Practice Makes Progress Part 2

Last week I posted about Progress Making Perfect.

Today it is about where you are spending time “practicing” to make progress.

Where are you spending your time and calling it “progress” when it is really just busy work? 

I STILL get caught up in this cycle of focusing on the activities that “feel” like I’m making progress but in reality…I’M NOT!

I also used to get frustrated that I had no time.  My calendar was so full I couldn’t possibly fit in another thing and was starting to get overwhelmed and resent my business.

Real Talk:  You only have so much time in your day and so much energy to expend.  Spend it on the actions that make you money or move your business forward so you can see traction in your business.

Most of us have heard the 80/20 rule: 80% of profits come from 20% of customers, then 20% of clients bring you the greatest value in your business.

Let’s take that out a step further…It is called the 64/4 Rule*.

Take 80% of 80 and 20% of 20 and you get the 64/4 Rule.

64% of effects in your business come from 4% of causes.

The majority of your success comes from the top 4% of your ACTIONS.

I want you to write down all the actions you regularly take in a week for your business, how often you do them (how much time spent) and then I want you to list the benefits/outcomes it provides.

 I try to stick to 4 main categories for ultimate clarity:

1. Lead Building / Create Raving Fans (Impact NOW)

2. Invitation to Invest (Impact Income NOW)

3. Client Work

4. Busy Work (Future Impact)

• *Leads / List Building / Fill the Funnel (Now Impact)

  *Serving (list all places you show up, what you do, how often you do it, and the benefit) i.e. Social Media, Podcasts, Guest Speaker, 6 FB groups every Monday to post on their promotions thread, etc.

  *Posting the content you created with CTA to a lead magnet 

  *Showing up to serve or answer questions

  *Affiliate Marketing

  *Professional Referral Partnership coffee chats

  *Coffee Chats, Wine Down Wednesdays, Connection Calls

• *Invitation to Invest (Now Impact)

  *Discovery/Sales/Connection Calls, writing nurture email sequences, autoresponders, etc.

  *Sales Calls

  *Actively Launching something for sale

  *Present Webinar, Masterclass, etc.

• Client Work 

  *Live Q&A

  *Live Coaching / Consulting

  *Producing results through service, support, or creation

  *Answering questions in your FB group

  *Recording Voice over PowerPoint for your course/membership? 

  *Uploading of assets into Kajabi to support clients, students

  *How much of your day is spent servicing/supporting current clients each week (you can average this)

• Busy Work: (Future Impact)

  *Logo

  *Branding

  *Content creation

  *Copywriting

  *Edit my site/sales page

  *Kajabi Tech/Set Up (uploading, editing, adding, etc.)

  *Attend Coaching, Courses, Consulting, challenges, masterminds, classes, books read, tutorials

  *Creating a new Lead Magnet 

  *Creating assets for your own course or membership

  *Creating a Quiz funnel

  *Updating or refreshing your website/sales page

  *Content creation - what, where, how often

  *Work on MY Business  / Growth for Transformation of Self

  *Quiz creation/Analytics

Are my categories perfect and do some of the "tasks" crossover?

No and Yes! 

This is just to get you started to think differently about what tasks you do in your day and which ones TRULY impact leads and income NOW.

HOMEWORK- Do this after your 4% tasks: 😅

Write down what you regularly do every week in your business.

Action                    How Often                     Benefit 

Which of the actions you take above generate leads or create income NOW? Be honest. 

Do not fool yourself into believing that all actions increase leads or income….. I’m about real talk and not blowing sunshine up your skirt or pant leg.   

It’s why you love me!

Review what you wrote out.  

*Highlight the actions that move your business forward by gaining leads or increasing income NOW.

Hint: Serving your current clients is NOT a 4% action.

*What “4% actions” will you perform on a daily basis (or regular basis) that are lead-generating or income-producing? 

Working in/on your Business or what I refer to as “Busy Work”

I’m not saying that working on tasks that don’t bring you leads or make you money isn’t important, but they do NOT help you gain traction in your business NOW - they have their place and are valuable…

>>>BUT before you do those tasks, ask yourself…

…have you launched yet? 

…have you sold at least one offer?

…have you been able to repeat that sale? 

…are you seeing traction?  

…have you perfected your one offer so it is running on all 4 thrusters and is a proven repeatable, scalable success? 

If no… focus on the 4% Traction Gaining Activities you can take that generate leads or are income producing.

4% Traction Gaining Activities Examples:

• Show up in a way that creates raving fans and showcases your expertise where your Right Fit Client® hangs out - but in a measured, meaningful, intentional way: Pick no more than 2 Social Media platforms and then limit inside those social media platforms to no more than 2 MAIN places your audience hangs out! Add into your week as needed: Podcasts, Guest Speaking, Content Creation

• Calls that lead to Sales (Discovery, Connection, etc.) or create raving fans if they don’t buy.

• Build Referral Partner Connections

• Gain Proof that your audience is looking for and desires your offer

• Power of One: GO LIVE IMPERFECTLY on your ONE

• If you can take action NOW with Business Development (if you haven’t already taken a course, read a book, or have something in your library on the topic) that shifts a mindset, teaches you a skillset, or provides a toolset with the outcome of more leads or increasing sales where you can implement and take action IMMEDIATELY. 

If yes… add these types of actions into your day after your 4% daily actions are completed.

• Perfecting a Logo if you haven’t even gone live with your offer

• Getting your branding just right if you haven’t sold one offer online 

• Content creation beyond your regular 4% action for future use

• Attending another class on launching when you’ve already attended several, hoping this one might just have that “magic bullet”’ you are looking for

• Purchasing yet another course on list building when you have 2 other courses just like it in your library of assets

• Saying yes to blocking out time in your calendar to attend yet another free challenge on a topic/technique you MAY use in the future but doesn’t serve you now.

• Going down the rabbit hole of the time suck on more than 2 FB groups AND/OR several other social media platforms creating content, reels, serving, etc., and wondering where your day went

• Attending coffee chats/wine down dates without having the goal of “professional business referral partner” building in mind

• Editing your auto email sequences, over and over, before you “launch” and you haven’t sent out a single broadcast email

• Creating more offers or products

May I share with you the activities that I do every day when I choose to work? (remember, build a business around your life, not the other way around)  

For reference, I have 2 businesses:  

1. My own, Kimi Brown LLC, is around providing Conversion Strategy for those not seeing consistent sales in their online business. 

2. I am co-founder, with Meg Burrage, for a 12-month program that launches 3x a year called Heart-Centered Apprentices (HCA) where we provide guidance and support as students build out their own successful side hustle providing Kajabi support to online business owners. 

I choose to be present Monday - Thursday 10 am - 5 pm Mountain Time.  

On Fridays, I take off unless I have a Coffee Chat scheduled.

So, what could your week look like when you bring these traction-gaining activities AND continue to serve your current clients?  

If you want to ensure your business has the best chance of gaining traction and maintaining momentum, reach out to a Conversion Strategist who can help you plan out your 4% actions and where to focus your limited time and energy AND still serve your current clients.

Let’s give you the very best chance at making progress that will get you paid along your journey of perfecting it.   

Here’s to taking imperfect, targeted, and strategic action,

Kimi Brown

Joyful Contrarian

*Sources for 64/4 and 80/20:  Accountingtoday.com; Quora.com; Forbes.com; Predictableprofits.com