Improvement is always possible and should be sought out at every possible opportunity (tweet this)
Are you ever concerned that the action you are taking at any given time is perhaps not best for your business or side endeavor in terms of its ongoing development?
If you do then congratulations: that awareness is an extremely valuable asset. If you don’t then you’re either nailing it and have nothing to worry about, or there is room for improvement that you are completely ignorant of. I have a feeling that most people fall into the second category. After all, there is always room for improvement.
In this post I want to explore that principle and explain the simple system I have used to drive consistent growth in my business over the past eighteen months so that you can do the same.
The Momentum of Success
When it comes to running my business I will forgive myself for many transgressions.
I won’t beat myself up if I lie in on a Monday morning (which is precisely what happened today) or take some time off in the afternoon to get some cricket coaching (that’s today again). Quite frankly, I didn’t work so hard to quit my job and build a successful online business so that I could be a shitty boss to myself!
However, there is one thing I do not forgive myself for: straying off track from taking action in areas that will have the biggest impact on my business. Why? Because ensuring that you take small (or big) steps towards growing your business on a consistent basis is in my opinion the key to consistent growth.
The trouble is that it is all too easy to wander off track — especially if you have experienced some success and just feel like patting yourself on the back more than anything else. However, success should breed success. That moment where you achieve something remarkable is the prime time for you to build upon what you have achieved.
Consistent Application = Results
I have learned over the past few months that conscious application in the most fertile areas of your business can create big results. That understanding is the reason for the growth of my freelance writing rate, affiliate income and information product sales. It is the reason why my net income has grown 67% in the past six months.
There are no miracles at work. In my experience, a successful online business is primarily built from two things:
- Persistence
- Leverage
Those two principles have got me to where I am today. Bullish persistence enabled me to find opportunities that I then leveraged.
You can observe this in just about everything that I do. In October 2011 I discovered that there was potential in freelance writing. My first client only paid $20 per hour but I recognized that if I developed my skills and reputation I could probably command a higher rate. Fast forward 18 months and my effective hourly rate is around $100 per hour. I persisted until I found an opportunity and have since leveraged it as much as possible.
The same goes for affiliate marketing. I worked hard for a very long time and made very little from this blog in terms of affiliate marketing — it is only in the last few months that I have began to make more than a few bucks. My persistence is paying off and my improved understanding of how effective and honest affiliate marketing should be done is enabling me to better leverage the potential that this blog has.
Finally, consider my information product. I am constantly seeking out ways of better leveraging the money-making potential that my freelance writing guide has. I have tested different price points. I am currently designing a new sales page that I will soon be testing. And just last week I managed to get a link to the sales page from Lifehacker. All attempts to better leverage my product.
How to Apply My Process Practically
Fortunately, the foundation that underpins my process is extremely simple and can be implemented within a few a minutes.
If you’re anything like me then you’ll have some sort of task-based system that helps you to keep track of what you are doing — it could be anything from a mental list in your head to a notepad and pen or an application on your computer or smartphone. Whatever your system is, I want you to add an extremely important list to it: Priorities.
Your Priorities list should include every outcome that has a positive impact on your business’ growth. I’m not talking about tasks or actions that you should take, nor am I talking about specific quantitative goals — just simple outcomes.
Here are some examples from my list to give you a better idea of what I mean:
- Increase traffic to LWB
- Increase LWB affiliate income
- Optimize and split test information product sales page
Each item on your list should devolve into a Next Action. For instance, “Increase traffic to LWB” could result in me creating a task such as, “Get a post syndicated on Lifehacker” (which is what I did last week).
You should list as many of these outcomes as you can imagine. Don’t worry about them overlapping or being too similar — that’s not an issue. Just worry about creating a comprehensive list of all outcomes that have a positive impact on your business’ growth.
Once you have completed this list the next step is to ensure that you have at least one active Next Action in place for each of the outcomes. To put it another way, you should always be working on every aspect of your business’ growth.
The process is no more complicated than that: create a list of outcomes with associated Next Actions for achieving those outcomes. The outcomes are deliberately open ended and should never be deleted until you feel that you have achieved all that you can in that area.
Business Growth Defined
Applying this thinking to my business had a huge impact.
I went from hoping that I was moving in the right direction to knowing that I was giving my business the best possible chance of growing into something bigger. My Priorities list and its associated Next Actions are evidential proof that I am applying myself in terms of building my business.
I recommend that you refer back to your Priorities list once per week to ensure that everything is on track. I also recommend that you tag your associated Next Actions in some way so that they stand out from what may be a sea of items that are less important in terms of growing your business. That way, you can always make an easy decision to apply yourself to growth every working day.
Whenever possible I try to make sure that the first thing I do on any given day is complete a Next Action that helps me to get closer towards one of the outcomes on my Priorities list. No matter what I do for the rest of the day, I will know that I did something to grow my business.
What do you think of my system? Do you plan to implement it? Do you have any suggestions, comments or criticisms to add? Let me know in the comments section!
Jacob@CashCowCouple says
My wife and I are new to the blogging world so it has taken some time to learn the ropes. We definitely agree with you about prioritizing and setting goals. We are a big fan of listing several major things to achieve each day and then getting to work. The sheer amount of things to read/do/learn can be daunting.
Tom Ewer says
It really can! There is a world of stuff to learn and only 24 hours in a day so prioritization is vital.
Iain says
I second that.
Prioritizing and setting goals can make a huge difference.
I personally am a big fan of to do lists as well. They help me keep on track in terms of connecting with people, staying on top of blogs and just plain old reminders.
Another thing that can be helpful is scheduling time for things. I don’t do this personally, but I have heard some people have great success with it.
What I mean is schedule time for, blogs to read, commenting on blogs, being on twitter etc. By doing this you will be more efficient
Nice post Tom, and great comment Jacob
Tom Ewer says
Thanks Iain!
jamie says
Hi Tom – this is a great system you have going.
You are so right about leveraging previous success “That moment where you achieve something remarkable is the prime time for you to build upon what you have achieved.”
This is similar to social proof and adds perceived value to your business or service and puts people in a position of power when negotiating rates etc.
You priorities task list is a powerful system to implement. Like when you save and get money in the bank you get interest – this is great.
But when you keep saving consistently year in year out – you get “compound interest” and that is where real wealth generation lies. Having that priority task list is similar and should be employed for all that seek to grow their businesses.
I sometimes use a couple of free tool to keep notes on such tasks – your readers might find them useful
https://www.producteev.com/
https://teuxdeux.com/
p.s. – Reading through your freelance writing guide – it’s all good content and I’d recommend it to anyone thinking about making a few bucks freelancing. Good to have it all centralized in one ebook. I converted it and read it on my kindle app on phone and tablet
keep up the good work
jamie
Tom Ewer says
Hi Jamie,
Thanks for the kind words! Some good suggestions there — personally I use The Hit List and Evernote, but it’s important that you find something that works for you.
Cheers,
Tom
Willi Morris says
Yes! Thank you! Now I don’t have to be envious anymore! (see our last Tweet convo) That is a pretty simple system! I like it. One I’ve adopted is from Erika Lyremark – it’s a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly Whip List (since she is of the Daily Whip). They are actionable goals and outcomes *plus* the mindset you want to achieve. (Like determined, relaxed, goal-oriented)
It helps a lot!
Tom Ewer says
Sounds interesting Willi, thanks!
Mike From Maine says
Tom,
It’s great to see that your income continue to increase. I love that you’ve been testing your product and I’m really excited to see what kind of results you get.
And congrats on the article in Lifehacker!
Tom Ewer says
Thanks Mike! 🙂
Niamh Brown says
I do a similar process Tom, which was taken loosely from a system called Get Things Done (GTD). I have various projects listed that I’m actively working on in any given week. Each one has listed the very next action. This way I know what things I should be focused on at any one time.
I use a great website called http://www.symphonical.com which is like a virtual scrum board with sticky notes etc.
Thanks for another good read 🙂
Tom Ewer says
Hey Niamh,
I am a huge GTD advocate and will be publishing an in-depth post in the near future about how I have adapted the system to fit my needs. This is certainly part of that system!
Cheers,
Tom
Bree says
Loving this, Tom, and I’m glad to see I’m going the right direction, too! I also make sure to write down “next actions” every night before bed so I know exactly what needs to happen the next day. I generally have a basic weekly schedule, but this customizing before bed really helps me be aware of what I can realistically get done that week on the whole.
Tom Ewer says
Hey Bree,
That’s good to read — just make sure that at least one of those Next Actions helps to grow your business!
Cheers,
Tom
Stephanie says
Thanks Tom, great post, you always give such good advice. I especially like the point about ensuring you get just one thing done. I try to keep my to do list smaller these days or I get overwhelmed. Then I just keep chipping away at it bit by bit.
Tom Ewer says
Thanks Stephanie!
Grant says
Thanks for this Tom. It has come at a very appropriate time for me. I’m feeling a little swamped with work, website and study deadlines.
It is easy to put it all off when the pressure builds. I’ve tried gantt charts and project management techniques but these end up becoming projects in their own right and add to the pressure.
I like your simplified version. It makes sense and I’m sure will clear some of the overwhelming cluttter I seem to have created for myself.
Tom Ewer says
Hey Grant,
I have found through trial, error and experience that simple is always best when it comes to figuring out what you should do next. Glad to help!
Cheers,
Tom
Joe Can Write says
HI Tom,
Great advice. From reading this post I have come up with a few priorities:
Earn $150 a day (5 days a week) from writing > Next Action: Start a portfolio site
Start a new affiliate website > Next Action: keyword research
Is that the sort of thing you mean?
Cheers, Joe
Tom Ewer says
Pretty much! Just remember that the list should contain positive outcomes and that your Next Actions take you closer to those outcomes and you’ll be good to go.
Miki Vicioso @ My Learning Process says
Great post tom! I really like how you format things makes it really easy to read! Priorities priorities is the only way to get things done.
Tom Ewer says
Thanks Miki 🙂
Erik Fonne says
Hi Tom – great post/topic! I will definitely check out your ebook on writing jobs…!
I used to hate planning my day and setting goals, but after implementing this 4 months ago; I’ve managed to write an ebook and started the hard graft of setting up my business website and create content for it. All thanks to setting daily tasks, weekly and yearly goals. No doubt about it – it works!
If I could add one really good piece of advice, especially if you’re like me still working the 9 to 5 job, I would make sure the first thing you do in the morning is do work that furthers your plan of one day working for yourself. I never answer emails before my own stuff is done for example. These are time stealers (other people crying for attention) for that precious time where you’re at your sharpest to ensure the future you’re planning for…
Kind regards and good luck to all…
Erik
Tom Ewer says
Thanks Erik. I totally agree with you — thats why I try to make sure that the first thing I do on any given day is complete a Next Action that helps me to get closer towards one of the outcomes on my Priorities list.
Cheers,
Tom
Matt McGivern says
Tom, on December 21st, 2012, I did a Google search for “make money by blogging.” I came across a few pages and resources and eventually found my way to your blog. I enjoyed it and it empowered me so much, that I dedicated myself to learning how to make money online as fast as I possibly could. Now I did not end up buying your ebook, but I visited your page every so often as I continued to zero in on the right opportunity for me. I finally found a business opportunity which, ironically, placed a lot of emphasis on blogging. This business opportunity took me to a place both inside and outside of myself that I never dreamed possible. Anyway, long story short, I want to thank you for putting together the type of blog that can inspire people to do amazing things with their lives. I highly recommend your blog to everyone I know. People actually ask me how I got my start, now that I have reconnected with your blog – as it has been a little while because I have been so busy lately – I tell them to go visit http://www.leaveworkbehind.com. Tom – if you are ever interested in having me do a guest blog for you someday, please let me know. I would be honored to oblige!
Tom Ewer says
Stories like this really make my day Matt 🙂 It’s so awesome to read that I’ve had a positive impact and I am hugely grateful for your support. I appreciate the guest post offer but I don’t actually publish guest posts here.
Here’s to your ongoing success! 🙂
Daryl says
Another great post Tom. I think your post can be boiled down to two simple things.
1. Figuring out what are the “right things” or best practices for a business
2. Putting in consistent effort to implement these best practices.
Along the way, a precise plan must be made in order to achieve both of these.
Another great post, keep it up Tom!
Tom Ewer says
You got it Daryl!
Susi Masarweh says
Tom – I’m so glad Liz turned me on to your site! You give so much here and what you write is truly inspiring and very helpful. In honor of your inspiring work, I have nominated you for the Very Inspired Blogger Award! http://fiftytwochanges.com/
Thanks so much!
Tom Ewer says
Thank you Susi, appreciate it!
Felipe Kurpiel says
Now I can see the importance of being consistent. Because if you give up when you face some difficult challenge you will never get anywhere.
This is really makes a big difference for your success online! Consistency and a strong mindset these are key factors! Now I understand that.
I really like your analysis.
Thanks for sharing.
Tom Ewer says
You’ve nailed it Felipe — nothing is more important than consistent application. You’d be amazed at where it can get you…
Sarah Li Cain says
I think the most important part of your post is the whole idea of action plans. It’s great to have goals, but without a plan on how to execute them nothing will get done. It is also useful to revisit your goals if your action plans don’t really get the results you want, or there is a better and more effective way to do what you are already doing.
Tom Ewer says
Yep — we should revisit what we’re doing and why on a consistent basis, because so often one can spend weeks or even months approaching something in the wrong manner under the misguided impression that we are getting somewhere. Thanks Sarah!
Karl (business blogger) Craig-West says
As ever, some great stuff there Tom. Thanks.
I have two approaches to achieving business goals:
The first is the mantra of “The day’s not over until the next day’s planned”, In this I write tomorrow’s to do list before I head home at the end of each working day.
The second is that I make sure I spend time every working day on some kind of marketing or business development activity. My target is an hour each time.
Thus, business is growing and I’m certainly getting a load more done.
cheers
Karl
Tom Ewer says
I do those same things Karl!
Sharon Terry says
Excellent advice. Love to focus on making something happen every day before lunch.
Moving a business relationship forward closer to your goal of closing or another action
Sharon
Tom Ewer says
Thanks Sharon!
Sofie (@WonderfulWanderings) says
I already work with priotities within my daily and weekly task lists, but don’t work with such long term goals yet.
I mean, of course I have them in mind, but they’re not written down.
I think I’m going to put them as a desktop bg:)
Tom Ewer says
Visual cues can be powerful motivators!