This morning I found myself needing to take my own advice, I knew I had work to do, but didn’t really know where to start. Pen, paper and my wife to talk things through. My wife is the business head in this house (guest posting here soon) and what we discussed next is obvious, but vital if you’re running a business or about to change your website from a blog into a money maker.
You simply can’t build something if you don’t know what you’re building, seems a no brainer right? It’s like having a stack of engine parts, cylinders of all sizes, different sized turbo and injectors that will fit everything. You would need a clear idea of building a high output 3.8 Litre twin turbo power house, or a 8.0 Litre smooth W12. Unless you have a clear idea what type of engine you are going to build, you’re not really going to build anything.
- Grab A Pen and Paper
OK first things first you need to get a pen and paper or open a word document on your screen. Now quite simply write down exactly what you want to be earning per month. This isn’t aimed at next month, nor the month after, but what you want to be earning eventually. Don’t sell yourself short here, if you think you and your families time is worth $100,000 a month then write it down.
Seriously think about what you would be happy with coming in every month, the how comes later, just think about how much you want to be earning every single month.
- Break It Down
OK here comes the fun part, I want you to write down how you are going to earn that amount of money. If you are going to earn that figure directly or as a result of your website or current business then break down all the things that will make you money. Things like services to companies, book sales, advertisements, feature writing, paid reviews etc etc.
So got your list? OK some of you are reading the post before getting your pen, that’s cool, just remember to come back and complete the process once you have read this post. Now I want you to break down how much each of those money makers will make you and make sure it adds up to the figure you want to be earning. For example;
Your Goal; $10,000 Per Month
-$2,000 Book Sales
-$1,000 Paid Reviews
-$2,000 Affiliates
-$4,000 Services to companies
-$1,000 Adverts
Now you have your breakdown of how much you are going to earn and how you are going to earn it. Don’t start thinking about how you are going to do it or how long it will take nothing like that just get it broken down like this.
- Top Of The List
Now go to the top of your list (those who are still reading make sure you come back with a pen) and in this instance it’s book sales;
How are you going to create a book? How are you going to sell it? Who will buy it? Can you get others to buy it?
If your book is ready, are people buying it? If not why not? Is it being pushed in front of people enough or does it need more exposure? This is a pretty important step, you really need to focus on getting this book of yours close to completion or sold, what ever stage you’re at, this is your task. It’s right here in front of you, get this task finished.
- Action
I talked about getting it finished above, but the final thing about all this is actually taking action. I’m not professing to know everything, nor am I pretending to be the oracle on business matters, but if you are like me and you’re in the initial stages of transforming a site into a business then this just might help. You could have things available to sell on your site and may well have a ‘Hire Me’ page, but a business makes money, and for your business to do that, you need to take action.
What does everyone think?
photo credit: Mark Rigler UK
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Hi James,
I use a white board to write down my plans and goals. Since the white board is in front of where I work at home, it reminds me of the important tasks that I need to complete to achieve my goals. It also allows me to stay focused on the tasks that matters most.
Aaron
.-= Aaron´s last blog ..How to change your Facebook Vanity URL for a second time! =-.
That’s the way I kind of do it, get it out of my head and onto paper, I like the idea of a white board to create spider maps etc.
At Google offices they extensively use white boards since it is easy to visualize the ideas.
.-= Aaron´s last blog ..How to change your Facebook Vanity URL for a second time! =-.
Really? I didn’t know that. Is it google that has the flexible working hours? Employees pretty much work when they want?
They certainly do! I have a glass board (same as a white board except it’s glass) for the same purpose. It looks a bit better in your house than a white board too!
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..Video: Has personal oursourcing gone to far? =-.
Very NCIS/Numbers !
What do I think?
I think you should get cracking!
Then bring ya family down here for a great weekend sometime!
Seriously though, go for it, but you will probably see that the reality is somewhat different than the ideal, as with anything, get that first bit flowing, cos that’s the hardest part of the lot.
Snowball effect takes a long while in my experience and I am still building mine, slowly but at least the damn thing is moving along.
Takes years to be an overnight success, as they say.
.-= rob sellen´s last blog ..Portland Bill accommodation choices =-.
Yep agreed, it does take time, that said I think a bit of dynamite always helps the momentum a bit! lol
Oh no doubt it will mate… just don’t forget M Caines words … “you’re only supposed to blow the bloody doors off”
.-= rob sellen´s last blog ..Commentluv, more than links, comments, traffic, and why you should use it =-.
In my internet marketing business, I often use the “spray and pray” approach.
I go on binges where I might buy 25 or more pre-owned content rich domains that i will someday develop. I throw them up on the net and put a couple posts on them and may not return for several month or more.
Then one day, I get a free hour and I go nuts on one of those sites and turn her into a money-maker.
That’s how I do it, and so far, it has worked out well because I never get bored of working the same project all day everyday.
I don’t always run my biz this way, but more often than not, I do. That is the great thing about being your own boss online.
AL
.-= Allyn´s last blog ..How To Get Links By Darren Rowse And I Agree! =-.
Brother would you ever consider revealing how exactly how you do it? If so bang me an email
Thinking of selling up brother?!!!
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..What you can learn from chefs =-.
Not me dude
$10,000 is my goal. I’m doing it one penny at a time!
What I’m doing is working, so I’m just doing more of it and extending my reach. Setting up more affiliate sites, adding more ways to make money, like my ebook this year. It’s a neverending process.
Out of interest how much of your income is made up from affiliates?
Half my income. I took Pat Flynn’s advice today and set up a Resource page with affiliate links. It will be interesting to see if it makes the site more money. It was not easy to do. Took me almost ten hours.
Can you send me the link to it ? I might steal some ideas from you? It’s something I’m only really starting to get into
I sent you an email.
Thanks brother, just replied
Hi Richard, I did the same thing and created the resources page. Early days, but it’s getting traffic, will see how it goes on.
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..Video: Has personal oursourcing gone to far? =-.
Hi Richard, I did the same thing and created the resources page. Early days, but it’s getting traffic, will see how it goes on.
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..What you can learn from chefs =-.
I really need to try this approach!
.-= Mama Zen´s last blog ..Review: The View From Brindley Mountain =-.
Man, I’ve never been so specific, as I tend to draw rough goals into my sketch book, artist style. In a few month from now on, when the traffic is abysmal high and I have great community interaction, I’ll start planning like this !
.-= Mars Dorian´s last blog ..This is what You tell Them ! =-.
cool man, hey brother bang me that email about the interview
Having a plan in mind for things and getting it written down on paper some how and then putting it to practice will really set things up for you.
It’ll get even easier and go faster after you’re started out too. That way you have more ideas of how things work and will work when you’re further along.
I’ve been reading your 20/7 rule by the way and so far love it. Let you know more about that later though!
.-= Eric´s last blog ..My Best Blogging Tip =-.
Hey brother thanks man, it’s great when the tutorial gets great feedback thanks man
I’d like to add that when you’re planning which actions to take, it is a good idea to create a time frame for your plan. This prevents you from spending too much time on only one task.
.-= Julius´s last blog ..NVDA: A Free Alternative to Screen Readers =-.
Time frames are really good for focusing your energy, it’s so easy to give up after a week or so when you don’t have any results or focus
Hi James, great post.
Starting with the end in mind helps you visualise your destination and if you keep that in your mind (like driving to the seaside when you go on holiday) you blot out distractions and everything you do, you know that it takes you to towards your goals.
Thanks for sharing!
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..Pay your self first and other money lessons =-.
anytime brother, it’s something I make sure I focus on a lot
I think you hit it right on the head. These are great tips and I agree that we should write down our earnings goals. This is very hopeful and I will be sure to implement this advice.
Thanks for sharing!!
I capture the plan creatively first in mind maps that sit on the wall in front of me… then I take the ideas from those and turn them into products and income streams. Allows for the new ideas to keep flowing!
Mind maps and brainstorm bubbles are a great little tool, I do one probably every couple of weeks or so
We all have these mind-blank moments and to be frank, I’m starting to see the good side out of this. Probably I’m too accustomed to what I’m doing and my brain is reminding me for a change – let it be minor or huge depending on the situations.
I love how you channel this into a more proper planning, which is a must. Break them down with pen/paper – that’s what I did last weekend, in fact.
@wchingya
Social/Blogging Tracker
.-= Ching Ya´s last blog ..4 Major Tips to Personalize Your Twitter Background =-.
Hey Ching.
Yeah it’s a must to channel that energy, in fact you have just inspired a post idea!