to set goals that scare you. Go beyond yourself and your fears.
These will act as your compass points and keep you on track to reach your vision. Any time you deviate, these goals will pull you back on course.
There is nothing wrong with small changes either. Imagine you are in your car in NYC and are driving to LA on an imaginary dead straight road. Now imagine if you changed your steering at the start to the right by an inch. That very slight change will result in a very different result, come the end.
Instead of ending up in LA you will probably end up in Canada or Alaska. Small changes right now result in HUGE changes in the long run. So make sure those small changes are positive and aligned with your vision.
3. Sacrifice.
This is such a scary word as people think sacrifice is soooooo hard. What I am asking you to do is something easier. I want you to sacrifice the negative out of your daily life and replace that with with positive habits or changes.
So you are going to sacrifice the time wasting, overwhelming and unnecessary elements of your online business and replace those with positive elements, that will keep you aligned with your vision and focused on your goals.
So you see you are not sacrificing or giving about the good, but rather eliminating those things that don’t serve your online vision.
Don’t be swayed by anyone or anything!
4. Simplify
The biggest challenge we face online is not getting swept up in all the hype and over doing it. We want to eliminate the feelings of being a rudderless ship, feeling overwhelmed, stressed and seeing a lack or results.
Start with the basics first and get your foundations tied down and make sure your house (online business) has a solid foundation. I have spoken about building your foundation in other articles, so won’t repeat that here.
Then when you are satisfied with your foundation, then you can add additional channels and add ons to increase your online presence.
5. Get Help
I always hear people saying I don’t have time or my staff don’t have time. Really? Then how will you handle more business?
Get your staff working for you and remember point 3? Sacrifice. Give up the things that are not serving you best and add positive change.
Having a small business that has online success means you can get away with dedicating 15 mins a day to get quite a lot accomplished overtime. Of course that is the minimum.
This is as important for your staff to get involved, as it is to answering the telephone, cleaning windows, booking appointments etc.
It HAS to be done. No option and no excuses.
If you don’t have staff then hire someone to assist you, so you can free up your time to do what you do best, which is be in front of your clients. It will pay itself off, believe me. There are plenty of skilled folks looking for work and just a couple of hours a week.
6. Invest In Your Business
If you don’t know how to do step 1, then get someone to help you. The same applies for every single element here. Get help if you cannot do it.
I am a firm believer in investing in myself and my business. That doesn’t always mean buying more tools. Do a course, get into a seminar, become involved with like minded people or whatever will help you.
Too often we say to ourselves and others, I have been doing this for X number of years – nobody knows this better than me, I don’t need help etc etc.
We can always learn and there are professionals that can help us make significant changes in our life and business in a very short space of time.
Think about how much you spend on your monthly cable bill, smart phone bill (which by the way are becoming ridiculous), your daily coffee habit and those damn Banks fee.
Now how much do you plan to spend on YOU this year? How much do you plan to spend on your business by getting professional help?
Do it, it can change your life and business!
7. Enjoy Each Step of the Way
I want to share the following poem by Harold Melchert which I really enjoy and speaks about enjoying each step of our journey whilst working towards our ultimate vision:
“Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain.
An occasional glance towards the summit keeps the goal in mind.
But many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point.
Climb slowly, steadily, enjoying each passing moment.
And the view from the summit will serve as a fitting climax for the journey.”
Harold V Melchert
Finally. Here is our plug. I may be biased here, but I think we earned it. We now offer one on one consulting and coaching programs, that guide you to do exactly what I have outlined above. Prices and offerings vary for different business types and their needs.
Below is a link to our starting package. This is perfect for small businesses and one or two person type businesses and those willing to make changes and are ready to get started.
http://www.gaiamediamarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Consulting-Basic-Flyer-145.pdf
