Read This If You Aren't Doing Enough
This is where I start to say things like "don't do more, do less!"
And, "focus on what's important, not just what's urgent!"
Sure. That's true.
But how do you know?
Here's a question you can ask yourself if you're not sure where to put your time or energy when every task is screaming your name:
"What would happen if it didn't get done?"
So simple. So not easy.
I've talked with so many small businesses and non-profits who are absolutely strapped for resources. Somehow, they think they need a custom logo, beautiful website, LinkedIn ads, and all these other things that might not be giving them the one thing they truly need: paying customers.
That's right folks. You heard it here.
You only need one thing to have a successful business and I'll say it again: paying customers.
Sure, there are plenty of companies that have huge ad-spends and beautiful websites and in-office chefs who cook snacks and lunches and dinners for the team and all that.
But you know what?
There are plenty of businesses that are doing just fine without it because they are focused on what matters to them.
Joe's Crab Shack is never going to spend money on a conventional TV ad because that doesn't matter to them. They have their ad on the local diner's menu and in the Jersey Shore guidebook for tourists and that's enough!
There are plenty of businesses just like Joe's Crab Shack.
When I meet up with an old friend with a new business idea and I ask how it's going, they often go into a long list of things they're working on:
"Oh, we're so busy it's crazy! I am wrapping up our logo design, we just bought the domain name, I have a web designer coming in on Tuesday, and we are going to be looking at office space to rent next week."
None of those things matter unless they are getting you more paying customers and when you're small or just starting out, the answer is "they're usually not."
2 Minute Action
Take a look through your to-do list and see if you can find an ROI on your work.
But Chris, the website I'm building lets people know I'm legit and can execute.
Do you know what else does that?
Here's a short list:
- Referrals.
- Testimonials.
- Customer success stories.
- Pictures from your portfolio.
All of these things can be attached in an email, which costs $0.
Chances are there is a cheaper, easier, faster way to get what you want. It's up to you to challenge yourself and find a cost/resource-effective solution.
So, ask yourself: "What would happen if I had to do this without a website?"
What would you do?
Start with that and test your assumption.
Building a website is the easy part.
Talking to customers is scary and harder.
Work on the hard stuff and I promise you'll do fine.
If your business doesn't have a hard part then you probably don't have a business.
An Old-school Trick To Stay Focused Through The Hard Stuff
You can probably name a pretty decent number of movies that show “perseverance,” “fortitude,” or “determination.”Most of these movies represent challenges and obstacles in really obvious ways so viewers can relate quickly.
This means, adversity is usually represented in some physical way.
Sports and war movies lend themselves very well to this model.
The trouble is that most “hard stuff” in your life won’t be physical.
It will be social, or emotional.School did NOT prepare you for this.Specifically, this means dealing with difficult personalities, regulating your emotions, and knowing when to put yourself first versus when to put others first.None of this was part of your education—yet it’s necessary for success.So what are you going to do about it?
2 Minute Action:
Take 2 minutes to meditate this morning.Meditation can help train you to focus on what’s important and become more immune to distractions.Not only is this an ages old tactic, but there is more and more empirical evidence for this each yearThis could mean task distractions or it could mean emotional distractions.The skill of focus is pretty transferable.If you don’t know how to meditate or even know what that means, try calm.com, or the headspace app. These will help guide you.Everyone has 2 minutes.You don’t need an hour.You just need 2 minutes on this, over time.
The Easy Thing About Hard Things
It seems like whenever I ask someone about their new project they go off on this long list
We just finished the logo.We're talking to a lawyer about an LLC.We've got sights on new office space downtown . . .None of which matters.It just doesn't.All the time we spend working on the easy things is the time we're not spending on the hard stuff.
What's the difference between the hard stuff and the easy stuff?
The Easy Stuff:Building the software app.Figuring out how to ship from your warehouse to the distributer.Finding a better way to collect website analytics data.But wait! Writing code is hard! Why are you saying all of this is easy?Sure, we can all agree that these aren't easy problems to fix, but it's not the thing that will define your success.There are a million software startups. Building the software isn't hard. The hard part is getting your app to hit the top 4 in the App Store.There are million suppliers and distributers. Optimizing transport isn't hard. The hard part is getting desirable shelf space at Walmart or Target.There are a million ways to collect web traffic data. Finding the right analytics tool isn't hard. What's hard is realizing that you need to get on the phone (scary, I know) and listen to this painful thing called "customer feedback."Being your best depends on knowing the difference between the hard stuff and the easy stuff.
The easy thing about hard things is knowing which is which.
Once I tell you how to do it, you're going to slap yourself at how easy it is.The way to decide if something is hard or easy is to sense how scary it is.Usually, if you're afraid of it, it's hard. This is the reason so many of us focus on our Instagram "❤️'s" instead of reaching out to Instagram influencers to place product or offer our services. It's easy to hide behind the wall of photos. It's hard to reach out and connect to a real, live human who could reject us.It's these moments that we challenge our character and our willpower. It's these moments that define who we are and who we're becoming everyday.And the cool thing about it is that you don't have to make a huge announcement or public display to make this happen.It's all about small (but relentless) attention to the hard things.2 MINUTE ACTION:What's something hard you've been avoiding lately?Is there an email that you've been avoiding?Should you really just call your Mom back?How about those blog comments that you want to delete? How can you respond with empathy?