Tag Archives: focus

5 Big Mistakes You May Be Making: Lack of Focus

June 23, 2009   nicoledean   4 Comments

nik-smallHi. Nicole Dean here. In case you’re just stopping by and wonder why I’m here, I asked Leslie if I could come on as a guest expert to share lessons that I’ve learned working successfully from home. (I was interviewed on Leslie’s podcast recently. I invite you to listen here.)

Of course, being the wonderful person she is, and knowing that I’m one of the good guys and I actually know what I’m talking about, she agreed. I let her choose the topic for my guest posts and she asked me to write about “common mistakes that people make when working from home and, more importantly, how to avoid them”.

Her wish is my command.

Yesterday, I shared my frustrations about those budding entrepreneurs who spend money on ebook after ebook after ebook and, after a few years, still aren’t making money. They’re frozen (almost paralyzed) from a mixture of information overload, combined with a massive lack of confidence, so they don’t take ACTION.

That leads me to today’s common mistake…

Mistake #2: Being Scattered in too Many Directions

The mistake that I’d like to talk about today is another common one and is kind of the opposite of the one that I discussed yesterday.

Today’s mistake is following too many different mentors and taking too much differing advice about what is the “latest and greatest” thing to do. Basically these people are taking action, but are running in circles so quickly, chasing the next “must-do” thing they hear about that they never get momentum from following one course of action.

Shhhh… I’m going to tell you a secret.

The methods you hear about? They pretty much all work.

I could go on and on and on about the million and ten ways that you can make money online. Pretty much all of the reputable ones work.

And, traffic generation? Yep, all of these work…

BUT!

You can’t possibly learn and implement them all at the same time or you’ll go crazy.

So… choose one or two mentors who are doing what you want to do and follow them. Unsubscribe from everyone else’s emails. Completely unplug from them. It’s the best thing that you can do for your business.

Want to build a huge team and residual income in your Direct Sales business? Find one person whether he/she is on your team or in another business, follow that one person’s system.

Want to be a successful podcaster or blogger? Find one mentor with one system and learn from him or her.

Want to be an author or speaker? Find one mentor and follow him or her.

Got questions? I thought you might.

How or Where Can I find a Real Mentor? Not a phoney?

One place to look for mentors is my Online Success Podcast. In every episode ask each guest who their mentors are and why. It’s very interesting how different people really connect with different mentors.

Also, of course, Leslie offers coaching and all kinds of teaching here. So, if you’re already hooked up with Leslie and enjoy learning from her – then focus on what she’s teaching and she can be your one person. And, you will have chosen well.

How do I know if I’m choosing the right person?

You can always switch if it’s not a good fit or if you outgrow that person. But, don’t make that decision on a whim. Make sure you’ve gone through their system before switching to someone new.

What if I love two people?

Unlike in a marriage, this isn’t a problem. Go for it. As long as the two mentors are teaching similar methods, you’ll do fine.

If I choose one person, how will I learn everything else?

You’ll never be able to do everything in online business efficiently and effectively. Choose what you love and do well and do it. Let the noise pass you by – at least for now. Yes, most of it works, but… no one has the time to do it all the right way. That’s why it’s important to find a mentor who you resonate with and have similar skills set with. You can always learn other skills once you’ve mastered the one and are making money.

Example: If you find someone who is promoting their products by speaking, and that’s what you want to do, and they teach how to do it, then start learning from that person. If you outgrow him or her or find that you enjoy something else like making videos and promoting that way, then you move to someone else, but not until you’ve accomplished the first goal.

It seems kind of obvious, I know. BUT, if it’s so obvious, then why is your inbox so cluttered with offer after offer – keeping you hopping in ten or twenty directions each day?

Does your inbox make you jump from one guy’s interesting product launch video, to a new free teleseminar that sounds really great, to a “must have” free ebook, to a new article about what’s hot, to a blog post that everyone is talking about – and keep you from accomplishing the money-making tasks in your business?

Get a mentor who you trust. Learn from him/her. Get rid of the excess noise.

Your business will thank you.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

Follow Nicole on Twitter| Follow Leslie on Twitter | Nicole’s Blog & Podcast

PS. If you are ready and willing to learn how to get more done during the day and earn more money, I highly recommend Homepreneur Habits, a course by my mentor and friend, Jimmy D. Brown.

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5 Big Mistakes You May Be Making When Working from Home

June 22, 2009   nicoledean   2 Comments

nik-smallHi. I’m Nicole Dean and I’m here as a Guest Expert this week, to talk about 5 of the biggest mistakes people make when first starting to work from home. Why am I here? Well, I am doing a Summer Blog World Tour where I hop from blog to blog as a guest expert all summer long. It gives me the chance to reach new people and it brings blog owners like Leslie the opportunity to add even more great information to her blog. Both Leslie and I will be promoting this blog tour, so she’ll have new viewers stopping by and I’ll get to meet her readers, too. She wins. I win. And, most importantly you’ll win, too.

Each blog owner along the way got to choose their topic for the week. I’ve got to say that I was very excited to see the topic that I received from Leslie about “Common Mistakes People Make When Working from Home”.

Last week, I taught about productivity when working from home at Lexi Rodrigo’s blog, and had a great response so I anticipate that this topic is one that people can relate to, as well. In fact, when I started to draft my list of big mistakes that people make, I ended up with more than 10, so it looks like I’ll start this series here on Leslie’s blog and finish it on anther blog. How fun is that?!

ok. Let’s get crackin’.

I’ll start with my biggest frustration. And, that is when I see people who’ve invested thousands of dollars into learning about internet marketing and are still not making even $100/month in their online business. I see it all the time.

Mistake #1: Investing without Taking Action

If you find an ebook that you think will help your business, ask yourself the following questions:

  • Am I ready for this information?
  • Will I take action on this information?

If the answer is yes, go ahead and buy it. BUT – only if you can afford and will actually take action on what you learn. If not, pass. Don’t buy it.

Did you hear the two important pieces of that? You’ve got to be both READY and WILLING to take action before getting out your credit card.

The exception is at the end of the year if you’re trying to run up expenses to lower your tax burden. Here’s a post on my blog that explains more about that:

End of Year and Panicking about Taxes? Read this.

What do I mean by READY and WILLING?

Well, if you see a great offer for an ebook all about starting a membership site, but you’re in the process of setting up your podcast, then hold off on the new course until you’ve successful completed the one that you’re working on.

FOCUS = Follow One Course Until Successful

You’ll hear me mention that a lot and I’d love to give credit where due, but I have no idea who first said that. I know many have said it since then. Let me know if you know who originally came up with that phrase.

The other part – Willing to Implement – means just what it says. Please do not buy my courses unless you’re going to take the information and use it. Seriously, I’d love to have you as a customer, but only if you’ll read my courses, apply them and benefit from them – and then you’ll be a fan for life! I don’t want my courses or those of my client, Jimmy D. Brown, to sit on your hard drive collecting virtual dust bunnies after you buy them.

Side note: If you’ve never heard of Jimmy D. Brown, click on his name and check out his blog. I’ve got one word to describe him: Inspiring.

So today’s mistake is investing in product after product without taking action on what you’re learning.

Learning is wonderful and I endorse it 100%. BUT – don’t become an infoproduct junky while letting your business (or business ideas) sit.

It’s story-time…

I have a friend. Let’s call him George. Everyone say “Hi George!”

He is a gifted writer. And, he’s a top-notch SEO expert. I’m talkin’ WOW! He’s that good.

Yet, he doesn’t have his first website up yet, making him money. I beg and plead and gamble with him as his coach and friend and he keeps coming up with reasons why he isn’t ready.

“I don’t know enough about that yet” he’ll say.

“YOU DON’T HAVE TO! You can change it later!” I’ll say.

And, the next time we speak… he’ll tell me about another course he’s bought. I kinda want to smack him a little.

I just wish he could see him through my eyes. He’s smart. He’s talented. And, he’s a gold mine waiting to happen. ((sigh))

You’ll never know everything – and you don’t have to. Just work on what you’ve got on your plate and move ahead. Dust off the courses on your shelves that you haven’t read yet before buying more.

And, I’ll be back tomorrow with more.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

Follow Nicole on Twitter| Follow Leslie on Twitter | Nicole’s Blog & Podcast

PS. If you are ready and willing to learn how to get more done during the day and earn more money, I highly recommend Homepreneur Habits, a course by my mentor and friend, Jimmy D. Brown.

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