What would you do today if you knew you couldn’t touch your business for two weeks? Would you need to automate outsource the things you are currently doing yourself?
Whatever just popped into your head…that’s exactly what you need to implement now. Let me explain.
On a recent holiday I didn’t have access to a computer for almost a week. If you’re an Internet marketer, you know your whole business is run from a computer (or iPhone or iPad). If your like me, being away from your emails, sales statistics and social media for even half a day is like telling a kid they can’t have that lollipop at the checkout…you just don’t do it.
No technology in sight: Dinner with a view
If you happened to die tomorrow, how long would your business keep making money? If the answer is not long, then it’s time to put systems in place.
Considering the unlikelihood of being hit by a bus tomorrow, the next best thing to force yourself into automating and systematizing your business is to take a holiday of at least 2 weeks.
On my overseas trip to Bali, I realised there were holes in my business that meant I had to be there, answering emails and talking to customers. That’s not what a business owner should doing. Sure you need to be involved with that side of things, but you need other people to take care of that on a daily basis.
Identify what’s currently working
The great thing about the Internet is leverage. You can write an article or create a video and have that one piece of content deliver floods of traffic to your websites (your 24/7 salesperson)…over and over again…from one time work. For example, a video I created last year for one my niche businesses has been watched by over 30,000 people. Of those viewers, more than a quarter will visit my website and then on average 1 in 100 will purchase. That single video has created thousands of dollars in profit for me. Multiply that by 5, 10, 20 videos and you can see how powerful leverage is. I’ve been able to automate most of my traffic. During my 3 week holiday thousands of people visited my websites…all because of automation.
Plug up the holes
After 7 days of no email access, aside from thinking clearly and simply slowing life down, I had a customer support problem. Customers who couldn’t get videos working, clients who wanted questions answered…leaving those emails unanswered is bad for business.
I realized the next step in automation was to outsource the customer support. This would mean hiring someone to log in once a day to respond to emails and keep clients happy. As a mentor of mine, Cory Boatright said, “No one is ever going to be as good as you. Get passed that”. If you’re caught up on hiring someone who can’t do the job as good as you, give them a chance.
Out of the gate most employees will need training and guidance, and won’t be very good. But given a few weeks and a chance to learn most workers will get the hang of how your business runs. They might not be as perfect as you, but the key to success is progress, not perfection.
Some the main things I outsource are websites (SuperFastWebsites), SEO (SEO partner) and business automation tools (Nanacast).
