If you’ve been struggling to get your solopreneur business off the ground. Or to grow a business from 5 to 6 figures and then from 6 to 7 figures… then I can almost guarantee that a lack of narrow depth and focus (aka Shiny Object Syndrome) is at the heart of your problem.
To cure Shiny Object Syndrome you need to:
- Believe fully (100%) that the methods you’re using to start and grow a business will work. You build this belief through experience, or by hiring & trusting a coach or mentor who’s done it before.
- Focus on only one business model to start, don’t add anything. (Ex. You’re a coach and only a coach. Don’t start adding digital products or anything else until you’ve maxed out your coaching).
- Focus on only one traffic source to start, don’t add anything. (Ex. You only make YouTube videos for traffic. Don’t start doing X, LinkedIn, Facebook or Paid ads.)
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Max out your one business model and traffic source before you add anything or try a new business model.
Everyone will tell you to diversify and have a lot of different streams of income (aka business models). "You need to do courses, membership sites, paid newsletters, consulting, and group calls."
I’m not saying that’s wrong in the longterm. But a lot of times this advice comes from someone who they themselves have maxed out (or grown very large) with one particular business model and traffic source.
If you’re looking to get started, you need to go deep into one thing. And even if you’re looking to grow towards 7 figures, I can guarantee going deep into one business model and one traffic source is ALL that you need.
As a quick example: I have a friend doing over $15mm a year with his business. They have one physical product (offering different sizes) and one paid advertising channel that they use. Just one of each like I’ve been describing in this series and they’re doing $15mm+ a year. If a $15mm+ a year business is only selling one product with one main traffic source, you can too.
Now, the next part of this series of emails is tricky. I can’t tell you exactly which business model to pick and which one traffic source to go deep into. (This is obviously where hiring a coach comes in handy).
All I know is that there’s some combination of what you’ve already gained knowledge and experience in, personal preferences, time availability, monetary considerations and personality type (introversion or extroversion), chats you’ve had with customers, etc that will point you to certain business models and traffic sources versus others.
To quickly run through an example:
- If you’re already a freelancer, somewhat enjoy it, and you wouldn’t have time to start a different business, I say you stick to the freelancer model and try to max it out before you move on.
- For your one business model, you’re a freelancer, so you should try to get more clients or higher paying clients. That’s your business model for now. Don’t make it muddy.
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For your traffic source think deeply about your experience and preferences. For example: Have you been helping your clients write Facebook ads? Could Facebook ads be your traffic source? But wait, you don’t want to spend money? Okay, maybe you need to go to some fun live events and use “networking” as your traffic source.
I’m going to stop here and suggest that you take out a pen and paper – stay off your computer – and answer the following questions as best you can. (What we’re trying to do is tease out is either your ideal business model or the perfect traffic source you’d like to learn about and use.)
- Have I actually gone deep and maxed out my effort in my current business model and/or traffic source? (It’s okay to say "yes". You might be burned out.)
- What would my dream business model look like? What would I sell to whom? How much money would I make and how many hours a day would I work when the business was up and running? Dream a little.
- Who’s someone that I look up to that has a business model I’d love to have? What’s their main money maker that probably requires the least amount of time to do? (You’ll probably have to guess a little.)
- What business skills do I have right now?
- What business skills would I love to have in the future? (I’ll just tell you the best 3 to have in 2024: a) copywriting, b) creating winning offers and c) coding.)
- Have I helped a business grow? How did I do it?
- How much time can I spend working on my business each day?
- Do I like to spend money or do I like to save money?
- Am I an introvert or an extravert?
- Do I like making videos or being on video?
- Do I like meeting people in person?
- Do I like writing “how to content”?
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Do I hang out on social media a lot? Which platforms?
Run through these questions and be as honest with yourself as possible. You should see some patterns and preferences beginning to develop. Ultimately, you want to choose a business model and traffic source that you’re comfortable with.
If you hate making videos and being on camera, don’t use YouTube as your traffic source. You need to find another traffic source that works for you so that stick to it and go DEEP.
It should feel exciting or relieving to discover a business model or traffic source you like and want to learn more about.
You’ve been bouncing around for too long. It’s time to focus. Instead of slowly growing several scattered audiences or getting mediocre results and tiny drips of traffic… you’ll start to see real and exciting growth in one area. And when this happens, trust me, it will almost feel magical.
I have one more fun and different email on curing Shiny Object Syndrome that I want to send to you tomorrow. I don’t think anyone has written about this before.
Talk tomorrow!
– Derek