If you’ve ever been stuck on a problem in your online business and didn’t have a clue where to start, here’s a technique that may work for you. It’s called “unraveling the strings of success.” You’ll be able to visualize those strings as you see how it works.
1. Figure out what you want. It may be a new website, more subscribers, fewer support tickets. In online business terms, let’s say I want “more sales.”
2. Now take that goal and ask yourself “What do I need to get more sales?” Again, for the online business owners, it’s probably something like better website sales conversions, more traffic, better followup.
3. Next take one of those topics and start unraveling it. “If I want more traffic, what do I need?” More links to my site, more affiliate referrals, more clicks from my ads.
4. Now take one of those topics and continue to unravel it. “If I need more links to my site, what do I need?” More links from articles, more directory links, more blog posts linking back to my site.
5. Now take one of those topics and keep repeating the process of unraveling it. “If I need more article links, what do I need?” Write more articles, hire others to write more, distribute them to a broader audience. Your answers can be broad or precise. The idea is to identify the factors that are stopping you.
[tbpspa]You can see the pattern. I generally use a sheet of paper or a spreadsheet and keep writing the links from one item to the next – making the string longer as it unravels. Eventually you will reach the point where you say I don’t need anything else except Action. And that’s where you start.
The unraveling process is simple and often points out a flaw in your thinking or your business planning processes. For example, the longest strings are the parts of your business that you neglect. The shortest strings may give you the fastest results.
If the same item shows up in more than one string, it may mean you have a crossover in your processes. It may be a source of confusion for you and your staff. Or it may be a way to complete a single item and shorten two strings.
When using this unraveling process on your business, you are able to move to the Action phase of your planning sooner. Plus you’ll have a visual map of how your business works.
This is a great exercise and we should do it on a quarterly basis. Having said that, in reality it means we may get it done on a yearly basis.
This is a great post for me today. Last evening I attended a great publishing webinar. The presenter was showing us how to find the perfect title for our books. The title also needed to be reflected in the URL of the companion website.
I started checking on domain names only to find my first choice was taken. After several additional checks and frustration building, I found two acceptable URLS, but I really wanted my first choice.
It was time to see who had the nerve to registered my perfect URL name and when. You know where this is going, don’t you? Imagine my surprise when I read that I had registered it on April 5th.
Seems I remember you suggesting we use an Excel spreadsheet to prevent this very frustration. If I had used the information I received in the Organize Your Online Business course I took a couple of years ago, I would have known I owned it.
Right, I get it now – time to review that course, in detail.
That’s FUNNY, Holly! Thanks for sharing that story. Don’t you love it when you find out how smart you WERE?
And thanks for the great commercial for Organize your Online Business. When I say it’s truly the systems I use in my business – it is exactly how I run my business! Right down to my domain names.
Looking forward to seeing your book in print (digital print, I assume!)