Ever wiffle-waffle on a major life decision?
I have… on quite a few things.
And one area where I do the least wiffle-waffling is my business.
Why?
Because entrepreneurial success only happens when you apply RELENTLESS, persistent, consistent focus to a small number of things over a LONG period of time.
And most aspiring entrepreneurs stay “aspiring” because they do the opposite. They focus on every Shiny Object that comes their way (thus the term Shiny Object Syndrome, aka SOS) and then wonder why not one of their “projects” have taken off.
Here’s the thing:
Successful people make decisions quickly and change their minds slowly. If what you want is long term business success, you’ve got to get very clear (very fast) on what business activities will achieve the results you seek and be willing to stay the course UNTIL they do…
If you struggle with making big business decisions and sticking to the path, here are 3 steps to laser focused, fast implementation all the time:
STEP 1: Identify 3 revenue streams (1 long term, 2 short term)
One revenue stream in your business (example: being a life coach who only sees clients 1:1) is the same thing as having a job. When your livelihood is based solely on one source of income, you commit a deadly sin of business that James Altucher writes about in his post 10 Reasons You Have to Quit Your Job This Year:
“I don’t like it when one person can make or break me. A boss. A publisher. A TV producer. A buyer of my company. At any one point I’ve had to kiss ass to all of the above. I hate it. I will never do it again.”
You might think you don’t have enough time to create three streams of revenue in your brand new business. Guess what? You don’t have time NOT to…
Here’s the reality:
If you give one target market the power to feed you, you also give them the power to starve you. Don’t set up your business that way. Instead, identify 3 revenue streams (preferably a long term revenue stream plus two faster returning, short term revenue streams) that can bring money into your business. Choose revenue streams that are scalable (i.e. don’t require you trading hours for dollars).
For example, my 3 revenue streams are:
- ebooks on Amazon (You can find my books at http://www.overcomingfearbooks.com)
- Online courses (Fear to Power Course)
- Voiceover work
The online courses are my long term revenue stream while writing ebooks on Amazon and doing voiceover work provides faster cash in shorter intervals.
Yes, you’re building an empire. Support the process with immediate, consistent cash flow.
STEP 2: Time block your business activities based on priority.
Sales activities come first… always.
Notice I didn’t say ‘networking events.’ Unless an activity has or is generating revenue in your business, it doesn’t need to be the thing that you do at your peak time of the day. Whether you’re a morning or a night person, whatever time of day you’re in peak state needs to be the time of day you do sales.
What if you don’t have a product or service to sell?
You still have an email list to build and you need to start getting people onto that list (so selling is the key).
Product creation time needs to be blocked off and protected (i.e. no distractions, cellphones, grocery store trips, or walks on the beach). Use a 60-20-60 approach (credit goes to Peter Voogd who outlines this in his book Six Months to Six Figures) where you work for 60 minutes, take a 20 minute break and do something else and then work for 60 more minutes.
STEP 3: Focus on the next 3 steps (and nothing else)
What are the next three simple, strategic steps you can take in your business to achieve your goals? Write them down and don’t consider anything else for your To-Do list until those are done.
At the end of the day, being relentlessly focused is super simple but not necessarily easy. It’s about being able to say a lot of Nos so you can get to an extraordinary YES.
You don’t need to be perfect to get it right but you do need to be consistent. The focus you have will always be the focus you choose.
Choose wisely…
Want help in developing relentless focus?
Click to read Achieve One Dream: 8 Steps to Unstoppable Achievement
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