I recently got an email from a client who said she felt paralyzed with overwhelm in her business and at the end of her rope.
I think we’ve all felt that way in our business at some point or another. Finding a way to manage business stress can feel impossible when you are in the thick of it. But it is possible!
Sometimes we do things we think we need to do because:
a) Somebody told us we have to (ie.facebook, start a membership, etc)
b) We have always done them
c) We thought it would make us more money
After a while the jobs build up, the overwhelm grows and nothing gets done.
That’s when I get brutal.
I use the iRAD Approach:
inventory IT ….
You can’t really clear out your business clutter without taking inventory. Start with what’s frustrating you most. Are you feeling stalled on what to do with your website? Inventory your site – check your pages, your products, your affiliate links, whatever you are doing take a real critical look at it and see what you’ve got.
Trust me, just doing an inventory will help you think clearer about what you need to do next.
Here are just a few of the things I’ve inventoried and intend to do so on a regular basis:
- domains
- websites
- expenses and profits (this is HUGE – make sure you are up to date with your bookeeping!)
- info products bought
- files (graphics, spreadsheets, presentations, reports, articles, etc)
- skills
- likes and dislikes
Remove IT ….
Here’s where you need to be tough. We develop strong emotional attachments to our business and our way of doing things. You might start a project because you feel strongly about it but it’s bringing you nothing. You might be doing five things at once but nothings making you a profit. You might be doing the same business and the same things for five years and it’s not working.
Start purging your business of the sour grapes. Get rid of what’s not working or change it and move on, quickly.
Automate IT ….
This is probably one of my favorite parts of the iRAD Approach. Automating means you get to invest your time once and have it pay off again and again.
What can you automate:
- Email Marketing
- Blog Posting
- Article Submissions (see my Roboform post with a video here)
- more
When you automate you should also set up systems. Create systems for everything you do on a regular basis so that you can quickly go back to it and do it again without having to re-learn what you did before. This is another forum of automation!
Delegate IT ….
Yes, in my mind delegation comes last. You really can’t outsource effectively until you really know your business.
After you’ve done the first steps in the iRAD Approach you will be very familiar with your business and know what you need. Then you can outsource much more easily than if you were stumbling around in the dark.
p.s. Want a coach to help walk you through this? I’ve been online since 1996, built websites since 1999 and have successfully worked with over fifty clients. Now I’m opening up some limited one on one coaching to a few clients. Contact me here and let’s work on getting your business blooming!
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