Plan for the things you can control, don’t worry about the things you can’t
|
|
|
Last week I had the bloggers nightmare. No internet at home. No usable internet connection whilst away on business. I worried about this for a few minutes. I worried about the effect it would have on my site traffic. I worried about the impact on sales and the impact on comments.
Then I realised that there was nothing I could do about it. My website was still up and ready for business. I was still receiving emails on my iPhone and my PayPal account was receiving income.
It wasn’t as if my business had closed down.
In reality all that had really happened was that I couldn’t update my website. I didn’t have a product launch or anything that had an immediate need to be released to the site, so it didn’t really matter.
It was like being off work sick. You don’t want to be off, but then you can’t do anything about it.
Sometimes sh!t happens.
As it happened I managed to get a weak signal in a hotel corridor and managed to write Wednesday Wisdom. Although it took me a very slow 2 hours to complete, but it was the only article I managed to post all week so I spent the rest of the time exploring blog development ideas and contacting potential guest posters to move the blog forward.
With this lack of blogging activity I expected to find the following:
- I expected a (hopefully temporary) fall in my Alexa rankings.
- I expected a fall in site traffic due to lack of posting frequency
- I expected a drop in comments and re-tweets
Instead the opposite happened.
There was a small improvement in Alexa ranking
Traffic was actually marginally up on the previous week.
It was a record week for newsletter / email sign ups
Increased Facebook ‘Fans’ + Increased number of visits to my Facebook Page
RSS Subscribers increased
Services sold
All in all, not a bad week at all.
So, what have I learnt from this, maybe I don’t need to post as often as I think I do…Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate your business and the assumptions you have made about what you need to do to make it successful?
How to overcome problems
When you can’t do anything about the problem you’re facing, there’s no point worrying about it. It’s a waste of time and a waste of energy. Focus on what you can control.
Which reminds me of one of my clients. He worried about everything. He worried about how many calls he missed when he was not in the office. He worried about items getting lost in the post. He worried about not getting stock in time for Christmas. He worried about loss of business when he went on holiday.
Now can he do anything about each of these problems? No he can’t.
But what he could do:
is hire a receptionist or use a virtual assistant or forward his calls to his mobile when he goes out. He could use a courier and track his parcels when they’re sent. He could use alternative suppliers for his products and to ensure service whether he is the country or not, he could use a drop shipper.
So, if you have a problem, then rather than focusing on the problem, focus on the outcome that you want to achieve.
Then when you find solutions or alternatives outcomes, you can eliminate the problem.
Have you had any experience of worrying about a problem, when focusing on the solution would have served you better?
Related posts:
Hi Matthew
Yes I have worried about heaps since I started blogging! From will anyone ever see my posts to will I be able to make enough from selling products to bring in an income. However, as you say, worrying doesn’t solve the problem. In fact it can prevent you from being productive.
Once I got over the initial fear and what ifs I began to plan and guess what??!! The traffic came and is still coming. The products are selling and each day I learn something new to make me a better blogger. I’m loving it and other than the techie stuff which I find incredibly hard to grasp; everything else is great
Even with the techie stuff. Since I have become active in the blogging community I have been receiving offers of help and techies coming across to my blog, checking my back office and doing whatever techies do to upgrade and sort plugin, themes and the like.
So much better to enjoy the journey. Something I am learning to do more and more. Thanks for an inspirational post Matthew. You definitely rock.
Patricia Perth Australia
Patricia@lavenderuses´s last [type] ..Lavender Products Galore-Must Be Party Time
Matthew Needham Reply:
November 23rd, 2010 at 10:56 pm
Patricia, from reading your posts and comments on other blogs it’s clear that you’ve come a long way very quickly. Now you’re earning money on line you need to keep up the momentum, which I’m sure will happen as you’re putting in so much work. Keep it up and thanks for sharing your awesome experiences.
Hi Matthew,
Your post has something in common to the one I posted just a couple of days ago
You wrote about not worrying about the things you can’t control, and I wrote about being grateful even when things go out of control. I think it’s a nice combo.
Do you ever get this feeling, from many such coincidences of two or more people writing about (almost) the same thing, that we are all connected in “mind”?
Nice post, and I am glad you took your internet connection problem with the right attitude.
Cheers,
Mark
Mark of Success´s last [type] ..Can you turn negative happenings into positive experiences
Matthew Needham Reply:
November 23rd, 2010 at 10:55 pm
Hi Mark, it’s a small world! I think the more we spend social networking, blogging and commenting the more we become connected. Great point!
Mark of Success Reply:
November 25th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
Matthew,
Indeed, it’s a small world.
I’m dropping by to wish you a thankful Thanksgiving Day! You are special to me, and I just wouldn’t let this opportunity go by without letting you know.
Thank you so much for being a part of the Secrets of Success community!
Wishing you success,
Mark
Mark of Success´s last [type] ..Thanksgiving Day- Thanksgiving Month and a Thanksgiving Life
Matt,
Yes, you can always hire an assistant if you are running a profitable business and you’re afraid your absence is going to affect sales or services.
As you also said in the first half of your post, it’s also possible to still be profitable if you have a passive income stream that doesn’t require your attention everyday.
It’s important to have some kind of alternative whenever you are going on holiday or some freak event occurs. If your business needs constant attention then you are going to need to seek assistance from others.
Thanks for the tips, very good article that I will definitely pass around.
Steven´s last [type] ..How To Develop A Palate For Anything
Matthew Needham Reply:
November 23rd, 2010 at 10:53 pm
Hi Steven, thanks for the comment here. I think the old adage hope for the best and plan for the worst rings true here. As you say, how you organise yourself makes for a successful business or a failure.
Matthew:
Isn’t it amazing how things work out when we sometimes think the worst will happen.
Sometimes not having an Internet connection can help you look at your business from a different perspective. I was on vacation last week and Disney World with my family and I did not even open my laptop. The good news is my business did not fall apart. I focused on what mattered to me, my family. I knew Iwas going on vacation so I did a few extra tasks the week before and I did not worry about what would happen. Honestly, every thing could have blown up but I had such a wonderful time with my family that I was not going to worry about it for that week.
It does help to be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to issues that arise. Things are going to happen that we don’t plan for. How we react to those issues really define who we are.
Take care!
- Rick
Rick Byrd´s last [type] ..8 Reasons Why Are You Not Succeeding Online
Matthew Needham Reply:
November 23rd, 2010 at 10:51 pm
Hi Rick, glad you had a good week off and focusing on what matters. I have a week off next week and I’m looking forward to spending time with the family (plus it’s baby BRT’s first trip overseas on a plane!)
Rick Byrd Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 12:56 am
Enjoy your week off with the family. The flight should be interesting. I would recommend giving the little one a little Benadryl to help with sleeping on the plane, not too much just a little.
Have fun!
- Rick
Rick Byrd´s last [type] ..8 Reasons Why Are You Not Succeeding Online
Matthew Needham Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 10:39 am
Thanks Rick. You’re right, that’s the bit we are most worried about keeping him occupied for the time we are on the plane! I will check Benadryl out, sounds a good idea. Thank you.
Hey Matthew.
I once worried about maintaining a posting schedule of 6 or 7 days each week, but the reality is that no penalty police will show up and give you the blues. As you’ve pointed out, things happen that are simply beyond our control, so we should just deal with that and get back to work as soon as we can.
This is one of those lessons we learn as the journey unfolds.
Jimi Jones´s last [type] ..How to Create New Habits and Follow Your Dreams
Matthew Needham Reply:
November 23rd, 2010 at 10:50 pm
Hey Jimi, thanks so much for the comment. You’re right. As life unfolds our education improves!
Many of us are predisposed to focusing on the problem rather than finding a solution. It’s hard to break from such habit but with constant awareness we can change our perception of problems. I believe that problems has hidden opportunities, we just need to look at it with a different eye.
Matthew Needham Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Thanks for the comment Walter. You’re right most people like to have an excuse so they focus on the problem as to why something can’t be done. Successful people don’t do that they only see opportunities. To be successful you don’t have to be especially bright but you do have to be persistent.
Wow. That picture scared me a bit. Kind of like the exorcist.
I think that some of your surprise was probably made possible by perpetual motion. People don’t always sign up, make purchases, etc. right away.
As far as posting frequency, it seems that it depends upon what you want to accomplish – posting more *can* be good for search engines, but might not increase your sales directly.
Having said that, I found that in about 4 months my traffic decreased to about 1/2 of what I had been getting by not posting at all (I had been posting about 3 times per week). Of course, it made its way to half slowly over time.
My Alexa ranking was just above 100k, and it got a little better before taking a bit of a nose dive.
Of course, your conclusion is quite in line with what I found as well. Using a VA is a great idea *if* it works out that you will profit MORE in some way. I am not there yet, but would love it if someone else could do the boring stuff.
Have a good day Matthew!
mark´s last [type] ..A New Blogging Beginning
Matthew Needham Reply:
December 16th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
Mark, apologies for scaring you! Hope you’ve recovered buddy?!
Yes, you’re right. In fact the lessons I learnt from my first ebook launch was that the initial buyers were people who I’d never heard of. They hadn’t commented on the site or signed up for the newsletter. I guess, what I’m saying is that you think you know your business, then you find out you don’t know as much as you thought, which is what keeps it all interesting!
New here? Start with these
Recommended Products
Work with us
Topics
Articles to Grow Your Business
Who is behind The Big Red Tomato Company?
Company Registered Office: White House, Clarendon Street, Nottingham, NG1 5GF Company Registration Number : 6563864