Several years ago, I had a recurring health issue.
One day I’d feel bloated with an upset stomach, then I’d rapidly get a painful tension headache at the base of my skull. Within a couple hours, I’d throw up. That relieved the headache and upset stomach, but left me white-faced and exhausted on the couch for three to four days afterwards.
Within a few months, this was happening every three to four weeks.
Though the exact timing was unpredictable, the frequency was undeniable. I couldn’t keep up my regular work schedule; something had to give.
I decided to do ONLY 3 essential things:
- Speaking engagements at networking events
- Calls with prospects
- Work with clients.
I dropped all my marketing activities: no email newsletter, no email marketing, and minimal networking.
The results? I earned my highest income to date that year.
What a powerful lesson about the difference between RIGHT action vs. MORE action! My health crisis showed me quite clearly what I needed to run a successful business, and what I didn’t need to do.
I had spent years working on my email marketing. It was a challenge and I am a girl who loves a challenge!
What I wasn’t paying attention to was where my clients actually came from: speaking, networking and my web site.
Because I didn’t know where my clients came from, I paid way too much attention to strategies that didn’t work for me. It took this health crisis to make me stop doing any email marketing. That really hammered home for me how much UNNECESSARY effort and time I was putting in each week, month and year in my business!
Here’s the reason I’m sharing this. I’m not the only one who wastes time on wrong actions. In fact, you are likely doing your own version of it!
Here’s a quick check-list to help you figure out if you’re at risk of putting too much time and energy into the wrong parts of your business:
1. You consistently track your income, so you know how much each client/customer/job each paid you.
a. Yes/mostly
b. No/hardly at all. You’re not sure what to track or where to find it.
2. You know where each of your clients/customers/jobs came from.
a. Yes/mostly
b. No/hardly at all
3. You know what marketing strategies you used in 2017 and what the results were, in terms of prospects as well as clients.
a. Yes/mostly
b. No/hardly at all. Strategies?! What strategies?!
If your answers were mostly or all b’s, then you’re not as effective in your business as you can be.
It’s easy to let this happen. If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you love DOING your work. Tracking numbers – that’s not so fun. Plus you might not be sure what data to track or how to track it. You rely on an intuitive sense of what’s working.
When you’re not crystal clear on what is and is not working in your business, you waste time and energy. And you probably ended 2017 feeling discombulated vs. intentional.
Most likely, you’re basing your 2018 plans on what you did last year. Which is going to create more of the same results as last year. Is that a good thing?
If you’re ready to start 2018 on a stronger footing,
– where you actually KNOW what you did in 2017 and what did/did not work,
– where you use your 2017 lessons learned to create ALIGNED goals for 2018,
then I invite you to join me for a special 2-hour virtual group workshop
Generate Impact and Growth in 2018, on January 15, where I’ll help you
- Analyze what is working WELL in your business and what’s working NOT so well
- Recognize and celebrate your top 2017 accomplishments
- Identify your biggest lesson learned from 2017
- Consciously choose your desired experience for 2018
- Create aligned goals that maximize your effectiveness in 2018
You’ll end up with CLARITY. Which helps you create EASE, EFFECTIVENESS AND SIMPLICITY!
About that health crisis – it turns out that I am gluten-intolerant. Once I gave up gluten, my mystery illness disappeared, for good. My enduring thanks to my then-client Catherine Rose Stevens for her help with this!
I’m grateful to that crisis for the valuable business lesson it taught me.
