You have to be consistent.
You have to set goals.
You have to get organized.
You need to create packages.
You need to charge what you’re worth.
You have to communicate on a regular basis.
You need to make 7 touches to make a sale.
You have to make a sale.
You have to sound like yourself.
You have to look like yourself.
You have to have an email list.
You have to define your audience precisely and know their needs.
You need to know exactly WHY you’re doing this.
You have make sure everyone else knows what you’re doing, and why you’re doing it.
No wonder I’m exhausted. Who does all this? Not me. No wonder I feel like a failed entrepreneur: I haven’t been able to check an item off this list for months.
Do I still have my skills, talents, abilities? Yes. Will I be able to succeed without all these items checked off? How the heck do I know?
And that’s the point. Someone else has told you what you have to do, what is necessary for your success — even without knowing what your definition of success is.
Other people’s advice is about other people, not about you. Other people have tried things and want to share the results with you — but most of the time, they aren’t following the scientific method, or the humanistic method, or any method other than a method they got from another entrepreneur who isn’t you, who doesn’t know your mind, who may not even be in the same field and doesn’t share your exact aspirations. In an alternate universe, you might be able to follow someone else’s rules and see what turns out for you — only the you in that universe isn’t the you I’m talking to.
If you do all these things and you still don’t feel successful, what does that mean?
I don’t do all these things. I do the things I can, and at times that adds up to less than I want. I’m still working it out.
Composition note: I posted this on my Facebook business page, and you can follow me there if you like. I don’t usually post something this long — I don’t usually do anything, if you were paying attention — but I realized that I had “enough” for a blog post. Keep in mind that you may be writing more than you think you do, and that you can use your writing for double duty.
What are some rules you are disobeying? I’d love to hear them!