Hi. 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.

• Adsense? Yes, you can make money with that.
• Affiliate marketing? It works.
• Creating your own infoproduct? Oh yeah.
• Podcasting and blogging? Certainly.
• Teleseminars? For sure.
• Direct Sales? Of course.
• Becoming a Virtual Assistant? Absolutely.

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…

• Article Marketing
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
• List Building
• Press Releases
• Offline Networking
• Buying Advertising
• and a bunch of other methods of generating web traffic that I teach in my How to Get More Web Traffic course.

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.