It seems like 2011 has passed faster than any other year, I guess when you are having fun in your business time just flies. The year twenty eleven offered up so many valuable experiences that have moved my business forward and in this blog post i share with you some of the most impact full.
Get out from behind the computer
Industry events were high on my agenda this year and will continue to be in 2012. In October I travelled to Australia to attend James Schramko’s Fast Web Formula event and just 2 weeks ago we ran a very successful Unlimited Power Online Internet Mastery Workshop here in the UAE. There are very few things that can reenergize your business quite like a “Live” event, add to that the networking opportunities that occur when you fill a venue with like minded speakers and attendees all hungry to learn, events really can provide a catalyst for new growth.
Andrew Lock, Me and David Bullock on the panel at UPO 2011
Next year, I am scheduled to travel at least once per quarter either for private mastermind groups or to attend specialist seminars. Networking and continued education will be a major focus for me in 2012.
Specialize
My business has evolved this year and it has been built around a philosophy that multiple specialized businesses will always trump one general business. Your prospects will gravitate towards a specialist, safe in the knowledge that they only focus on one thing. When you specialize, businesses that were once your competitors as a generalist can now be your allies.
My consultancy business the Web Reactivators started its existence as a broad online marketing agency. The business always did very well but occupied a crowded market place competing against other agencies, website designers, SEO firms, social media agencies and the like. A few months ago we decided to focus only on SEO and the business has grown considerably since. Why? Because now we are able to partner with (not compete against) website designers, brand agencies and social media managers who can offer our non competing service to their existing customers.
Build a real business
The internet marketing space is renowned for shoddy products sold by marketers looking to cash in on the dreams of innocent consumers. The industry had grown a bad reputation and the market was voting with its feet. Many of the big “pitch fest” seminars struggled to draw a crowd and some high profile product launches passed by without the usual fuss. Why did so many fail this year? They were still playing the short game!
Real business are sustainable, they have a purpose and they solve problems, they don’t just cash in on the latest fad. The reason my SEO business has done so well this year and will continue to for years to come is that we have focussed only on the customer and how we can solve their problems better than our competitors; in this case getting traffic. We’ve worked on the philosophy that when we look after our customers they will look after the business. It’s been working pretty well so far.
Less is more (less in more out)
I focussed a lot on stripping away distractions in 2011 and my productivity went through the roof. When you have less information coming in you can put more out. Here are some of the things I trimmed away year….
- EMail – I unsubscribed from all but 2 marketers and reduced my email to less than 20 per day. With less noise in my inbox I had more time to get important stuff done.
- Software – We removed a lot of the software from the business this year. Our aim was to reduce down to the fewest of tools possible but use them as effectively as possible. To that we just asked two questions;
- Is this tool the best tool of its type?
- Can we live without it?……If the answer was no to either, it was removed.
- Customers – One of the best things about being a business owner is you get to choose your customers. I entered 2011 with 2 customers who were eating up my resources and taking energy away from the business. I politely suggested they look at other options. They agreed and the business has been better off since.
As you enter the new year I challenge you to remove anything that is non essential in your life, with less distraction you will feel lighter and get more done.
Start with the end in mind
I see too many people enter in to projects without first asking “what’s the point?” This year I have given a lot of time and thought to the end goal and it has made decisions in the here and now much easier. When you have a long term plan all you need to do is ask yourself “does this new thing bring me closer to the goal or not?” More often the answer is no and you don’t proceed. With so many opportunities available to us online, if you are saying no more than you are saying yes I bet my bottom dollar you are on the right track.
Surround yourself with the right people
You are an average of the 5 people closest to you. Its a strong statement but I have found it to be true. This year I have sort out and connected with more successful people than ever before. Whether it was my team, experts to interview on this blog or private masterminds I have learned so much from others in 2011. One of the best investments i made this year was in Silver Circle a private business Mastermind group run by James Schramko and would highly recommend you too look in to joining a mastermind (or creating your own) with other successful people in your industry. When you are able to tap in to the knowledge of a true mastermind group your business will surely grow.
"Masterminding" with Andy Grand & James Schramko
BONUS tools
Whilst i have stripped away far more than I have acquired this year I couldn’t finish this post without sharing some of the tools that have impacted my business most in 2011…
- Zen Desk – Zen Desk is a web based help desk software. I absolutely love the simplicity of the product and so do my team and customers. Getting a help desk (especially Zen Desk) will free up your time and make your customer support far more professional.
- Live Chat – In addition to a Zen Desk help desk we also added Live Chat customer support this year too. We found that having a live chat icon on our sites not only improved our customer support but also increased conversions as visitors got the impression of a professional customer focussed organization.
- Putler – Putler is a Paypal management software. It gives amazing sales data for your commerce transactions including top performing customers and product lines. It has allowed me to identify and focus on the most profitable areas of my business.
I hope you have enjoyed this post. I’d love to hear what were your biggest lessons of 2011…Please post your comments below and connect with me on Facebook.
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James is an internet marketer living in Dubai. He makes his living almost entirely online, using internet marketing strategies that generate income for him and his clients 24/7. His tested techniques focus on the core fundamentals that work […] 
