STARTING A BUSINESS?
KNOW THIS ONE LITTLE SECRET OR BUSINESS WILL KILL YOU SLOWLY
Money was tight for me in my family. Like everybody else most likely, I work to pay the next bill.
One of my mentor said that if your take home is around $70,000 per year, you work to pay the next bill. Base on my mentor’s narrative, at around $250,000 per year income, that’s when life becomes a little easy.
So, what game should you be in to achieve those financial goals?
One of the best answer that I got was start a business. It is in business where you can put a dollar in and get $2 or $3 out.
Think about that for a moment. Can you ask a raise in your job with that rate? I mean you ask your boss for a raise, and say “by the way, can you double my salary?”.
Stocks won’t let you do that either. Or Forex, or even bitcoin.
I mean I tried those but it won’t be like putting in a dollar and 2 dollars out in the pipeline.
When I heard this advise, I decided to add another revenue stream from an on-line business. When my wife asked me what’s your business? I said I’m an infopreneur. I sold information products. In addition, I’m a solopreneur. I work alone but only hire people in a need basis.
I need to make a eBook cover for the eBook I’m selling? I go to Fiverr.com.
I need an advertising campaign? Facebook Ads? Fiverr.com,
Video sales letter? Upwork.com or Freelancer.com.
I have a virtual assistant from the Philippines who acts as my secretary.
It wasn’t this way however.
When I started a revenue stream to augment my salary, I was all over the place. I would set up my Facebook Ads, Shoot my video sales letter and try to learn Photoshop to make an eBook cover.
Three months later, I was still learning Facebook ads and Photoshop.
Dan Sullivan, from Strategic Consulting, advised us entrepreneur to know the “who and not the how.”
What does it mean? Look for an expert in Facebook Ads (the who) and don’t attempt to learn it (not the how).
As an entrepreneur, you are going to solve problems. This is a given. The problem with people full of ideas like entrepreneur is that we are always in a learning cycle mode.
I tried to learn Facebook Ad before, then learn how to write a headline, how to hook people with a headline, etc.
It was a huge mistake.
I always wanted to work for myself, call the shots and not work for a company or a boss. In order for our dream to be a reality, I have to work smart on my business. And we only can buy success with time.
So I became a six to niner.
This means I have to work, and after 5 PM, I go home, around 6 PM, I work on my business.
I would go home and log to my computer, but instead of doing the most what I needed to do, I would read the news first and then check Facebook.
Instead of working on the most pressing problems, I would go check the bank account and then do something else, maybe check how many opt-in for the squeeze page I made for my Instagram account.
I then understood that in order to be laser focus on what you are going to do, you have to avoid distractions.
Laser focus is always thrown on the table for productivity hacks, but it was a constant struggle for me.
One time, in order to really focus on the task that I need to do, I wrote my task in an index card and taped it on the counter. After I park my car and prepare for dinner, I would glance at my index card.
This is the only thing I need to do from 6 PM to 9 PM.
If I’m tempted to check if my Facebook post about Gabriel Iglesias gathered some comments or likes, I would check my index card again.
This technique have moved my projects in the right direction. I now focus on what’s the one thing I need to do from 6 PM to 9 PM. Only three hours.
Three hours.
That hours are enough to build a foundation for your business. It was enough for mine, and the many people I know.
And you know the secret involved to be hyperfocus on your work?
I started delegating things that I was not good at.
If you look at the list in my index card, it’s most of the time, “Email Sanjay of Fiverr.com to change the image of my Facebook Ad campaign.”
Or “Email Virtual assistant to look for Instagram Ad experts.”
It’s been working out. Three hours everyday was enough. You don’t need to beat yourself to death.
Delegate tasks. Or you will surely kill yourself slowly.
Learn the “who and not the how.”
