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In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. He then hid and watched to see if anyone would move the boulder out of the way. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it.

Many people loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none of them did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

A peasant then came along carrying a load of vegetables. Continue reading “The Obstacle in Our Path”

 

Remembering the time that I stopped at every brilliantly colored tree I passed to collect a few leaves… I had a long forgotten creative project in mind that never materialized beyond pressing the leaves.

The colors are preserved in my closet, my jewelry and other accessories, my home, and my soul.

Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.
~From The Wonder Years

Take a moment to reflect on a favorite memory. In what ways are you preserving your memory?

 

My weekend routine includes posting links to a handful of tools I ran across during the week.

I don’t go into depth, yet encourage you to check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is a favorite for the week from an online source.

  • Kapa99 – Kapa99 is a subscription service dedicated to solving all your graphic design needs
  • Drag – Organize your inbox – Transform Gmail into organized lists (like Trello, in Gmail).
  • Full Contact – Know everything about your Gmail contacts, right from your inbox.

What have you discovered recently? Let us know in the comments.

 
I know so many entrepreneurs who try things—new ideas, new products, new services, and it takes a solid couple of years before they really see the journey clearly. They need time to have enough data and experience to know what is really working and where to focus.

don’t know your customer journey yet? that’s okay.

What you can do now is this:

  1. Draw a pyramid on a piece of paper.
  2. At the bottom of the pyramid list all your low-cost stuff. The small things people buy from you.
  3. In the middle of the pyramid, define your flagship products and services.
  4. Use the top of the pyramid, to highlight any really high-end stuff.
  5. Below the pyramid, put all your free stuff (lead magnets).

A few things to keep in mind

All of that stuff underneath the pyramid can be infinite. There is always room to add new lead magnets to your customer journey.

The stuff at the bottom and in the middle of the pyramid is your bread and butter. In theory, these levels should be extremely scalable.

If they aren’t, then you might want to start thinking about alternatives you can add that will scale up.

You absolutely have to focus on the three most important things that generate revenue.

Scaling allows you to offer your services to more than one person at a time.

  • Start to ask yourself how you can do more of what you do best.
  • Consider how your services can become more profitable.
  • Explore where you can free your schedule by outsourcing some of your current work responsibilities that don’t necessarily need to be done by you.

Your premium ticket items—the high-end stuff at the top—aren’t scalable, nor should they be.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW

All of this stuff—lead magnets, services, products—doesn’t have to be in one pyramid (sales funnel). Think about using multiple funnels linked and stacked together. 

I like to think of my funnel as a spiral that is active, changing and dynamic.

Change is constant. Maybe you’re doing well now. Do you possess a solid plan to ensure you’ll remain busy a year from now? A strong marketing funnel keeps you, and your business, top of mind.

 

We know: Work weeks can be rough.

In fact, each day seems to present a different challenge. On Monday, you’re looking for a jolt to start the week. On Wednesday, you need some help to get over the hump. And on the weekends, you need to get rejuvenated for the week ahead. Sometimes, all it takes is a little reminder to boost your spirits and refocus your day.

 

There was a man taking a morning walk at or the beach. He saw that along with the morning tide came hundreds of starfish and when the tide receded, they were left behind and with the morning sun rays, they would die. The tide was fresh and the starfish were alive. The man took a few steps, picked one and threw it into the water. He did that repeatedly. Right behind him, there was another person who couldn’t understand what this man was doing. He caught up with him and asked, “What are you doing? There are hundreds of starfish. How many can you help? What difference does it make?” This man did not reply, took two more steps, picked up another one, threw it into the water, and said, “It makes a difference to this one.”