Kimanzi Constable's Blog, page 44

Stop Worrying About Scaling

Have you ever heard the phrase “that’s not scalable?” That phrase has kept me up some nights (not really). You want to build your business and at some point you have to worry about what you can handle.

After spending three years building this business I feel like I’ve made some traction. I have an amazing group of clients; I love what I do for a living. As it stands right now (at the time of this writing) I don’t have any open spots for my coaching program.

I only have so many hours in a week and besides coaching I have a lot that I have to get done. I’m at the point where the experts would tell me I should start group coaching or create a program to make things scalable.

For a long time I thought about doing just that until I had a revelation. I talked about it a few posts ago. I don’t care if one on one coaching is scalable or not I’m going to keep doing it.

When I sat down and thought about what I wanted for my business I didn’t worry if it was scalable or not. I wanted elements that worked best for my life and me.

Is what you’re doing scalable?

WHO CARES?? When you’re building the last thing you should worry about is whether what you’re doing is scalable. What you should be worried about is how do you build something that supports you?

Once you get to the point of being fully supported by your dream then you can worry about what’s scalable. Right now focus more on the things you enjoy and really want to see as a part of your business.

We see the advice from the A-Listers about scalability and we have to realize they’re in a different place. When it comes to things like answering email we should answer every email as we build.

When you start to get 100 emails a day that’s one thing, but if you’re getting 10 those are 10 people you have a chance to make a real connection with and possible create a life-long customer.

It may not be scalable in the future but right now it’s absolutely necessary that you make those connections. What about the elements of your business? That’s up to you and your tastes. I have one client who would be a killer one on one coach but that’s not something he’s interested in.

It’s his business and what you do is your business. As you build and see success you’ll see what you want to keep and change. The point is scalability is a buzzword that gets thrown around.

Right now is a building and learning time. You figure out what you want your business and life to look like and make it happen. Don’t be a clone of someone else.

The next time someone tells you what you’re doing isn’t scalable just laugh it off and get to work. Build something that’s right for you and your family.

What elements do you want your business to include? 

Get More Personal With Your Website

There’s a dilemma when it comes to your website. You want your website to look professional but it also has to function. You want it to draw people in and keep them coming back.

My first website looked horrible. I had it on Blogger with a default theme. I wasn’t concerned with the appearance because I thought my words were all that mattered.

I had five people a day visiting the website and who knows how many of those people were even real. When I learned a little bit about this online stuff I realized my website needed to look better.

Three years later I’m now supported by this online business. One of the things that I do is coach. When I start working with a coaching client one of the first things we talk about is their website.

A good portion of the time there seems to be one major thing missing from websites: they’re not personal enough. It’s that balance between professional and being laid back that can make all the difference.

Brands versus people

One of the things we’re told when we’re building is that we have to “build our brand.” That’s good advice but I’d like to add a twist: you are the brand. Whether it’s a “your name domain” or the domain of a business you have, people still want to connect with YOU.

People connect with people more than they do with brands. If you look at Nike (brand) and LeBron James (person), who has a bigger social media presence? Who are people connecting with more?

On Twitter, LeBron James has 13.4 million followers (at the time of this writing). Nike has 3.4 million. Why is that? The answer is that even though LeBron James does commercials for Nike people connect better with him as a person.

When someone comes to a website they’re looking for the story and the people. They could care less about the history of the company. They care about the history of the people who started the company.

Yes you want to build your brand and have it look professional but not at the cost of making a real connection. You have 10 seconds to make that connection when someone visits your website.

You’re not going to make that connection if they don’t see you. Yes build your brand but build it as a real person that someone can connect with and relate to.

Some elements of getting personal

One of the most visited pages on a website is an about page. When I visit websites or work with clients the first thing I look at is someone’s about page.

Too often they are very impersonal. Nine out of ten people who visit your website will know it’s you who wrote it. So it will seem strange when they see you talking about yourself in the third person.

If you’re famous then we can understand, but if you’re just building how can someone connect with you when they have the feeling you’re on a pedestal? They see it as “So and so is this big shot web guy who does these great things.” In their mind they’re thinking “I’ll never get to talk to him or get his advice on what I’m struggling with.”

The connection is lost. When you come to a website and read someone’s story you can feel their words. You feel who they are through that video they have and you make a real connection.

This is one of the best about pages. I reference it as an example often. You read it and instantly you laugh, you can relate, you understand and you want to learn more so you sign up for his email list.

The connection is made, your email list grows and you build a group of people who are interested in what you have to say. What would we think if we saw your about page? Is it personal or are you on a pedestal?

To make things more personal your story should be on your about page and through out your website in snippets. Every page on your website should be personal. It should be inviting and making those connections.

Keep it professional by picking the right theme. Keep it professional by showcasing professional looking content. You can do this and keep it personal and if you do you’ll build an incredible foundation.

If you need help making your website look professional and personal check out a new service that I’m offering: website reviews. Every website is different and should be a reflection of you but there are some key elements every website should have.

Your main goal may not be to make money but how cool would it be to make enough to cover all the expenses associated with your online business? If you want your online business to support you remember this: people buy from someone they know, like, and trust. No one will ever get there if you’re not personal enough.

How are you making that personal connection with your website? 

My Very First Podcast Episode!

Aloha Everyone! Today is a very exciting day indeed. I’m happy to share with you the very first episode of my podcast. It’s called the Family Man Lifestyle Freedom podcast.

I can’t promise you that I’ll podcast consistently because writing is my first and last love. I do want to mix things up with more video and podcasting.

This first episode is special because two good friends join me. Jared Easley has an amazing podcast called Starve the Doubts and he’s one of the founders of Podcast Movement. The world’s first podcasting conference that was funded through Kickstarter.

Gene Hammett has a podcast called Leaders in the Trenches and I’ve talked about him a lot here. He was the coach that helped me get clarity on my target audience.

In this episode we talk about our conference called the Work Hard Play Hard Summit, which is happening here in Maui on December 5-7. Listen to the episode to get all the details.

You’ll also hear Jared and Gene’s stories. At the end they give you some killer tips to make your dream a reality. I really hope you enjoy this because I had a blast and want to podcast more!

This episode is part two of a three-episode mash-up that’s on all three of our podcasts. Be sure to head over to Starve the Doubts to listen to episode one.

That’s all I’ve got for you today. We’ll see you tomorrow where I’ll be blogging about getting more personal.

Have you ever wanted to start a podcast? How does coming to hang out with me in Maui sound? 

Are You A Firework or A Stream?

Chasing a dream with a family is hard work. You want to quit and just chase that dream but you have a family to support. My friend Zech is focused on helping you to restore significance to your life. He teaches a faith-based approach to chasing your dreams with a family. You can also connect with him on Twitter. Zech, take it away….. 

Photo by: KCNewman Photography

Burnt out and frustrated I sat wondering why I was so tired? Honestly I wondered if I should give up and throw in the towel. Then I asked myself, Am I a firework or a stream? This is very important and I believe it shows us if we will achieve the dreams of our hearts and enjoy the journey. When we pick up things with a firework mentality we appear to move faster and get more done, yet I believe there’s a better way.

Excitement!

You are like a firework. It explodes off the ground so fast you can barely see it. You are getting there so fast it is incredible. You are so excited you just can’t take it. Then you start telling every one of your plans. You are going to make it happen fast. You sprint ahead of the pack. Your heart is beating super-fast and you are going to take on the world in one day. You are going to put it on your shoulders and run up hill at the speed of light.

Disillusioned

At some point you hit the top. What happens to a firework at the top? It explodes. It disintegrates and falls back to earth. This is what happens when we pick things up with our flesh. We are super productive for a very short window before we fall back to earth in little sparks. The little sparks can’t be picked up because they are so small and burn up from all the excitement. We end up feeling defeated and feeling like all hope is gone and there is no way to hit that goal or dream. This feeling is false and it is the way we chased the dream that caused the burn-out.

“Be Like Water.” ~ Bruce Lee

You and I should be a stream. This feels less effective and feels like we will never get there. This is not the truth. Our lives should flow like a stream. Streams start with a single drop of rain. Then after another and another and so on it can create a massive stream. The powerful force of pressure over time is amazing. It didn’t look like anything in the beginning, however over time a trickle can turn into a raging river. A river over time can be so powerful. It can carve into rock; just look at the Grand Canyon. Force overtime led to one of the most massive carvings in the world and it is absolutely breathtaking.

What are some attributes of streams? They are constantly moving. Streams are not like ponds. They don’t sit and are not stagnant. They are on the move. Sometimes quickly causing rapids and sometimes slowly that it is hard to notice if they are moving at all. The fact is they are always on the go.

Run Off

Another thing about rivers is they need to be filled regularly. To keep the flow of the stream running there needs to be something going into it. It needs new life all the time. If nothing is added, it stops the stream. It will dry and be lifeless. You need to add to your dream daily. It has to stay in motion. There needs to be an action everyday even if it is five minutes, do something today towards your dream.

A Source of Life

Streams bring life. The amount of life around streams is amazing. The forest and aquaculture are the coolest thing to see. Your dream will have a similar impact. You will be amazed, at least I am continually amazed, at how my dream chasing is affecting so many around me. Your family tree will never be the same because your kids are learning from your example. They will reach for higher heights because of you. Others will flock to you because they see someone who refuses to settle, which unfortunately is rare in our society. The act of you chasing will have such a ripple effect.

Consistency

Streams have a path they carve out; a way in which they go and most of the time stay in the banks. You need to be intentional about which direction you are going. You need to put in place guiding principles to funnel your effort and energy. You can’t go in one direction one day and a completely other direction another day. This will not build on top of each other and will only breed frustration because there will be no compounding effect.

The Power of Community

Once you get moving other smaller streams and some larger ones will enter your stream causing it to grow and grow. What once was a small trickle can turn into a massive river like the Amazon. Everything becomes easier and once where there was little fruit there is massive results. When the stream is flowing fast and strong everything you do has sweeping impact. Stay on point and it will pick up more steam and have an even greater impact.

Momentum and time are two amazing forces that will propel you to new heights. Steady consistency wins out over hype any day of the week. Be blessed on your journey.

How are you chasing your dream steady and consistently? 

P.S. My second article for the Huffington Post went live and the Good Men Project asked to repost it. It went viral in both places, they’ve been shared over 6,000 times! I would love your thoughts and any shares

Stop Being An Online Clone

When you see someone killing it online it’s natural to want to copy them. You want to use the theme they use. You want to use all the tools they use. You think that if you do what they do you’ll see success like them.

My first website theme was a cover of my book with tabs for the different pages. While the cover is amazing people told me the layout of the site was ugly. Naturally I turned to those who are successful and bought a theme like theirs.

The theme was nice and it functioned well but it wasn’t me. It wasn’t unique to what my goals and mission are. I have a friend who’s a designer and he designed this website completely from scratch.

It fits my unique personality and functions well. I love that it’s different from everything else out there. When someone comes to this website I want them to learn something about me just from looking at it.

When someone comes to your website or sees your social media profiles, they should see you, not a clone of someone else. People buy from someone they know, like and trust. They can’t get there if you’re a replica of an A-Lister.

Use frameworks but don’t copy

When you’re starting out or building your online presence it’s natural to want to see what the successful marketers are doing. You can spend time researching and see what their audience is responding to, especially if they have the same target audience as you.

Research the framework they’re using and the systems they have in place. If it’s a solid framework see how you can make it unique to your online presence. What you don’t want is to see what they’re doing and create something exactly similar to theirs.

If I come to your website will I see you or someone else? Let me give you an example. Derek Halpern talks about having a tiered pricing system. You have four different prices for people to choose from the highest priced being significantly higher than the other three.

This is a framework/system that I’ve used here and it’s brought amazing results. Use systems that work and customize them to what you’re doing. The goal is not to be a clone as Laura Roeder says in an amazing interview.

We want to get to know you

As I said, people buy from someone they know, like and trust. It’s not all about the money so if you’re just spreading a message people still want to know who’s talking to them.

They want to hear your voice and hear why you do what you do. They want to know how this message has affected your life. They don’t want to read some generic message copy and pasted from someone else’s website.

That copy you read somewhere else appealed to you because it was written in that person’s voice or they shared a video with you. That’s the kind of connection you want someone to make when they visit your website.

If may be easier but it’s not a good way to build a solid foundation online. Be original, be you, be different. Steve Jobs said “our goal isn’t to be better than our competition, it’s to be different.” 

How are you making your online presence unique to you? 

What’s Right For Your Online Business?

There’s a ton of advice as to what your online business should look like. You should have your website set up a certain way. You should be speaking or coaching. You should have products.

When I started and was growing my online business I studied all of this advice. I followed what the A-Listers said and created all the things they said you should create.

Was all that advice right? Maybe. I can’t tell you if it necessarily worked for me or will work for you. What I can tell you is that you have to figure out what’s right for your online business. No A-lister or anyone else can figure out what’s right for you, only YOU can.

An example

I can’t speak for you but let me tell you about how I learned this lesson in my online business.

When I studied I was told I should create passive income from products I created. I should have a low-priced, medium priced, and high-priced product. I went on to create products, many of them. Some sold some didn’t. Today I only have one product.

I read that you start off with one-on-one coaching but eventually you want to move into group coaching and then only the high-priced products. I started one-on-one coaching and quickly built up my practice.

As I built it I started to think about and even attempted some group coaching. I started to think about how to take what I did in coaching and create my own high-end product. 

*Before we go on I want to emphasize that I’m telling you about MY experience. You may do things differently and get different results. The goal here is to challenge what we’re traditionally told and help you decide for yourself what’s right for you.*

After a challenge from a friend I stopped doing all the things I was told I should do to create a successful online business. I sat down and thought about what I really wanted for MY online business and future.

In the end this is what I want for my business now and in the future

I want to keep writing. I want to write at least 10 books.
I want to speak but mainly international. My goal is to only speak in countries I’ve never spoken in.
I want to coach one-on- one. The group thing isn’t for me. I have no problem with a group mastermind. I’m in an amazing one and my friend Jimmy and I have one for frustrated authors. I just love working with people one on one. Even if it’s not “scalable” I want to keep doing it.
I want to only create a few killer products. I don’t want my stuff to be like the products I bought that promised amazing results only to disappoint. I want to create stuff that blows people’s minds. 
Location independence. I love the freedom that online business brings. I can even do coaching from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. I once coached a client from the lobby of a hotel in Jerusalem. 

These are the main parts I want from my online business. It took some time and good advice to realize that I had to figure out what’s right for me. Now that I have clarity I know how to proceed with building.

What’s right for you?

It’s up to you to figure out what’s right for you and your business. Sure someone may be experiencing success doing things a certain way. Sure you just want this thing to support you but that doesn’t mean you should combine the two. Just because it worked for them doesn’t mean it’s right for you.

*Exercise* Take out a piece of paper or digital device. Picture yourself five years from now fully supported by your online business. Write down the elements you’d like that business to include.

Is it writing? Speaking? Coaching? Affiliate marketing? Just because group coaching isn’t my thing doesn’t mean it’s not yours. The goal here is to figure out what YOU want in your business.

Clarity

Doing this exercise will bring clarity on how to build your online business. Once you know how, you’ll know where, and the best way to build. You won’t go down all those rabbit holes. You will be able to focus.

This is not to say that in the future what you want won’t change and what you want your business to include. If you do change your mind then at least it will be your decision and you’ll have reasons why.

You have to do what’s right for you and your business. If you see something that’s working make sure it’s right for you.

What elements would you like your business to include? 

How To Deal With Jealousy

Before I get into the post… In addition to the Huffington Post I’m very honored to be a contributing writer for the Good Men Project. Their website gets 2 million visitors a week and they’re doing some incredible work helping men. Here is my first article for them. Shares, comments and likes are greatly appreciated!

Have you ever read a social media status update by a friend or someone you know talking about something great they did or that happened to them? You’re happy for them and what they accomplished but there’s something gnawing deep inside you.

Maybe only to yourself you think “why couldn’t that be me?” Why aren’t you the one that landed that guest post? Why aren’t you the one that got accepted to speak at that conference? Why don’t you have a “freedom date?”

I’ve accomplished a lot in this last year. I’ve lost 160 pounds, I’ve moved from Wisconsin to Maui, Hawaii. I’m fully supported by my writing, speaking, and coaching. Even still I see these updates and I get jealous.

My pride reads a guest post on a blog I want to guest post on and says “I write better than that person.” I get that rejection email from a conference a friend gets chosen for and I get jealous.

Jealousy is a part of our human nature and I’m guessing you’ve been there too. We want to be happy when people do amazing things but we want it to be us. We might even want that attention.

Jealousy may be human nature but that doesn’t mean it’s right or healthy. Click to Tweet

There’s a line you don’t want to cross and there are ways to deal with jealousy when it arises. Jealousy can eat away at you and keep you from making progress with your dream. Here’s how you deal with jealousy.

Step away from the situation

In that moment when the jealousy hits walk away. Turn your phone, computer, and tablet off and breathe. If you sit and think and keep reading or thinking you’re going to let the jealousy build up and become a monster.

Turn on some music, go talk to a spouse, but step away and express what you’re felling. Don’t hold it inside and let it foster. Get real with your feelings and yourself.

If you’re jealous that’s natural so don’t be ashamed to admit it to yourself or someone else. Verbalizing those feelings and acknowledging them will help you heal. Really analyze why you’re jealous. Maybe it’s because there’s something you know you need to work on.

Take the focus off yourself

Jealousy may be there but if it’s strong it’s because you’re too focused on yourself. You’re probably reading this because you’re involved in this whole online world. It’s easy to get jealous online.

You see some A-Lister doing amazing things and you get frustrated and jealous because your online business isn’t taking off. Realize why they’re doing what they do and most of the time it’s to help people (there are some bad apples).

Don’t focus on their success or compare what they’re doing to what you’re doing. Instead, focus on those you’re serving and how you’re helping them. Focus on helping them get through those difficult situations.

This shouldn’t be about you. If this is about your pride or ego you’re destined to fail. The ones that succeed online are those that come from a place of service. It’s hard but when you focus on others you’ll get to where those A-Listers are.

Be grateful for what you have

I did a webinar with my friend Jimmy and something he said opened my eyes. He talked about a new car his wife got.  It was a car that he had never heard of. As soon as his wife started driving it he looked around and started seeing this car everywhere.

It’s not that those cars were never there. Once his wife got one his eyes were opened to what’s around him. That’s how it is with gratitude in our lives. We don’t see all the things around us that we should be grateful for until our eyes are opened. Jimmy said he wakes up every day and before his foot hits the ground he thinks of three things he’s grateful for.

I started doing that after hearing him talk about this. Every morning I think about three specific things I’m grateful for. Doing this has opened my eyes to all the amazing things in my life that I have to be grateful for.

If you just listed one thing a day your eyes would be opened and your attitude would change from being jealous to being grateful. Instead of being jealous your friend got that guest post you would be grateful you have a friend that writes that well.

You would be grateful for the day and age we live in where we can make a living online. We live in a time where social media and things like self-publishing open avenues that weren’t open before.

Learn to choose gratitude over jealousy and your life will never be the same. Click to Tweet

In the end this online stuff isn’t about you or the money. It’s about helping people get through rough times. It’s about making an impact in the world. Don’t get jealous or let jealousy win.

This week when you see one of those updates, step away, say one thing you’re grateful for, and come back and smile. You’re truly blessed!

Have you ever been jealous of what someone else is doing online? Be honest

It Sucks Getting Rejected

Before I get into todays post…. I accomplished a HUGE dream of mine this week. I’m now writing for the Huffington Post. This is my first article. Shares and comments are greatly appreciated

We’ve all dealt with rejection our whole lives. Whether it was not getting picked for the sports team or not getting that promotion you wanted. It especially hurts when you get rejected while building your online business.

In late 2011 I started to figure out a few things about building an online business. One strategy that worked (and still works) well was guest-posting.

You write an article for a website that has a strong following. In exchange for your great content the website owner lets you put three links back to your website. Typically it’s two links to your website and one link to one of your social media profiles.

The very first guest-post I sent out was to the Huffington Post. I wrote them a post about the everyday working man. Someone probably got the post and laughed.

After that I focused on websites I already read. I sent out a few posts to my hero’s only to get a kind rejection. The kind part helped but at the end of the day I was crushed.

Today I’ve guest-posted on over 30 websites. I’ve guest-posted for heroes like Michael Hyatt, Dan Miller, Jon Acuff, Jeff Goins, and many more. Guest-posting got this website 500,000 visitors in 2012 and over 6,000 email subscribers that year. The traffic is still coming from those guest-posts.

How did I go from getting rejected to landing these posts? There are three ways that I could have dealt with the rejection.  You have this choice also.

1.    Give up

I bet you didn’t expect that, right? You could decide the rejection is too much to deal with and give up. I truly hope you never choose to give up on a dream.

Giving up might be the easier option at times but it’s not the best option and you’ll miss out on an incredible life. I can’t tell you how amazing life is now. There are no words to describe it.

To wake up every day and experience true freedom is outstanding. Getting here, however, and dealing with that rejection, was almost a deal-breaker. At the end of the day I’m glad I didn’t give up and I know you will be too if you stick it out.

2.     Keep moving forward anyways

You will get rejected but tell yourself that you’re moving forward no matter how many times you get rejected. You don’t just say this and not mean it. Deep inside you truly believe it and live out that belief.

This is what I told myself when all those guest-posts were rejected. I licked my wounds and sent more posts anyway and some of them were accepted.

Make a commitment to yourself. Make that commitment public for accountability. Determine that no matter what happens, no matter how many times you get rejected, you’ll never give up. The world needs your message!

3.    Learn from the rejection 

I sent that guest-post that landed on Michael Hyatt’s blog to him four different times. Each time Michael was gracious enough to tell me what was wrong with the post.

Last week I sent a guest post to Jeff Goins that was rejected. I’ve guest posted for Jeff twice already so you would have thought I knew what I was doing.

After the rejection I went back and read the post and saw exactly where I went wrong. I had the same thing happen with a guest post I sent out to Jon Acuff two weeks ago.

I had become too dependent on my past experience and didn’t really write something for their blogs. I learned where I went wrong and rewrote them. After the rewrite Jon said he liked it and is running it on his blog! I am working on the post for Jeff now.

Learn where you could have improved. Learn where you can work harder and do it. Make it better and keep going forward. In the online world rewrite that guest post.

Create a new freebie to get people to sign up for your email list. Write better content for your email list. Work harder at building your presence on social media. Focus more on your book marketing efforts.

In whatever area you feel like you’ve experienced rejection work twice as hard to improve and get better. When you do you’ll see success and grow your online business to where it supports you.

Realize that even after you experience success you’ll still experience rejection. Click to tweet

In the end, perseverance wins and forces you to work at your best. Don’t take rejection personally or emotionally even though it’s hard not to. See it as a chance to get better.

Have you experienced rejection with your online business? How do you normally handle it? 

Do People Really Want To Hear This?

You start out excited to share your message with the world. You write, do podcasts, and produce videos on your website. It’s all very exciting in the beginning until that hater or your doubts question your credentials.

You get questioned as to whether you’re qualified to talk about your topic. It may even be family or friends. You already have doubts and when these questions come it solidifies the doubt in your mind.

I’ve talked about it several times and if you’ve been following me you know I have a few haters. I was blogging away spreading a message of hope. My eyes were opened and I wanted the whole world to see that you should live and not simply exist.

The message was being well received when I started getting questioned. I had so many doubts and the questions made me wonder if my doubt was correct. Who was I to teach people? What great thing had I done that warranted people’s attention?

This doubt held be back from getting to where I am today. This doubt is probably holding someone back that’s reading this right now. You wonder what credentials you have or need to talk about your topic.

Do people really want to hear your message? YES! More than that, they need it whether or not they realize it. There are so many messages these days and many of them are negative.

We need more people who can show people there’s more than the bad news traditional media feeds us every day. We need you to stand up and say I’ve been there and can help you. We need your experience!

Experience

Have you ever been through a rough break-up? Have you had to file bankruptcy? Have you had children? Do you know how to fix cars? There is something people ask you about and that you have experience with.

Sure you can learn this stuff in a textbook or classroom somewhere but book knowledge will only take you so far. In 2012 I was seeing success with self-publishing. I was selling thousands of books. I had people left and right asking me how I was doing it and asking me to coach them. Coach them?

Let me tell you a little secret about me, I’m an introvert. It’s hard for me to be around people sometimes so the idea of coaching scared the daylights out of me. At the end of 2012 as I was ending my bread career I thought about coaching.

So many people had asked and it is a good revenue stream so I decided to give it a try. I went online and started researching coaching. I even bought a course and studied hard.

I’ve worked with over 40 clients now and the best thing that’s helped my coaching business is getting experience. I had certain methods and procedures planned out after I studied but most of those have gone out the window.

The thing that has helped me is working with people one on one, getting feedback and seeing the best ways to help people. The experience has been my best teacher.

If you have experience in a certain area of life you can teach people with authority. You can tell people exactly what they’re going to face because you’ve been there and know. You can give them the advice they can actually use to get through that situation.

If you have experience, use it and don’t listen to your doubts, fears or any haters. Take that experience and combine it with the next point.

Research

Maybe you don’t have all that experience but you have a passion about something. Let’s go back to coaching. I had ZERO experience coaching but I was passionate about helping so I did my research.

That research helped me start until I got the experience. If you have a passion, research the heck out of your topic. Learn everything there is to learn and then START!

Once you start you’ll start to develop that experience and as you get experience your “credentials” come. The only danger is continuing to learn and not acting. Yes you want to be researched up but you have to act.

People do want to hear what you have to say.  There’s an audience for everything online. Don’t be afraid, don’t let the doubts or haters win. When you’re starting out there may not be that many people listening but that will grow.

Use that time to hone your craft, learn and gain the experience. How are you gaining experience in your topic? 

 

How To Get Over Online Overwhelm

Last post we talked about where to start with your online business. We talked about getting very clear about who you most want to help. We also talked about information overload online.

Even today I still deal with information overload. At first you’re just trying to figure this out. After you make some progress you’re trying to figure out how to grow. In researching you end up taking in a ton of information.

Several times throughout the last three years I wanted to scream! Yes I wanted to make progress but learning all this stuff was just too much. Not only learning, but what to learn and from whom.

We all know the problem but what’s the solution? If you’re dealing with information overload there are two things you can start doing today that can help.

What’s important right now

Instead of learning anything and everything focus. Last post we talked about your target audience. After you’ve figured out who you most want to serve the next thing you should focus on is your foundation.

If your business is online your foundation is your website and message. When we come to your website is it clear who you’re speaking to? If it’s not clear who you are speaking to people will subscribe to your email list only to be disappointed.

Here’s a good example from my friend Jimmy. It’s very clear who his target audience is.

If they clearly see what your message is and sign up anyway they’re interested in you telling them about what you have going on. Beside your website all your social media pages should be very clear about who you’re speaking too.

You should have a consistent message and use that message to draw in those who this message is for. Focus on building that foundation through consistency and then move into to building your foundation.

One of the most important things to build is your email list. I did a webinar on three killer ways to build your email list. Build that list because when you want to start making money those are the people most likely to buy.

After your foundation is nice and set then move onto what’s next. What’s next for you? It depends on where you’re at with building. Everyone is different but focus is the key. Don’t get caught in the world of information overload. Just because something worked for someone else doesn’t mean it will work for you.

The 80% implement strategy 

When you’re ready to move on from building your foundation it’s time to start learning again. Even though information overload can come quickly you should always be learning.

The key is once you learn something new you don’t learn anything else new until you’ve implemented at least 80%. This is WAY easier said than done. If you decide the next step for you is to learn SEO do that.

After you have studied what areas you want to implement do that. Keep working until you have a solid foundation built-in SEO. After SEO maybe affiliate marketing, you get the point.

The mistake we make too often is we want to rush to the next thing and multi-task. I have learned from personal experience that multi-tasking doesn’t work.

I learned so much from Brendon Burchard’s Experts Academy in 2012. I wish I could tell you I implemented all of it but the truth is NO. I only implemented 5% of what I learned.

If I had come home and implemented 80% of what I learned my online business would have supported me by the end of 2012. Learn from my mistake. Learn then implement.

You can get over information overwhelm by focusing on what you need to work on right now. After that implement more of what you learn. This is a sure-fire way to build your online business to where it supports you.

What’s important to where you’re at right now? What’s one thing you’ve implemented in the last month?