Of course you’re doing
the work. Your If This Then
That (IFTTT) recipes have your Asana, Slack and Evernote accounts
buzzing with digital glee 24-7.
Yet, the reality is your
business isn’t taking off or growing like you’d hoped post launch. Customers
aren’t materializing; would-be clients aren’t committing; or sales are
still mostly hypothetical. The needle hasn’t budged, and momentum seems
reluctant to make an appearance.
Among the growthhacker
culture, social media fame and overnight success mindset, entrepreneurs - and
people who want to be -- are led to believe you can leapfrog your way to
an $100 million exit, or quit your job tomorrow and make $100,000 selling an
online course, teaching the latest guru strategies, in a single
month. This is not quite the reality.
Our culture is famous for
its overnight successes, - that really took 13 years and may have been
conceived in a parent’s spare
bedroom or garage -- a robust bullshit
industrial complex and becoming Instagram famous - Kardashian-style.
Below are three common
scenarios, which can keep your dream, progress and ultimately, your
personal definition of success, at bay.
1. Gym membership
syndrome.
We all know folks, who
have a desire to get into shape, so they join a gym - often in January.
They buy the latest athletic wear from Lulu Lemon or Under Armour; create
perfect playlists; and get a Fitbit, but they never really go. So
they experience no change.
Good intentions and the
purchasing of fancy gear is not a substitute for putting in the required work.
In business, this can be
the equivalent of building out your marketing tech stack with a bunch of cool
SaaS tools to automate everything from your email marketing and social
media posts to your lead generation and morning coffee.
A combination of
ax-sharpening, a bootstrapping mindset and genuine effort can help. Spend enough time to determine the
real problem, and research the best solution requiring the absolute minimum
investment of financial resources that will successfully overcome the challenge
and make real headway. Nothing more.
Then put in the effort.
Master each stage of the process, and see the necessary progress, or
troubleshoot until you do, before moving on or investing more.
2. Cheat code epidemic.
Thanks to Silicon Valley
and the growth hack culture, everyone is obsessed with shortcuts and cheap tricks. They’re in
hot pursuit of cheat codes that bypass having to put in real time and effort so
that fame and fortune are theirs today.
Shortcut culture can
manifest in a variety of ways, such as the illusion of guru status and fame
based on a massive Twitter following; writing hyperbole-filled LinkedIn
posts; or procuring press coverage that isn't tied to any concrete
strategy.
A Silicon Valley version
of this is developers, who game the iTunes store to increase app
downloads, then get no active user engagement. In publishing, this is the
equivalent of manipulating the Amazon algorithm so your book gets labeled a
best seller for 11 eBook downloads in some obscure niche category.
Popularity or fame does
not equal growth and profitability. It’s why you might feel famous yet
you’re still broke. No lasting success comes from cheating the system.
Plus, there’s also karma. Reprioritize; develop a plan; and work it into
existence.
3. Empty effort disorder.
This is where a lot of
time and energy can be spent in the doing of things and getting nowhere
exceedingly fast. Let’s look at two common causes.
You spent all your time
and energy doing the wrong work, often the work in your comfort zone
(networking, schmoozing, paying for more bells and whistles or tweeting)
instead of what really needed doing - upgrading or learning new skills;
and deep diving into the tedious unglamorous stuff.
Or maybe you knew exactly
what needed doing, but you didn’t get any results or make any progress.
Skimping on the follow through, or not spending time troubleshooting to
fine tune your strategy, can make all the effort seem fruitless.
Step back, and make sure
you’ve been honest about the real work that’s required at this point. Follow
through until you get results or know why you didn’t do it so you can make
quick revisions based on the lessons learned.
There are no shortcuts to
genuine growth and success. Too much focus on shortcuts, or feeling famous, and
you never get there, or when you do, things
quickly crumble.
Take a cue from Abraham
Lincoln, and spend more time sharpening your ax than you do talking about
it; chasing shiny objects; or paying for the latest solution. It’ll reduce
the amount of swings you need to take. That can be a real time and money saver.
Written By:
Tracey Boudine
Credit:
Entrepreneur.com
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