As a small business owner, it can be easy to get caught up in the daily details of running your business. And sometimes, that can lead us to overcomplicating things and we forget some of the basic elements that are essential for running a successful business. When this happens I also recommend, taking stock of where you at, what are you looking to achieve and then simplify matters by going back to basics.
I was chatting with a long-time client last week on the benefit of taking their marketing back to basics and on this call they shared some of the challenges they were facing with their business.
BACK TO BASICS – Here’s an overview of that conversation:
Over time their business seems to have got more and more complex.
They’ve added little bits here and there, tried some new ways of marketing, tried some more…and eventually all those little extras have added up to cause a real headache.
The end result: they are “fed up with being constantly shattered and not really getting anywhere…”.
Here’s the thing that you must understand about this: we all go through it. It happens to me. It happens to Richard Branson.
And I know it happens to you!
It happens to all those experts who tell you that business is easy if you just buy their “unique” system…
It happens to us all at some stage.
It’s just that some people are brave enough to admit it.
And it doesn’t just happen when you’re starting up or struggling. Even if your business looks like it’s flying to the outside world; inside you can be running around like crazy wishing you could just escape somehow and enjoy life more.
I don’t have all the answers.
But what always helps me is simplification – keep things simple, never over complicate things.
Whenever I find myself running around and constantly worn out by ensuing chaos, I try to think about what I would do if I was starting again from scratch.
What’s the simplest business model I could use?
I’m sure you are aware that I’m not after World Domination (I’ve worked for someone who wants that and have seen what it does to people ;-).
Making a decent living, helping people like you achieve what you want to achieve and having fun is what I aiming for.
So, I don’t need some hugely sophisticated business. I suspect you don’t either.
For me, a simple model that works is to provide immense value and I do this by creating and distributing high-quality content.
This is what is known as ungated content (i.e. it is available to anyone who wishes to see it)
That way, if people consume my content and find it useful, they will start to see me as an authority and someone they can trust.
They then have the opportunity to receive one of my lead magnets (be it a handy checklist, white paper, how-to guide, etc), i.e. something of value that they get for free in exchange for giving me their contact details.
This enables me to add people to my mailing list.
From there I plan to educate, inform and entertain you by sending you tips, strategies and ideas by email on a regular basis and occasionally send you an offer for a product or service that will help you implement our ideas and get great results from it.
I am in this for the long haul. And that is the mindset you should have as well. I embrace small but significant incremental gains and it always comes back to keeping things simple and going back to basics.
So, every now and then I do the exercise of thinking “what would I do if I had to start from scratch?”
Every time I come up with a slightly different answer (after all, I’ve learned new things and grown since I last did the exercise).
But if you try this yourself, by reviewing your marketing efforts and take them back to basics, I believe you will find the answer you come up with is much simpler than the muddle you’ve ended up with.
I think that’s healthy.
I don’t think we should be afraid to admit when we’re getting overwhelmed by chaos.
Most of us aren’t gurus peddling an image of an easy life on a beach working just a few hours a day.
In the real world, we all get stressed and overwhelmed.
And going back to basics helps us all.
Ok, that’s my sermon for today. Time to put the soapbox back in the cupboard.
