If you could go back in time and do one thing differently in business, what would it be?
February Group Discussion Question
Each month, I’ll pose a question for us to discuss in the comments. The goal is to crowdsource the best resources, advice, and recs. Everyone can see the question of the month and my personal answer, but only paid subscribers can join in the comments to share their answers.
Question: If you could go back in time and do one thing differently in business, what what you do?
My answer: Only one thing? If I could go back in time, I would get real clear on the business activities that actually make money and stop wasting my time on activities that don’t move the needle. Here are three examples:
I spent hours on Instagram posts and reels to promote my ONE product. What should I have been doing? Creating more products! Creating my own intellectual property that I can sell again and again is way more productive than creating a few Instagram posts that no one ever saw.
I spent way too much time on local craft shows. I wanted the quick win of selling a few books but, at least for me, these did not pay off. Prepping, traveling, setting up a booth, and sitting for 6+ hours to sell a few books was not a good use of my time. What should I have been doing? Writing blog posts (blog post examples here) that were Search Engine Optimized so I could continue to bring traffic to my website over and over again, without sitting all day in a parish gymnasium.
Instead of spending hours trying to manufacture the perfect book with all the bells and whistles, I should have started with a minimally viable product that could be produced easily. If people liked my book, they’d buy it whether or not it had a concealed wire-o binding (don’t get me started on how complex this was). What should I have been doing? I would have immediately launched multiple cover options and book bundles (here’s an example), something I had to wait a long time to do when I was fussing over one book.
I think you can see the trend here: how we spend our time. It’s much easier in hindsight. It’s a lot harder when we are in the thick of it. I spent so much time on little activities that didn’t move the needle. What works for one person might not work for another.
So, take a minute to ask yourself:
What activities do I do that are the biggest payoff?
How much time do I spend on activities that don’t generate sales?
Start making a list now! Don’t be afraid to cross things off your list that aren’t working for you, or to say no to opportunities that you know aren’t a good fit.
Now it’s your turn. What would you go back in time to change? Paid subscribers, leave your answers in the comments section.