I see so many articles, posts and motivational rhetoric urging entrepreneurs to have grit, to preserver through the toughest times, to use your failures as learning opportunities etc. etc. you've heard it, the old adage of having to hustle your away through it, like it’s some sort of obstacle course to be conquered.
And the truth for many, is this exact experience. But that doesn't mean it's correct. I've found the really successful don't use the grin and bear it through gritted teeth approach and a simple test is, If it feels like hard work you're already doing it wrong. I'd like to show you a different way.
You see the 80/20 rule shows us that very little of what we do on a day to day basis actually amounts to much, or indeed moves us towards our goals and the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing, grinning and bearing it to get the same, nothing results…
A better option would be careful analysis of what's gone before, take a break, relax, contemplate and review, which of the actions taken actually did work and which didn't…
By way of example… When I did this again for myself recently, I realized that of all my marketing efforts, roughly one sixth of my revenue over the past 2 years had come from strategic referrals, another sixth from Google Adwords and another sixth from random encounters friends and family referrals. With a full half coming from a single talk I gave in September 2016…
Interesting, yes, but also telling, because in terms of effort the talk was really very, very small in comparison to the work done in the other areas and the talks are fun. So would it be worth my while finding similar suitable talks that put me in front of my target audience, talks that instantly position me as a expert and give me unrivaled ability to hold people's attention for more than a few minutes? hell yes but it's only from reflection that this came into sharp view.
Can you reflect on your business path and find the small, often overlooked actions that lead to big results in your business? You should, it's worth the effort.
And if it's tough to spot them, perhaps I can help. I've isolated dozens of 80/20 mechanisms throughout a business, mechanisms that can be employed, deployed and recombined in various configurations to yield spectacular results.
Let's have a coffee.
PS. yes that is my boat in the picture, come and have a sail in Hout Bay... :)