When you are starting a business, (or trying to take it off the ground) you are busy.
So many things to do…
so many things to learn…
and not enough time to do them all.

Your never-ending list of activities (if you are prone to making lists) will probably be something like this:
Writing blog post, posting on social media, designing you business logo, choosing the right theme for your WP site, getting some business cards, looking for images online, doubting about your domain name (“Should I change this one?”), creating your products…

If you are kind of overwhelmed with all the things you have to do to start your business or take it off the ground, let me tell you a secret:

As important as it is toget things done, it is more important to know what the specific activities that need to get done are.

The important tasks will be different depending on which stage of development your business is at: when you are starting a business or when your business isn’t still bringing the income you need it to make to sustain you, you need to be picky about the things you choose to focus your time and effort on from your “get things done” list.  Since what’s appropriate for one moment, is totally counterproductive at the wrong stage.

Let me give you an example.

I’ve recently joined a sci-fi book reading club. And so I’ve recently learned that most people consider Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” to be the first novel of this genre.

In her novel, Mary Shelley describes how the scientist Victor Frankenstein brings a creature to life. You can argue with me about this, but I believe that in her novel, she was exploring the idea of “what does make a human being really human?”

Now, let me bring that same question to you in relationship to your business: “What does make a business really a business?”

In the novel, the moment when the creature comes to life it’s not when the doctor puts all the creature’s  body parts together. It is when the lighting hits the dead body, that the monster comes to life.

Again, let me ask you this: “Is your business alive?”
Just because you’ve been putting a lot of different pieces together (your biz cards, a nice logo, a website, facebook comments all over the place) doesn’t mean you have a real business.

The creature comes alive when the source of energy (the lightning) strikes his body. And for your business to be alive, it equally needs to be touched by a source of energy: One energy called Money.

What a revolutionary idea!, don’t you think?

-“So Charo –you might be asking- do you mean that if there is no money coming in, it is not a real business?

Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.
I would be something different: a passion you follow, a hobby you love to pursue, but not a real business, yet… until money gets exchanged for what you do.

Specially if you are starting a business, your number one focus and goal should be on the revenue making activities. And the best way of doing this is by offering your potential clients version 1.0 of your services, ASAP.

Because, and I won’t get in to much detail here, but at this stage, you’re really on “research mode”, trying to figure out if your potential clients really want to invest their money to get what you have to offer.

So do you want to turn your business idea into a real, living being, or are you satisfied with it only being as imaginary as a sci-fi character?

Charo’s Coaching Tip

It’s time to run a few experiments.

1) Think of all the activities you’ve been doing in your business in the last month, and make a list of them.
For example:

Drawing a new logo, connecting with potential colleagues on facebook, doing strategy sessions with potential clients, leading a teleseminar, creating the outline for a new product, etc.

2) Put a tick next to the ones that are directly related to bringing revenue to your business.

3) How many of the things you spent your time on are revenue producing activities? What does that tell you about what priorities should be?

4) What new activities will you include this month to reach that goal?

Remember, being productive means doing the things that are really important for the specific development phase of your business.  Only then, your business will stop being just a sci-fi story and become something real.

Now, put your white mad scientist gown on and have fun with this: What new experiments are you gonna run this week?
Please, leave your comments below
Charo 🙂