Creating a winning record in online business

Creating a winning record in online business

by | Planning-Organization-Productivity

Working closely with online entrepreneurs I understand firsthand that checking the done box is not all that exciting to them. Why is this a problem? Missing deadlines leads to issues with achieving a goal and/or finishing an important revenue-generating project on time. I know what you’re thinking how do you making it task completion exciting? The solution is simply creating a winning record in online business.

Stay with me here I'm not necessarily talking about the number of leads, or the number of offers, or the number of clients, that's not what I'm talking about with creating a winning record in online business.

In The Game

I spend a great deal of time at sporting events and talking about sporting events because my kids loving playing sports in school. And that's great. I love it. I love it. I love it.

Prior to any game, we discuss the record of the opponent, along with who they played and the individual statistic of the players. Y’all numbers tell stories.

This got me thinking about how do you keep track of a winning record in online business? To gauge how things are going. Look at it from a different angle, besides the everyday metrics which cause a glazed-over look in the eyes of almost every online entrepreneur I know.

Why is this important in your business?

You must be wondering why is this important, how does this relate to creating a winning record in an online business, and it's pretty simple.

Let me break this down for you if an action item is completed on time it’s a clear win. If it’s not completed on time it’s a clear loss. Pretty simple right!

And here's the thing as an online business owner you play an important role in taking a project across the finish line or achieving a business goal. Those action items aren’t always exciting to the owner.

Creating a winning record in online business

Break it down

In order to achieve a goal, it needs to be broken down into action items. The same thing in order to complete a project, it needs to be broken down into action items, everything that you're doing and trying to accomplish in an online business needs to be broken down into action items.

If your online business is not at a place where you can hire a project manager or OBM to figure out the project plan for you, this is how you’d figure out the action items for yourself.

Begin with a mind sweep of all of the possible action items that you need to either complete the project, reach the goal, do whatever it is that you need to get done in your online business.

Next, you put those actions in order how they need to be completed.

Start with the end date in mind, working backward from the last action to the first action begin to assign a completion date.

If you want to reach this goal by x date, then you're going to work backward on your timeline assigning dates.

Note, this is important if you haven't done that action before make sure you overestimate the amount of time it will take to complete. Add a little buffer.

When I’m breaking down a plan if I feel it will take a team member 3 hours to complete, I’ll estimate it to take 6 hours, always double up that time.

I can almost hear you thinking, what about Parkinson's Law? The old adage that work expands to fill the time allotted.

Still, I’ve found it’s better to have the extra buffer time than asking a team of contractors to find more time in their already full calendars. If it takes less time, great! Getting a bit of extra time in a project is super exciting, guaranteed you’ll find something else that you can fill it with.

Creating a Winning Record

You must be wondering how do you create a winning record in your online business?

Here’s how it works for every action that you complete on time is considered a win.

And every action that doesn’t get completed on time and on the due date, that's considered a loss, boohoo.

I’m a Notion enthusiast for almost all of my task management, I’ve added two fields one for the win and one for the loss. To figure out my record at the end of the week or the end of the month I filter on the date range in a table view and sum the total at the bottom.

Here's my suggestion on how you can go ahead and track to make sure that you actually have a winning record, because what you track actually improves.

If you have a project management system that allows for custom fields, then create a win field, and a loss field. You could also use the same field and either give yourself a 1 or -1, depending on if your win or loss.

If you're not using a project management system that allows for custom fields you can create a spreadsheet with your action items with a column for your wins and a column for your loss. Summing them up at the bottom for the record.

What does creating a winning recond tell you

Creating a winning record will shine a light if action items are getting completed on time or if action items aren’t getting completed on time.

Occasionally things come up and the action item isn’t completed by the actual deadline or due date. The keyword is occasionally.

If the record has more losses than wins, it’s time to take a look at what’s going on inside the online business to cause this.

That’s valuable information to use and improve on the record.

Is creating a winning record something you’d like in your online business?

How fun is this little spin on getting action items done? I'd love to hear if you found this beneficial.

So go ahead and leave me a comment below if you did. Thank you and I appreciate you have a wonderful day.

l

Little Side Note

With action items, it's essential as the business owner to only be working on action items that ONLY you can do. Can the action be done by someone else?

✁ Just a Snippet

Here is just a snippet of the important points, you know for the skimmer in you. 🤪

  • Feel like creating a winning record in your online business?
  • This inspiration came from the many sporting events and discussions we have in our household.
  • This got me thinking about creating a winning record in online business.
  • What could be a simple way of creating a winning record in online business?
  • Give yourself a win when you complete the action item on time, a loss if you do not.
  • Yes, see simple right.
  • Here is the thing, in order to achieve a goal it needs to be broke down into action items.
  • If you do not have a project manager or OBM to do this for you, begin with a mind sweep of every action possible to reach the goal.
  • Put each action in order by how they need to be completed.
  • Every action item that is completed on time is a win! Woohoo.
  • Every action item that is not completed on time is a loss. Boohoo.
  • After you've reached your goal, you'll have a Win-Loss record that you can improve on for the next goal. (:
Online Entrepreneur Stop Switching Your Offer

Online Entrepreneur Stop Switching Your Offer

by | Online Business

What do you do when something is not working in your online business? For example, let's say you have a launch on a new course that you've created or a done-for-you service that you offer, and it's not doing as well as you’d like, you're completely hearing crickets. Now, this is important. I'm going to tell you to stop switching your offer when something doesn't work for you, the first time.

For the love, Stop Switching Your Offer

Stop switching your offer when it doesn't work the first time, instead take that feedback and use it to launch the offer better than next time.
Stick with me here, because we only become good at something when we keep trying, tweaking, and offer it over and over again. While taking that feedback from the launch and improving upon it.

Figure Out Why

Now, I know what you’re thinking, it's not working, absolutely no one was interested in your offer, it will be much easier to start all over again.

That’s not true stop switching your offer. After each launch, you should debrief and look at the feedback and tweak it to generate interest.

I’m guessing you took care in selecting your offer in the beginning. You’re offering a course or service that you love right?

Launching something new can be a challenge, don’t give up after one attempt because you're going to become better and better and better every single time you launch your offer.

This is not groundbreaking we become good at things, and an expert at things that we keep doing over and over and over again.

It all boils down to this stop switching your offer. That will be even more confusing to your audience.

Stop Switching Your Offer

Believe it or not

Do you still not believe me? Well, you need to think about this, our natural instinct is to keep trying, even when it doesn't feel like it works the first time.

Here's a prime example for any parents out there.

Think back to when your children were babies, and they were starting to walk and talk did they get it the first time? No!

But, here’s the thing they kept trying, they didn't stop, they kept trying until they actually mastered walking and talking.

And that’s what I mean that tells us that our natural instinct is to keep trying, even when it doesn't work the first time.

Only a few

I’d like to point out it is only in a few situations that I would say, Oh, hold on sister, maybe you need to stop that.

Those are the situation that could be physically harming you, emotionally, or mentally, that would be the only situation where I would tell you to stop.

In Online Business

Here is the thing in your online business when it doesn't work the first time around, that is just feedback that you can use to make it better than next time around.

So at your next launch, you will know that you need to do X, Y, and Z instead of A, B, and C.

I’ll say it again you only become an expert when you keep doing it, meaning stop switching your offer.

When you take your launch debrief information and use that feedback you will do even better than next time.

Your Desire

Let me point out that desire to switch or to stop. That's your brain trying to pull you back into comfort.

What most people don’t realize when you're pushing yourself outside your comfort zone you do not feel safe, it’s scary and your brain is going to keep you safe every single time.

But that's okay because the more and more you do it, the better and better you'll get the more comfortable and the safer and safer you'll feel as you're launching your offer.

Today, I encourage you to stop switching and keep on with your offer and take that feedback and make it better.

Stop Switching Your Offer

✁ Just a Snippet

Here is just a snippet of the important points, you know for the skimmer in you. 🤪

  • Stop switching your offer when something didn't work for you the first time.
  • We only become good at something when we keep trying to do it and improve upon it
  • Our natural instinct IS to keep trying even when it doesn't work the first time.
    Here is something I'd like you to think about. Does a baby give up on walking when they fall down the first time, no they keep trying until they master walking! That tells you our natural instinct is to keep trying even when it doesn't work the first time. Only in a few situations would I tell you to hold up on trying, that would be if it is harmful to you physically, emotional,ly or mentally to keep going then stop it. But, that's very different than
  • When it doesn't work the first time that's just feedback to use to make it better the next time around. We only become an expert when we keep doing and use the feedback to do it better the next time.
  • You may be switching because your brain is trying to pull you back to comfortable
 

How to reduce decision fatigue for online business owners

How to reduce decision fatigue for online business owners

by | Online Business

All those tiny decisions that you’re making every day add up to cause decision fatigue. If you can relate to this business owner, here is how you win the daily battle to reduce decision fatigue.

Its lot

As a small business owner, one thing is undoubtedly true: making many decisions throughout the day. Am I right when I say lots of decisions?

The funny thing is you may not even notice that it at the beginning of your day, but one thing is sure, you're constantly making decisions.

How do you reduce decision fatigue?

What I want you to do is take a step back when a decision pops up.

Ask this simple question. Do I have to make this decision right now? What I mean, if you were to put off the decision until tomorrow, what would happen? If it would cause you a tremendous amount of extra stress and work. Go ahead and make the decision.

Now, this is important; if nothing significant is affected by putting off the decision until tomorrow, wait until tomorrow. Okay, easy, right? Maybe, maybe not.

The solution is simple if the answer is it can wait until tomorrow, put it on your decision log, or your decision parking lot, whatever you would like to call it.

Along with a due date

But wait, there’s more along with adding the decision to the log, also put a due date.

Let me break this down for you. This date should NOT be the nice to have due date but the absolute deadline, the hard deadline when things will start to explode in your online business due date.

Decision Blocking

You must be wondering why do we do this? 

When you capture all the decisions on a log, it gets all those decisions in one spot. 

This is the magic part, you can go through and make all the decisions at one time. 

You guessed it’s time blocking for decision-making. This is the key to reduce decision fatigue. 

Now, this is important your decision log may be electronic, on paper, in your planner, or a decision block on your calendar with all the decisions you need to make that day. 

Here’s the bottom line, it must fit into your work style for the decision log to be effective. 

Trigger Your Decision Log

If you’re anything like me, you’ll need a trigger to remind you of this new process. Here’s how you solve this put a little post-it note reminder on your computer monitor.

On the post-it write the specific question, Does this decision need to be made right now? 

The post-it and question become a trigger to your brain until the new process becomes a habit and you love your decision log. This simple process will reduce decision fatigue. 

Win The Daily Decision-Making Battle  

When you get into the habit of asking yourself, does this decision need to be made right now? 

When you put those decisions on your log and time block your decision for when your brain is freshest, that is when you win the daily decision-making battle and reduce decision fatigue.  

With a process for handling decisions as they pop up throughout the day, it allows space for creativity in your business. 

Is that something you’d like for your business? 

I hope that this was beneficial. I appreciate you and I hope you have a wonderful day

​

l

Little Side Note

Ready to go down a rabbit hole regarding Decision Fatigue? Let me help you, here is an article by James Clear How Willpower Works: How to Avoid Bad Decisions – You're Welcome (; 

✁ Just a Snippet

Here is just a snippet of the important points you know for the skimmer in you. 🤪

  • As a small business owner, one thing is certainly true, you are making a lot of decisions throughout the day.
  • Reduce decision fatigue by asking this one simple question. Do I have to make this decision right now?
  • The solution is simple if the answer is it can wait until tomorrow, put it on your decision log.
  • Assign a due date to the decision.
  • Start decision blocking to reduce decision fatigue, it's time blocking for your decision-making.
  • Trigger this new habit with a post-it note on your computer monitor.
  • When you put those decisions on your log and time block your decision for when your brain is freshest, that is when you win the daily decision-making battle and reduce decision fatigue.
Does even a simple decision feel hard? Hello Decision Fatigue.