Core Content

Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt personally victimized by your Instagram feed? 

If your followers consist of other entrepreneurs in your industry, chances are you’ve felt the sting of envy. The fear that creeps in when you see their number of followers increasing day after day while your own mother unfollows you because you stopped posting photos of her grandchildren. 

Social media followers, a massive email list, Facebook Live viewers — these all fall under the category of Vanity Metrics. 

Everyone wants them. But they don’t mean shit. 

Think about it. How many thought leaders, course creators and leaders do YOU follow on Instagram? And of those people, how many of their services do you actually buy? 

If the number isn’t zero, I’m willing to bet it’s not a lot. 

A massive following might seem like the ultimate measure of success, but it isn’t. It doesn’t matter if everyone in the world is following you if no one is engaging with what you’re creating. 

A small list of people who are COMPLETELY dedicated to your mission is a hell of a lot more powerful than a massive list of people who immediately send you to spam. 

So instead of chasing a whole new audience, why not spend some time getting to know the one in front of you? Talk to them. Comment back. Ask questions. Figure out what it is they really want to see from you. 

What you want to focus on are Actionable Metrics. Things like comments, retweets, pageviews, clicks, etc. Anything that shows how your followers are engaging and using your content is important to keep an eye on because it shows you what your audience likes — and what you can improve on. 

Here are a couple ways I like to engage with my audience: 

• Adding a call out at the end of my emails asking people to reply — and then replying back. 
• Hosting free virtual sessions to work alongside each other. 
• Going live on Facebook at least once a week so I can answer any questions and be of service. 

Looking for more market research ideas? Check out my Market Research Mini Course ($37): www.marketresearchmastery.net. 

Starting a new business is exciting; there’s no doubt about that. 

Once you’ve gotten that big oh-my-god-yes-this-is-it idea, your mind immediately starts flooding with all of the things you want to do. 

You’re going to write blog posts and create a course and do a mastermind and host retreats and do coaching calls and a weekly newsletter and, and and…AND. 

Either one of two things happens: 

1. Your brain explodes and you get stuck in paralysis by analysis. 
2. You jump and start EVERYTHING at once only to be totally overwhelmed and underprepared when it all goes down. 

Whether it was clients, friends, or even myself (a looong story for another day), I’ve seen online businesses fail time and time again by making one major mistake. 

They’re flying blind. 

In this visually driven, social-media-first world, it’s easy to think that everybody is doing everything all at once. But I’ve been in this industry long enough to know that the only people who actually succeed are the ones who have a plan. 

So — how does one begin a great master plan for their business that will guide them through the next, 5, 10 and 15 years? 

Grab a notebook and your favorite pen — because we’re getting to work. 

First, I want you to empty out the contents of that beautiful mind of yours. Take a couple of blank pages and just start writing out all the things you think you need to do. It’s okay if some stuff that doesn’t have anything to do with business sneaks in there. Getting “pick up toilet paper”  on the page is better than letting it live in your brain. 

After you’ve run out of thoughts, get up and pour yourself a drink. Whether or not that drink is spiked is up to you. 

Next, I want you to read over that list and start organizing it. First business from personal. Then by areas in your business, like admin, sales and marketing, for example. Then I want you to organize it even further by time. What HAS to get done today? This week? This month? 

And more importantly — what can wait? What can we save for someday? What’s the most important big project or growth area you feel you need to tackle? What’s going to bring you the BIGGEST reward right now? 

Whew. That was a lot of digging. Better pour one more drink. 

Okay, so now that you’ve got all of your priorities laid out, I want you to schedule them. Put them in your calendar. Figure out how much time each task will take. And give yourself an extra half hour or so to do it. 

Feel a little better? Good. Because this, my friend, is just the beginning. I’ve helped hundreds of online business owners develop their own master plans and put them to action. Entrepreneurs who were overwhelmed to the point of stagnancy who are now working less, making more and loving their jobs again. 

I’ve helped them, and I’d love to help you. 

Interested in working with me? Click here to learn more.

When you’re running a business in the digital realm, it feels like there are a million and one things you need to stay on top of. 

From industry trends to sales leads to remembering to shower, it’s hard to think about the future of your business when you can barely find time to breathe in the present. 

I’ve been in your shoes, and I know the solopreneur struggle is very real. 

But if you keep operating on autopilot and powering through the chaos, eventually you’re going to burn out. And bad things will happen to your business if you do. 

It may seem like there’s barely time to eat, but we all know that if we want to make time for something we can. As a current online business owner who knows what it’s like to work 60+ hours a week while being a mom and semi-functioning human being, I vote you dedicate some time to this exercise. 

I want you to ask yourself the following three questions so you can begin to see that there’s a better (and much less stressful) way of doing business. Even on the internet. 

Question #1: How many hours are you really working?

Sure, you feel like you’re on the clock ALL THE FREAKING TIME. But how many hours behind that computer screen are you being productive—like actually checking shit— off of your to-do list—and how many hours are you browsing tabs, jumping from task to task and answering emails that could definitely wait until tomorrow? 

Question #2: Could you keep operating at the current level you’re at for the next year? 

Time flies when you’re running an online business! If you had to sign a contract that guaranteed you’d have to work the same hours and at the same level of stress as you do now — would you sign it? 

Question #3: What’s the point? 

Nobody goes into entrepreneurship because they want to sit at home all day fighting with a WordPress rep over the phone in yesterday’s PJs. Most of us have a drive, a “why” that’s keeping us in this rat race we’ve created for ourselves. 

I want to know what your “why” is — and if you’re any closer to reaching it then when you started. 

If you’re not, it’s time for things to change. It’s time to systematize your business and transform it into a well-oiled machine. It’s time to go to bed at a reasonable hour and have EVERY Friday night off. 

I’ve done it. Hundreds of my clients have done it. And so can you. 

Click here to get my Solopreneur to CEO Checklist.