#implementation – Michele Christensen

Thoughts on delegation

Ask Me Anything, Segment 18

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In this segment of Ask Me Anything, I give some brief thoughts about delegation.

Written summary here:

In this segment, I give some thoughts on delegation
I do not delegate much in my business.
You don’t have to delegate to have a business – it’s not inevitable.
I don’t like managing people as much as I like doing things and working with clients. If you don’t love to manage people, you may not want to delegate as much.
I love to learn and tinker, and that’s one of my favorite parts of being a solopreneur. If you love to learn and get a rush from learning some new skill, you may be happy doing more of your business work on your own.
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Your solopreneur business: one big experiment

When you are trying something new in your business, it’s almost impossible to get it perfect on the first try. That’s why I suggest that you always be experimenting with your business. Even if a new idea that you try works out great, it’s valuable to learn why it worked and how to repeat it.

There is no limit to the number of things you could be doing in your business. If you are randomly doing new tactics and not stopping to measure your results, you are probably wasting time on things that aren’t working.

Before you start anything new in your business, know what you want from that effort. If it’s a new product, you probably want sales. If it’s a listbuilding event, you want people to sign up for your email list. If it’s a social media campaign, you may be trying to make new connections or grow your influence. The point is, always have a goal in mind and a way to measure if your efforts are working.

In the book “The Solopreneur’s Success Strategy: Use Metrics to Know What Works,” I teach you how to get started with metrics, or measuring results in your business. Metrics is the only sure way to know what works for your specific business, and you’ll have everything you need to get started in this book. Grab your copy in the Kindle store! (Note you do not need a Kindle device to read Kindle books. You can get a free Kindle app for your device or desktop.)

How to get the things on your to do list done (To Do List Tip #3)

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After you’ve analyzed, prioritized and organized your to do list, it’s time to get some things done! Here’s a tip on how to tackle your to do list.

Summary here:

This is a tip for actually getting the things on your to do list done.
You already know you have to keep track of and prioritize the things you want to do. There are lots of good ways to do this.
Make sure to prioritize things that actually make you money!
One way to get your tasks done is to set an appointment with yourself dedicated solely to heads-down, uninterrupted time to crank out tasks.
Treat your task time like a “silo,” meaning it has defined walls and nothing else gets mixed in.
Takeaway: All the excellent prioritizing, tracking and analyzing you can do with your to-do list isn’t worth anything if you don’t actually do the tasks you need to.
If you like this tip, you’ll love my free report “The 5 Biggest Mistakes Solopreneurs Make in Writing Their Daily To-Do List and How to Avoid Them.” Grab your copy at www.michelechristensen.com/daily.
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Book Review – Launch by Jeff Walker

This post is a review of the book “Launch: An Internet Millionaire’s Secret Formula to Sell Almost Anything Online, Build a Business You Love, and Live the Life of Your Dreams” by Jeff Walker. In short, this book is great and has everything you need to follow his launch plan. You’ve probably seen product launches using his formula and just didn’t know it. That’s the beauty of “PLF” or “Product Launch Formula” style launches – they deliver great value whether the potential customer buys or not, and can be done without hype or aggressive selling tactics.

For an investment of less than $10, you really have everything you need to launch PLF style. There are a variety of case studies in very different niches, and these case studies had me continually saying “I can totally do this!” The case studies are a great way to show you the information in the book in action, but also a way to show you how different people use the PLF for their launches.

There are several types of launches presented in the book, but one of the most useful is the Seed Launch. This is, in my opinion, the most useful because it assumes you are truly starting from scratch. You don’t need a finished product, a list or even a website. Of course if you have any or all of those things, your launch will be much easier but the Seed Launch chapter demonstrates that you don’t need any of them to launch your first product. In fact, a seed launch can help you create your first product, start your list and make some money if you need it to get your website built.

One of the errors I see business owners making in launching is thinking that if they put something for sale that somehow people will find it and want to buy it. Once you realize this isn’t true, you are left with a problem of how to let potential buyers know you have something for sale and why they might want it. If you are like most people, you don’t want to sound like too pushy or sales-y. The Product Launch Formula gives you a step by step method that overcomes all of these problems. You’ll also have plenty of time and space to say what you need to in order for people to understand your product or service.

In short, this book delivers huge value for the money and has earned a spot on my Solopreneur Reading List. Grab a copy on Amazon here.

Image of Launch Book cover from Amazon.com

How to handle tasks that tend to expand (To Do List Tip #2)

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Some tasks can take up as much time as you are willing to give them. This video tip is on how to handle those creeping tasks. Link mentioned in video: www.michelechristensen.com/daily

Summary here:

As a solopreneur, you have to be an excellent time manager and this means not letting your day get eaten up by tasks that take as long as you give them.
For example, it may take a lot of time to keep up with your social media posting and email, or it can take hours to write a script for a short video.
People who work on the internet seem especially vulnerable because so many expanding tasks are right in front of you.
Today’s tip is to put edges on expanding tasks so you will know when they are done.
Some examples you can use right away: Use a timer or checklist for social media, empty your inbox completely on a regular basis, and set a limit on how much time you’ll spend on your writing.
Bonus tip: Don’t use your email inbox as a place to store emails. It’s a holding place for emails you haven’t processed yet.
Takeaway: Keep an eye on tasks that tend to creep or expand and put some edges on them so you know when they are done.
If you like this tip, go to www.michelechristensen.com/daily and download my free report “5 Mistakes Solopreneurs Make in Writing Their Daily To Do List and How to Avoid Them.”
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Bright, Shiny Object Syndrome

Ask Me Anything, Segment 10

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It’s really easy to get sidetracked by the next big thing or the next bright, shiny object. It’s critical to stay focused and finish projects before moving on to the next one. You can find the entire Ask Me Anything series on my blog or YouTube channel under Ask Me Anything.

If you prefer to read instead of watch, here are the notes for this video:

Bright, shiny object syndrome is a funny name for a very real problem faced by entrepreneurs. We can get distracted by the next new idea before we take time to finish what we are working on.
New ideas are especially tempting to entrepreneurs because we love new ideas and like to take action and try new things.
One of the things that separates the superstars from the middle of the pack is the ability to persevere and finish projects even when they get boring.
Learning can be a huge bright, shiny object. Make sure to take the time to implement what you learn before moving on to learning something else.
One of the things I can help you with is finishing what you start. I can help you to know exactly what to be working on. I would love to be one of the people you learn from. Click on the green “Send Me More” button below the video, enter your name and email address, and I’ll send you tips and strategies just for solopreneurs.

Learning new stuff is way more fun than working!

Ask Me Anything, Segment 9

(Prefer to read instead of watch? Scroll down below the video player for a summary.)

In this video, I talk about the trap of avoiding work you find unpleasant by spending too much time learning. This is Segment 9 in the Ask Me Anything series. You can find the entire series on my blog or YouTube Channel under Ask Me Anything. www.michelechristensen.com

If you prefer to read instead of watch, here are the notes for this video:

It’s easy to get sidetracked when you are learning too many different things from too many different people.
Learning can be used to procrastinate the work you really need to be doing to create income.
It’s important to always be investing in yourself by learning new things about your business, but balance this with the need to implement what you learn.
I help people to have a streamlined, efficient business and to know exactly what to be working on and what not to be working on. Click on the “Send Me More” button below the video player so I can send you more great tips and strategies for running your solopreneur business.