Information Overload

We live in a time where information and influence comes as easy as breathing. Whatever we want to know or learn about, we can pursue it and either read or watch videos on it. No topic seems to be untapped. 

But because we have all of this information at our fingertips, we can easily get information overload. And with all this information, get lost in the process of what to do with it.

Now, I’m a process and procedure sort of guy. I like to have things done in a certain order so that I don’t waste time going backward and fixing things that should have been done the right way the first time. 

I just recently launched two new Podcasts and find that having the structure of good checklists and supporting tools that I use, really helps to make my time more efficient. 

But I came up with these tools..these checklists.. because I worked out the processes and procedures in advance. That way, when it comes time to launch a Podcast, I have a certain order of events that I need to work through, not only with what I need to do, but the Podcast owner as well.

You see, I worked out a strategy. A plan. A process. And I was able to do this because I’ve launched other Podcasts before. I knew what I was in for.   

But when it come to launching an online business, some people, because they’ve never done it before, try to go through the business building process with:

• Little to no strategy

• Little to no planning

• No accountability

• And little to no support

And when they go through the process this way, it’s easy for them to be either misled or misdirected. 

The results:

• Feeling overwhelmed

• Feeling over worked

• Poor decision making

• Poor output

• Wasting money

• Wasting time

And just for the record, in my early days, I successfully did all those things that I’m telling you not to do. That’s why my first Podcast episode after the trailer episode is about learning from my mistakes. It was originally called ‘Don’t Do What I Did’, but I changed it to have a more positive tone to it instead of the ‘do as I do and not what I say’ sort of tone. 

I’ve Been There

I felt overwhelmed. I felt overworked. I made poor decisions. I wasted money…and time..a lot of time. Why?

Because I didn’t have the right plan for me. I didn’t have the right support that I needed, like a business coach. 

Now, granted, I was able to have a decent business and I certainly made good money, and quite a lot of passive income as well, which I still have, but I made those mistakes because even though I had some information (and a lot of great contacts), I didn’t know what to do with the information that I had. 

So, I still made money, but I could have made a lot more, if I had a better plan in place, I’m sure. 

So, I ‘winged it’ as we say in the US. And, because I have a growing listener base outside of the US, if you’re not familiar with this phrase, it just means that I went forward without a plan, even though I had a business plan. 

You see, it doesn’t do much good to have a business plan if you ignore the business plan. Right? 

Are you sort of getting a better picture of what ‘winging it’ means now? 

But I guess, it’s easy to ignore a business plan that was created out of almost 100% speculation anyway. 

Why take the business plan seriously when it’s just some fantasy plan anyway with a pretend income stream and a made up strategy based on wishful thinking?

But I’ve come a long way since then. I’ve learned a few things in the past 20 years that I think now, can help a lot of people. And that’s what I intend to do. Help a lot of people. 

That’s what this Podcast is all about. 

In March of 2021, I did a Podcast episode (number 26) called “Starting a Business From Zero- 7 Core Building Blocks You’ll Need to Have.” And that particular episode is one of the more popular ones, usually leading the list each month for downloads. And in that episode (I’ll leave a link in the Show notes) I went over, just as an outline, the framework that I created ‘7 Basic Building Blocks for a Personal Brand Business’.

Now, this framework does not focus on ‘how to brand yourself’, but provides the platform…the foundation, if you will, for the business. 

Critical Building Blocks

What are the 7 building blocks? 

1. Vision- where you want to go and how you’ll get there

2. Website-you’re open for business. Who you are and what you offer. 

3. Products and Services-how you can help people solve their problem

4. Marketing plan-opening a relationship with your target audience

5. Copy-the words you’ll use to sell stuff 

6. Email list-building the relationship further

7. Branding-your verbal, visual and values identity

Now, there’s no right or wrong to the order of the list, although I would say that the first one, vision, should stay first. And it’s not meant to be a timeline for the way they’re numbered either. It’s not like website should be the second thing you work on because it’s number two. 

These building blocks are all intertwined. They work together. 

You’ll need good copy for everything you create. The website copy, the promotional material for the product or service, the email list, course material, even the branding. And there is a right and a wrong way for writing copy, as I found out. So that needs to be solid.  

But having these 7 core building blocks will help you to lay a solid foundation for the business so that you can build up and out from something that’s stable. 

And I get into more detail with episodes 30-36 later on as I briefly touch on the 7 building blocks, so I recommend downloading those episodes when you can. 

And these 7 building blocks to your online business are what my 1:1 or group coaching is all about. 

Now, for some listeners, they haven’t even started yet and they’re just still in the ‘I’m thinking about what I’m going to do’ phase. And for some others, that may have launched a business already but they’re still trying to work out how to make some decent money, they may be missing one or more of these building blocks, as I like to call them, but that can be fixed. 

It’s not an all or nothing game here. And keep in mind that these 7 building blocks is my specific framework that I developed over the years and you’re probably not going to hear it put this way from anyone else, as far as I can tell.

And that’s ok. There’s plenty of other very smart people out there that have their take on what core elements you should have, and I deliberately don’t get into the finances of what you should do, because that should be between you and an Accountant as far as I’m concerned and that’s a completely different topic. 

But as far as dealing with the chaos of starting a personal brand business, I think that by having these 7 building blocks as soon as possible in your launch, (vision, website, copy, marketing, products and services, email list and branding),  it’ll help to keep you focused and on a better trajectory toward a profitable business. 

It’s worked for me. I’m sure it’ll work for you as well. 

So, how to avoid chaos in starting a personal brand business? Lay a good foundation. Have a solid plan in place. Have a timeline. 

This way, you’re not just reacting to whatever the problem is for that day. You’ll be more focused. You’ll have more purpose in the things you’re working on. 

It worked for me. I’m sure it’ll work for you as well. 

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