Success Secret: Figure Out What You Really Do.

Every time I sit down with a business owner they are asking me to bring in more business through the Internet. My first question is always the same, "What kind of business do you want?" This meets with generally puzzled stares, and many times it's followed by the statement "why all of it of course!"

Bankruptcy attorneys tell me that people come to them for one simple reason. They don't know what to do or what they're doing. Because they have no guidance they get in trouble and can't figure out any other way to solve the problem than seeking help from a bankruptcy attorney. Most of the time a business owner is introduced to me it is a similar situation, they are bleeding cash or a very stressed and frustrated and can't figure out why. Their solution is to go get more business. The problem with this solution is very simple, if the business loses money performing its tasks why do you want to get more of those tasks? If business is frustrated by performing those tasks why do you want to get more business to perform more of those tasks?


These two questions will generally get 5 to 10 minutes of almost dead silence while the business owner ponders thought. Many times I will even excuse myself to the restroom or ask for a soda to give them the moment to think it over. It is funny how few realize what I'm doing when I leave the room, or put them on hold.

The fastest way to come up with the answers correctly is really to start from scratch. Four things need to happen before we can really begin to understand where the business is in the current situation, and what it needs to do in order to move forward. First, we start with the owner and assign the task of discovery. I call this first task the task of discovery because the owner needs to spend some time and really discover who they are. It's sort of like having a midlife crisis for no apparent reason. What happens to most owners and most people in fact that the "busyness" of life catches up to them. They forget why they do anything they just do it almost automatically.

They are so busy, yet somehow they aren't accomplishing anything they want to accomplish.  Many times they are so busy they don't even know what they are trying to accomplish.

As part of this first task I ask the owner for three things, the first is a very short concise definition of five things they would do for free everyday, five things that would cause them to get out of bed without an alarm clock every day. Next they need to use those five things to define their personal purpose, not the businesses purpose, but their personal purpose.

The next step involves a discussion of how these five things can overlap and interrelate the more they overlap and the more they interrelate the more focused and successful person is able to become. The overlapping of those five rings or activities then define the business purpose. From that we are able to filter down to the perfect customer for the business and the perfect application of the business. Most of the time the process results in a significant decrease in overall gross sales of the business and many times employees are released because it turned out they were never needed.

Now that we have a business focus and purpose in hand we can begin our Internet marketing process and development of procedures and applications to assist the business and its growth. The same is true for people who work for third-party, if you don't have at least two of your five tasks that you would do for free within the scope of your employment you are in the wrong job. If you are in the wrong job the only thing you can succeed at is creating stress for yourself and your family. Ideally you should have somewhere closer to three or four of these tasks or rings falling within the scope of your employment or your business, the most successful people have all five tasks fall within the scope of their work life.

It may take an entire day or more spent by yourself with no distractions to come up with your five tasks and your purpose. It will be time very well spent and although making adjustments might be scary you will end up much better off in the long run. Without doing these excercises, all consultants are just taking your money.  You might see some improvement, however it will be short lived.  The business focus must be formed from the business purpose, and the business purpose must be formed out of the owners purpose.  Otherwise, you limit your ability to succeed and grow.

hiring a marketing company or a consultant is the same as hiring a general contractor.  If you say "build a house", you will get a house.  If you wanted a beach front cottage, the chances of getting it are almost zero.  If you market to everyone on the internet, that is exactly what you will get, garbage and all, it is like casting a net in the ocean to find trout.  If you want trout, you use trout bait and fish only where trout are known to live.  

Stop net casting, find your purpose, your businesses purpose and then stay focused.  If you do that correctly, the right customers will come and the stressful customers will go.  You have to know who the right customers are before you can help them find you, and you need to know who the wrong customers are so you can help them to avoid you.  Stress goes down, profits go up and life gets better if you figure out who you really do.