planning – Michele Christensen

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.)

Every action you take in your business must have a purpose

Excerpt from the book “The Solopreneur’s Success Strategy: Use Metrics to Know What Works“

Ultimately, the purpose of your entire business is to make a profit and to allow you to do your work. Therefore, every action you take in your business should have some positive impact on profit either directly or indirectly. I advise the business owners I work with not to do anything within their business without knowing the purpose for it. Even the most basic of things should have a defined and preferably measurable purpose.

The things you do in your business can impact your profit directly or indirectly. Examples of directly impacting profits would be things that either create sales or decrease expenses directly. Indirect examples would include things like expanding your reach. For example, you may build a social media following or attend live events with the goal of meeting new people. You may not expect to sell to them right away, or even soon, but you may meet people who are interested in what you have to sell or who can introduce you to people who may be interested in what you have to sell. So while building your reach may not directly contributing to profit it does indirectly contribute by giving you the chance to make more sales.

Don’t take for granted that you “have to” do anything. Even something as basic as having a website should have a definitive purpose. Why does your site exist? Is it to sell things directly? Is it to serve as an online version of a brochure and answer questions? Is it to collect contact information so you can follow up? Is it to educate people so they can make an
informed choice about your product? There are so many reasons to have a website that they could probably fill a book by themselves. Yet, so many people have no idea why they actually have a website or how it will make them a profit. It’s just become an unquestioned “given” that you have a website and so people don’t actually think about why they have one or what it
can do for them.

It’s almost impossible to know what will work in your business the first time you try something. The only way to know what works is to know why you are doing each thing in your business and measure your results.

In my book “The Solopreneur’s Success Strategy: Use Metrics to Know What Works,” I teach how to get started with metrics for your business so you can get better results and save time. The book comes with a downloadable metrics starter kit to get you started even faster. Click the link below to check out the book and grab your copy!

The Solopreneur’s Success Strategy: Use Metrics to Know What Works

What my clients have taught me about working with web developers

Ask Me Anything, Segment 11

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

This video gives practical tips you can use to get better results when working with a web developer or anyone under a contract. You can find the entire Ask Me Anything Series on my blog or YouTube Channel under Ask Me Anything.

Summary here:

This video share practical steps you can take to get better results when working with a web developer.
Get everything in writing. It will reduce the chance for misunderstandings.
Know what the person you are hiring does well and what they do not do. Creating a website has many facets, and not all website creators do everything.
Think carefully about whether you want to revise both your business and your website at the same time. There may be no way around doing both at once, but both are big projects and if you can space them out without negative consequences it may make sense to do so.
Consider purchasing your own hosting. It may make sense to have the same person create, host and maintain your website if you want to be hands off. However, if you have your own hosting account you can discontinue working with a web person without changing hosts too.
Get informed before you hire out. The more you know the better customer you will be and the better chance you have of getting the results you want.
Check all references, licenses, portfolios, credentials, etc. for anyone you are thinking of hiring.
All of these tips are meant to help you work well with an honest person. The original question used the word “taken,” which implies dishonesty to me. I don’t believe I have ever had first-hand experience with a client having a problem with a web person that was due to dishonesty.
Takeaway: There are some things you can do to get the best results possible when working with someone on a website or other contract.
If you liked this tip, please go to www.michelechristensen.com and enter your name and email address, and I’ll send tips and strategies like this for solopreneurs right to your inbox!
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Write a daily to do list just for today (To Do List Tip #4)

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

In this video, I teach you the practice of writing a small to do list that is just for today. It’s inefficient to pick from hundreds or thousands of tasks every time you need to make a decision about what to work on. Instead, make a smaller to do list just for today. Link mentioned in video: michelechristensen.com/daily.

Summary here:

In this video I teach you why it is important to write a daily to do list just for today and how to do it.
If you have a solid habit of writing things down either electronically or on paper, you may end up with hundreds or even thousands of tasks on you to do list. There may be a mix of small tasks and huge projects.
Make it a daily habit to create a to do list just for today. Once per day, scan that huge list that holds all your tasks and select just a few for today based on what your day looks like.
You can write your to do list at night, as a way to wrap up the day and be ready to go in the morning, or in the morning as a way to start your day.
The real value in this practice is that is saves you looking through those hundreds or thousands of tasks every time during the day you need to move to the next task. Instead of picking from a big number, you can pick from a small number of tasks that are relevant to today.
You can feel more confidence that you are working on the right thing right now.
The takeaway: Set aside a few minutes every day to write a to do list that is just for today. You’ll work more efficiently and confidently throughout the day.
If you like this tip, go to michelechristensen.com/daily and get your free copy of my special report “The Five Biggest Mistakes Solopreneurs Make in Writing Their Daily To-Do List and How to Avoid Them.”
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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 your infinite to do list (To Do List Tip #1)

(Prefer to read instead of watch? Scroll down for a summary.)

As a one-person business, your to do list is literally infinite. There is an unlimited number of things you could be doing to build your business. This video teaches you how to know what to work on. Link mentioned in video: https://www.michelechristensen.com/daily

Summary here:

As a solopreneur, your to do list is infinite – there is literally always more you could be doing to build and promote your business.
It’s no surprise that so many solopreneurs feel overwhelmed!
Having a solid strategy for your business will help you know what to work on.
With a strategy, you know exactly how to find new prospects and convert them to clients.
You can confidently say yes or no to any opportunity depending on whether it fits into your strategy or not.
Takeaway: Don’t even try to do everything you hear about. Have a strategy so you know exactly what to work on.
If you liked this tip, go to www.michelechristensen.com/daily and get a copy of my free report “The 5 Biggest Mistakes Solopreneurs Make in Writing Their Daily To-Do List and How to Avoid Them.”
Please use the social sharing buttons below this video to share the video with your friends and colleagues who would find it valuable.

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.

Measure your results to improve them

From my book “Use Metrics to Know What Works“…

One of the hallmarks of successful entrepreneurs is that they take action. They don’t wait for the time to be perfect or for some mythical moment when everything lines up, they get busy and get going. This is a hugely important trait for success, but it can also be a curse. The problem is that many entrepreneurs are so action oriented that they go off in random directions with no plan. It’s not enough just to take action – you have to be taking action on the right things.

This is where a lot of entrepreneurs get into trouble. Yes, you do need to be taking consistent action, but if you don’t take some time first to determine what you should be doing there’s a good chance of not getting the results you want. The problem is that it is really hard for an action-oriented entrepreneur whose idea keeps him up at night to take a step back and do some research and planning. Later, the problem becomes taking the time to measure and analyze results when you would rather be doing more.

So many business operate like this:

Start doing something in hopes of growing your business
Sales don’t come as desired
Add another activity
Repeat

Can you see the problems with this approach? First, you can only repeat this cycle for so long. There is an absolute upper limit to the amount of activity that you can add to your business. At some point, you will run out of hours in the week. Second, if you keep adding new things without taking away anything you’ll end up with a bigger and bigger list of activities to keep up with. Your attention becomes split and you end up expending a lot of energy switching between and managing all your projects. Third and most serious is that you have absolutely no way to improve. There’s no feedback or indication of what’s working or not and how to improve. This is the biggest problem of all because testing, measuring and adapting is the only sure way you have of making sure you are on a path of continual improvement. Continuing to blindly add activities with no clear plan is like trying to get across town on your bicycle by pedaling faster and making random turns. If you don’t stop and consult a map before and during your trip, you won’t know if you are even heading in the right direction. All of that activity may actually be taking you further from your destination.

It’s almost impossible to get things just right on the first try. That’s where being action-oriented is an asset – as an action taker you just get out there and do something. However, the shortest path to success after you take action is to learn from that experience and adapt your next attempt.

When you take action with no planning, there is no way to measure and no way to close the loop. Everything you do will be just random shooting in the dark with no way to adapt and learn. Often the only feedback you get is “that didn’t work.”

For all of these reasons, metrics (i.e. measuring your results) is often one of the first areas I work on with my clients because we really can’t begin coaching and moving forward effectively until they have a feedback loop in place. As much as I wish I could, I simply can’t pull the right answers out of nothing. I need data to work with in the first place and a way to measure results once our ideas are implemented.

If you aren’t doing any metrics, or you want to see how metrics can help you, head over to the Kindle store and grab my book “Use Metrics to Know What Works.” This article is taken from Chapter 1, and the rest of the book teaches you not only the principles of metrics but how to do metrics for specific purposed in your business. Grab your copy here:

Use Metrics to Know What Works

(No Kindle device? No problem! You can download a free Kindle app for your phone or tablet, or install the free Kindle reader for your desktop.)

Back of the Bike Video – How to handle the unexpected

https://www.michelechristensen.com
Find out how you can be better prepared for unexpected things that pop up in your life and in your solopreneur business. Being prepared means you can say yes to great opportunities more often whether they are for work or for fun!

Time Management System for Solopreneurs

Ask Me Anything, Segment 2

Earlier this year, I gave my email subscribers the chance to ask me anything about their business. In this video, I answer a question about how to set up a time management system for solopreneurs. I’ll be answering more questions over the coming weeks and months.

If you want more information like this, including a chance to get your questions answered in the next “Ask Me Anything,” enter your name and email below for regular email updates from me.