Ep#118 Do what's already working

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In this episode I am going to share two questions you can ask yourself as a small business owner that will instantly take unnecessary tasks (that you maybe even thought were really important) off your plate so that you can focus your attention on the tasks that drive the needle in your business forward.

Generally, as entrepreneurs we are quick decision makers and we need to be. It’s great to be decisive but we’re often decisive without the right information which can lead to doing the wrong things. We add things and change things without really evaluating and analysing what is working. And as a result we add new tasks and activities to our already full plate without questioning whether it makes sense to add these things. And what happens as a result of this is we’re doing lots of work that is disconnected and actually distracting us and moving us away from the goal we want to achieve. 

Let me give you an example.

Let’s pretend there is a business owner that currently uses Google SEO as a way of bringing in new potential customers into their world. They recognise that they need to increase the number of leads coming in and they remember that Sally at the network event they went to last week suggested they get onto linkedin because it has worked so well for Sally’s business and it must therefore also work for them.

They’ve never been on Linkedin. They have no idea how the platform works, but they are determined to figure it out because it’s worth a shot if it means it can bring in new clients. They download the app and sign up for an account.

Before they know it…the step by step setup guide has sucked them in and they are on a mission to optimise their profile. Choosing the right profile picture, writing a professional bio, adding education and skills.

Either feeling really good about their accomplishments or perhaps a bit defeated because things don’t look so great on paper. For a moment they even have the thought that maybe they should have completed that degree after all.

You might be thinking that this isn’t a big deal and it’s important to be visible to our potential customers. We don’t want to miss out on any opportunities that could help us grow your business, right?

I see so many business owners fall into this trap - I have fallen into this rabbit hole more times than I can count - and the reason why this is so detrimental is that it’s a distraction. It’s taking our attention away from the areas where we could make exponential impact by simply making one or two small tweaks to what is already working.

If this business owner who got lost in getting themselves onto linked in asked themselves the following two important questions first, it would have saved a ton of time and made a measurable impact where it matters most to them. Bringing in more leads.

If they, instead of looking for new ways to bring in leads, focused FIRST on how they are currently bringing in leads they would have discovered that there is a lot of room for improvement on what is already working. And even if what  they are doing is not working, it would still be beneficial to look and solve for what isn’t working first before adding any new things to their plates.

These are the two questions you need to ask yourself FIRST before you try new things. Before you add more to your plate:

1. What is already working/not working? 

2. And where can we do it better?

If this business owner asked themselves these two questions before jumping onto linkedin, It would have directed their attention to what they are already investing time and energy into. SEO.

And instead of diluting their efforts by adding a completely new thing, they could have first optimised the one that already has data for them to use in their decision making. And as a result increased their results (that is getting more leads) with less effort.

The message here is that more isn’t always the answer. Different isn’t always the answer. New isn’t always the answer.

There is a lot of data in what you’re already doing. There is even more data if you think that it’s not working. Things not working isn’t a bad thing. It has lots of clues and a plan of action hidden in it. We are too quick to abandon the effort we have put into things in an attempt to not miss out on a potential big win somewhere else.

Of course, sometimes we should abandon certain things. Sometimes we should try something new. But not before we have evaluated the current stuff first.

Once we examine what is working we have an opportunity to refine it. Simplify it. Improve it..

The hardest thing is…to do less. To remove the clutter. To remove the noise. And it’s because it forces us to do the hard thinking work. To dive deeper and look at the parts that aren’t necessarily that exciting. But if we’re always chasing the new exciting shining objects, you are diluting your efforts and ultimately your results as well.

I hope this has been valuable! If it was, hit that share button and send it to one or a few of your small business owner friends and let’s start a movement of doing less and achieving more.

You can watch the video recording of this episode HERE

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