I was on the phone last evening with an InfoMarketer’sZone member who is getting into the new material, working his 6 Week InfoProfits Plan and already is making incredible progress toward having his first e-book out after nearly 5-years of trying to make money online.
He has tracked down an ideal niche, done his initial keyword research and is well into his second week of the checklist, working the system that will have him seeing his first sales coming through by the end of April.Â
But he had a great question for me that applies to all of us, here it is…
“Jeff, I am devouring your system, have made great progress and know that I will finally succeed with this system of building my own info product business, but there is still one thing I need help with. Like most enthusiastic, creative guys I get involved in certain parts of my business (writing, researching, working out a marketing plan) and will easily lose 10-12 hours when I should be balancing my time across other activities. How do I get better control of my time so I can see the results I want to see?”Â
Ok, so here this member thought he was the ONLY one battling hte demon of time management. Yet, the truth is we ALL battle this demon to one extent or another right?
Especially for us types who embrace life, engage in all it has to offer, dream big and take action – there are never enough hours in the day.
Now, Â I do get people telling me over and over that I seem to get more done in a day than they get done in a week, but just between you and I – my efficiency only increased after years of struggling with time managemnet and focus issues.Â
The good news is that there are some things I have found incredibly valuable for helping achieve concrete business RESULTS rather than just spending time on your business…I’m guessing these will be valuable to you as well.
1. Choose one business model and work it until it is earning you money. With online marketing you can make money
- selling your own infoproducts
- selling tangible products through e-commerce sites
- setting up content sites where advertising is the main source of revenue (ex Adsense or banner ads),
- sell your own services
- market affiliate products
- act as a front-end to CPA programs
- flipping websites
You are guranteed to fail if you focus on any more than 1 of these in the beginning…yet that is what most people do is they become distracted by different opportunities, tools, programs or training that span multiple business models.Â
A major part of being effective in your business is focus, and to focus you must narrow your initial business building down to 1 business model so you can follow the clear steps to getting that business model earning you profit.Â
So, let’s say you choose selling your own info products.Â
In that case, the 6-Week Information Product Profit Blueprint gives you a day-by-day, week-by-week breakdown of exactly what tasks are required to take you from idea through profit in 6-weeks…that degree of focus is extremely powerful, gets results and offers little risk of slipping into time wasting habits…
2. Know YOUR Best Time Of The Day. We all have optimal times of the day when we are at our best. For me, 8 AM-11 AM is my best, most productive, most positive and most energetic time of the day – so I make SURE that I reserve this time for the most important tasks on my business.Â
Those hours later in the day when you are less productive are the hours you can afford to check email, finish paperwork, respond to customers, etc…
You will be amazed at what this step alone can mean in terms of getting things done. People tend to leave the important tasks until late in the day when they are tired, perhaps frustrated, have less patience and lack creativity.Â
3. Detailed Plan Of Important Tasks. I’m not a stickler for mapping out every minute of every day, but I have found that knowing what the most important parts of getting your business model making money and making sure you are tracking results against them each day is the ONLY way to make progress in a meaningful way on your business.
For example, when I create a new infoproduct and bring it to market I know that the 3 most important tasks for me in the first few weeks are:
- Understanding my market, their desires and frustrations and the competition
- Beginning to create traffic and a relationship with my market
- Getting my info product outlined in a way I know it will get done fast
If these 3 things don’t happen, then my product will not come out on time.
Get these 3 things done and no matter what else I do, I am in great shape for launching my profit generating product in 6-weeks or less.Â
4. Shrug off Setbacks. Life has an ebb and flow to it that ensures you will have days that seem to see you take 1-step forward and then 2-steps back. At the end of a day like that, you must be able to shake it off and know that tomorrow you will make more progress.Â
I’m not going to get into scientific or philosophical discussions here, only to say that building any successful business is more like a rollercoaster than a conveyer belt…don’t get too high or don’t get too low will help you continue making steady progress, the best use of your time
5. Think Iterations. When Microsoft develops software, they don’t try and deliver everything in one release perfectly…instead they deliver phase 1 and then improve, then phase 2 and improve, then phase 3 and improve, etc…
When you create your own internet business it helps to take the same view. Good enough is good enough, then you learn, improve as the cycle continues.
Try to be too perfect and you will never get your business launched, or try and stop improving and you will quickly lose momentum.
I have found that releasing a 40-page ebook, collecting feedback and then following that with another module, report, training program or ebook based on feedback is much better than taking months longer to release a 200-page ebook (which nobody will read anyway!)
Obviously, to succeed with your own online business you need to have excitement and a big WHY (personal purpose) that drives you throughout the process, but using the time management techniques above will make sure you get the most out of the 1-3 hours you may have to spend on building your internet business into a profit center.
