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When I first started in freelancing before I owned my business, one of the biggest things that kept me from really succeeding was stretching myself too thin. I wanted to do everything and be everywhere, and that wasn’t just smart on my end.

After going hard for months, I’d lose my edge and not want to do anything or see any form of online media for weeks on end. It wasn’t until I learned as a business owner what I needed to focus on and what I was doing wrong in my journey.

There were a few things that I realized weren't working for me to grow my business. You know, I didn't go into business to create an expensive hobby. I created my business to help others create aligned successful lives and businesses themselves. I had to really think about what I wanted from my business, not just the money part but really where my strengths and weaknesses are. And how I'd use my strengths to serve.

Once I got clear on that, I had to stop doing things that weren't helping me move forward as CEO of my business. I wasn't going to be stretched too thin this time.

Let’s talk about it, shall we? Here are a few things that I had to stop doing so my business could grow.

Doing It All Yourself

This was the hardest part because I mean, I’ve done it all before. I’m used it. I’ve been an Operations Manager, Project Manager, Social Media Manager, Account Manager, Customer Service Rep and everything in between. Why couldn’t I run my business and do it all?

I mean, it wasn’t enough that I am a mom, a full time business owner, and still trying to find time for things I’m passionate about (writing) – I had to DO IT ALL. Control freak much? Yep, that was me. Until I realized, doing it all causes burn out. When I was trying to wear 123124 hats, I found that is when balls dropped, clients weren’t happy, and I was stressed to the max. I couldn’t get anything done fast enough and it just didn’t feel right.

FIX: Consider hiring a virtual assistant. If you don’t have a lot to invest, try $20 – $40 a week for a few hours can really do the trick when you’re building your business.  It is amazing what a VA can get done in a short amount of time.
One tip though, make sure you have a clear idea of what you want done so you aren’t having someone just sit around. Create a video for training with a short document on what you need help with, and make sure they feel comfy coming to you if they have any questions.

Being On Too Many Platforms

I’ve seen this time and time again with managing clients social media accounts. They’ll ask, “Shay, how can I get as many views and clicks as I can?” I ALWAYS cringe when I hear that. It’s not about getting thousands of views, it is about connecting to the right people. It’s about aligning with your target market, with the people that you want to speak to, the people that you are “selling” your services or product to.

For example, I used to manage an online magazine’s digital marketing.  We focused on 3 platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest with a primary focus on Pinterest because the writers were churning out 20 – 30 articles per day.  We were able to grow clicks back to their website from Pinterest to 15,000 clicks PER DAY because we took care of the boards.

Of course some days were less and others had more, but our average of clicks per day was raised exponentially. If we tried to stretch ourselves thin adding Instagram, Google +, Reddit, etc, we couldn’t have built up the momentum that we did with focusing on just those 3 networks.

FIX: Pick 2 or 3 platforms MAX to start with. It’s okay if you want to get your name or biz name on the big ones, but truly focus your strategy on 2 or 3. Write, engage, and deliver amazing content so you can drive traffic to your offers and services. To go a step further, once you create your presence, hire this out. There is more to social media than just posting content and “hoping” something will happen. Hire a Social Media Manager to help you create a successful online presence.

Writing For Yourself

I’m a firm believer that you need to teach what you need to learn. I think that the only way to excel at your profession, whether you’re a Social Media Marketer, Life Coach, Biz Coach or whatever you are, is that you need to teach it as you learn it. When I started in digital marketing 7 years ago, I knew nothing of it. I knew how to get likes on my own personal stuff but I didn’t know how to monetize it.

I learned and taught (and I still learn, I think we are always a work in progress) and learned some more. I don’t think we’re ever on a journey where we are just done learning what we are supposed to.  With all of that wordiness out there, because you’re teaching, what does your reader need to learn? If you’re creating a video, what are you going to share that will help them or give them that “AHA!” moment?

FIX: Ask and answer! If you’re in FB groups or communities with your target market, ask what they need help with. See what they are struggling with. Find out how you can give them an answer that they need.  And no, you can’t give too much information. Most of the time, anything we have to say can be found on Google anyway!

So there you have it…. do you over do it yourself?  What are some things you could hand off or reduce so you can make your own progress?  Share in the comments below! I want to know what you could do to give yourself more time while continuing to move your business forward.

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