In a recent post, I showed you my tried and tested process for creating a successful online business.
It’s a formula that works so well, I’ve based The Freedom Formula, my forthcoming course, on it.
But experience has shown me that simply having a great process at your fingertips isn’t always enough—you also need a laser-sharp focus on the right things if you’re going to get to where you want to be with your new online business.
So what are the ‘right things’ to focus on?
Well, perhaps it’s easier to show you in the context of what not to focus on first of all because this is where plenty of new online businesses stall.
We’ve all heard the saying ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’, right?
But sometimes it’s the big stuff that you need to learn not to sweat about and when you’re building an online business, that rings especially true.
So here are the top 4 things I don’t want you to sweat when you’re building your online business:
Don’t sweat…the technology
Just the word ‘technology’ can be enough to get some of us breaking out in a cold sweat.
And you would not believe the number of people who’ve said to me, ‘I’d love to set up an online business but I’m just not a technology person’.
Listen to me:
While we’ve never lived in a more technologically advanced age, technology has never been so easy to use.
Sure, you won’t know it all to start with, but there are some amazing tech solutions out there like Thinkific (which I swear by), that are more intuitive and simple than you can imagine.
And the thing is, help is always at hand when you get stuck, whether it’s from support teams like Thinkific’s or online tutorials or you own community of fellow entrepreneurs (members of The Club, my membership programme, even get access to my very own tech whizz, Mossy.
What he doesn’t know about technology isn’t worth knowing). Technology is an enabler, not a barrier.
Focus instead on: finding the right solution for you, getting good at asking for help, learning as you go along.
Don’t sweat…the long-term plan or the big goal
Hang on, don’t focus on the long-term plan?
Is she serious? Yes, I am!
Of course, you need to know where you’re going, but remember that building an online business is a process.
There’s just no way you can just fast-track to the end, so getting too fixated on that end point can have a negative effect on your progress and frankly, freak you out.
Take it step by step, focus on smaller milestones, like choosing an online course platform or building an email list. I promise you, you’ll make it to your goal if you keep on taking the right steps, one after another.
Focus instead on: faithfully following the process, celebrating small steps.
Don’t sweat…the competition
I’m going to be honest with you: There has never been more competition out there.
So while I encourage you to do your research and understand who else is offering similar products to yours, I also encourage you to let the comparisons end there.
There’s only one you, after all.
Take it from me, there’s no quicker way to feel unmotivated than to get caught up worrying about what others are doing or comparing your initial steps with the apparent success of someone who’s way ahead if you on their own particular journey.
It’s like comparing apples to oranges. So don’t do it!
Focus instead on: taking inspiration from people who are doing what they do well, building your own unique personal brand.
Don’t sweat… the perfect strategy
Feel like you can’t get started because you don’t have the perfect, detailed strategy yet?
Don’t sweat it.
Real entrepreneurs start with the vision, learning what they need to support them as they go along. If you know where you want to get to, that’s enough to start moving forward.
Wait til you’ve got the perfect strategy, on the other hand, and your window of opportunity might have already slammed shut.
Go to any Facebook office and you’ll see posters here and there saying ‘done is better than perfect’. I could not agree more.
You have to just do it and perfect it later—but don’t wait until you can do something perfectly before starting, because that day may never come.
Focus instead on: enjoying the process, being flexible, noticing what works and what doesn’t and learning from it.
The post Don’t sweat the big stuff: what NOT to do to build a successful online business appeared first on Shaa Wasmund MBE.
