What No One Will Tell You About Your Brand New Website

Reading a good book can change your outlook on life.

Philosophically speaking, you may even be a different person than you were before you read the book.

Most of the successful business owners I know are voracious readers, they have coaches and consultants and are in regular attendance at workshops and seminars.

Their growth game is strong.

The continued evolution of their offering, brand, services and approach to business and life has a downside no-one talks about.

Sometimes, you can evolve so fast, the online reflection of your business is outdated as soon as you launch.

Yep. Your website is outdated the minute you launch.

The text, images, wording…call to action, all of it is the product of your reality 3-6 months ago, when you were working to get it launched.

If you’re a perfectionist, or like the feeling of being done, once and for all, or even for this quarter, this can eat away at you.

Whether you change your hair as often as Madonna used to, or you’re committed to providing the best in service you possibly can, you’re going to be out of date.

It’s the side-effect of being an evolving entrepreneur.

And it’s ok!

The web has enabled you to become your own broadcaster – and that’s wonderful.

Just know that it’s iterative. Your website, your headshots, your official bio…all of it.

It’s all progress.

It’s never, ever going to be perfect.

And that’s ok.

Going into your new website development or product design or photo shoot or whatever it is with this knowledge can save you a ton of time and frustration.

It may never, ever, ever feel done, or perfect, or 100%.

But it can be an improvement on the last iteration.

Don’t let great be the enemy of good.

Just launch your website, then refine it.

Launch and refine, launch and refine, launch and refine.

That’s the evolutionary way.

But do continue to evolve your online presence on a somewhat regular basis.

Don’t just give up and settle for the online equivalent of an 80’s perm.

What no one will tell you about your brand new site

How “Busy” Can Ruin Your Business

busy-ruins-businessWhen running your own business it is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day management, operation, and tedious tasks. Entrepreneurs generally love to create. This is why they are drawn to creating and running their own business in the first place. Unfortunately, far too often they find themselves working “in” the business instead of working “on” the business.

This is an easy trap to fall into. When starting up one’s own business, entrepreneurs take on a sink or swim mentality. They have to go from zero to sixty in no time flat so that the bills are paid and food is on the table. Unfortunately, this is how the trap begins. Entrepreneurs take on more and more work so that they swim and not sink, but eventually the tide turns and all of a sudden they are drowning. This is where a lot of entrepreneurs find themselves, if they’re lucky, in that they have too much business and not enough time.

Now, this may sound like a great problem to have. They’re making money and doing well. However, eventually something will begin to nag at them. It’s that old feeling of wanting to create, wanting to improve, that they will find missing again. Busy-ness robs them of their creative time and energy, which is why they started their own business in the first place. And this is exactly why it needs to be avoided.

Here are four additional reasons why we need to avoid busy:

No Time for Reflection

Sometimes we need to take a step back and ask ourselves what has been working and what hasn’t? What tasks in your business have you grown to love, and which ones do you avoid at all costs? Are there areas in your business to improve or change?

If you don’t take the time to reflect you can’t answer these questions, and you can’t adjust your path accordingly. Time for reflection is necessary to ensure you and your business stay successful.

No Time for Experimentation

Have you ever taken the time to ask yourself what you can do to be more efficient? What skills do you want to expand on? What one thing could you do to add value to your company?

Making time to adjust, experiment, and record results is imperative to innovation and growth. Without it you and your business become stale. Give yourself time to experiment with new ideas and exercise that creativity.

No Time for Learning

When was the last time you were able to sit down and read that latest news on your industry? Or read the latest book or publication by someone in the business that you admire? What about taking an online or in-person course to expand your skills? Or even reaching out to a mentor to meet for a coffee?

Taking time to learn is critical for all human beings, not just entrepreneurs. It expands our world, allowing new thoughts, new ideas, new skills to enter our atmosphere. This, in turn, leads to innovation and experimentation. Both of which have already been mentioned for their importance to our business.

No Time for Implementing New Efficiencies

Have you ever wanted to improve your internal processes? What about offering new products and services to your client base? Or even keeping time open for yourself so that you can learn, experiment, create, go to the gym, or spend time with your family?

If we’re so caught up in the day-to-day operation of our business we forget about making time for these things. We forget about the importance of continuous improvement and quality of life. Shouldn’t these two things hold priority in our lives? It’s a good question to ask yourself.

Being too busy is a problem. It drains your energy and takes you back to a place of surviving the grind instead of creating your life. All entrepreneurs and business owners need to make sure they are creating space for themselves. This is how their business will grow and improve.