Paying attention to the 80/20 principle on a regular basis is one of the best habits you can develop. The 80/20 principle tells us that just 20% of our efforts lead to 80% of our results.
That means that 80% of your efforts lead to pretty poor results.
This might be discouraging, but think of it in terms of how you can set your business up. If you know it's working, you can scale those things up.
So, how do you identify what's good? Think about your profits. Directly identify what is leading to your profits. Trace it back. Don't just assume that everything you do is leading to profit because it's not.
Figure out what's earning for you and what isn’t earning for you. Separate those things. Figure out what you should put more effort into and what you should stop altogether. Figure out what you should outsource and what you should keep doing yourself.
Think about those really draining, time intensive tasks you perform on a regular basis. Do they really lead to results, or not? Just by eliminating some of those things you can become instantly more productive, profitable and successful.
It might help if you put your data into a graph or some kind of visual aid. That can help you see connections where you didn't see them before.
You might test and track different strategies as well. Try new things, tweak your strategy, and pay attention to how that affects your success. Over time, you can tweak and test your way to even more success.
It's important to be okay with cutting what's not working. Even if you've done something the same way for years now, it's okay to let it go. It's okay to try new things as long as those new things are better habits that are more profitable.
Be okay with outsourcing. You don't have to do absolutely everything in your business. In fact, you’ll be able to scale up much more if you don't do everything in your business.
Your energy is in limited supply. It's important to focus your energy on working when it's work time and on enjoying life when it's not your work time.
Put most of your energy into what's profitable. Realize that every second you spend working is important and that you have to maximize that time. When you can do that, you can work less and earn more. That's not just a dream, that can be your reality.
Figure out what an hour of your time is actually worth, and then determine what tasks can be done by someone else who you can pay far less per hour of work than it would cost you to do the task yourself.
Grow your profits by focusing on what's profitable. When you do that, you can really enjoy your work more. You can focus on the things you do well and that you know are directly leading to improved success.
Focus on how you can leverage the efforts of others. Focus on those who have a large following and figure out what you bring to the table. Why put a lot of effort into trying to break through and get a new audience when you could easily tap into an audience that already exists?
Focus on helping people and do whatever you can to develop positive relationships with the people of your audience. Develop raving fans who will spread the news of you and your business far and wide. Word-of-mouth marketing is the very best kind of marketing.
Be ever present and focus on helping people and that can happen for you.