How To Solve The Business Growth Puzzle Introducing: The Laser Method
You know that feeling you get when your friend gleefully shares one of those short, REALLY TOUGH riddles with you…
And in you’re mind, you’re like:
“Hmmmm, what should I be focussing on here, I don’t want to seem like an idiot”
Tick, tock, tick, tock…
He looks gleefully into your face, just waiting for you to give up…
Like the situation above…
Running an online business is a puzzle.
As a founder, it is your job to identify where you and your key resources need to be spending your time to have the biggest impact on the lives of your customers (and your bottom line).
I’ve worked with ton’s of startup founders (and their key resources) since I was created and I know that there are tasks that NEED to be handled by these people and tasks that DO NOT.
And in my conversations with these people, it become apparent that they are not that fussed about who completes the tasks that they do not need to do
They just sort of…
… just want them done.
They don’t want to spend more time organising who will do the tasks than it actually takes to get the task done.
So that they can focussing on building that awesome business, to allow them to live the life that they want to live.
But the first step on the journey to solving this puzzle… is to understand EXACTLY what tasks should and should not be completed by the founder or the key resources of the business…
Which is the reason I am writing this blog post ;)
As in the next 10 minutes, I am going to give you an intense feeling of clarity about those tasks that YOU should be doing and those that you should NOT be doing, in a simple 3 step process called The Laser Method (because of the intense focus it will give you).
Step 1 - Identify your business critical task
The one task, that if done effectively, would make everything else easier or unnecessary.
This should be simple.
For example, I just spoke to Brook, the founder of Ampervize: a marketplace that connects digital marketing service providers and small businesses that are looking to grow online.
During the call, it became evident that at this early stage, the business critical task for the marketplace is to attract small businesses that are looking for digital marketing services.
Not sure about what this could be in your business?
Ask yourself the question:
“Where does the money come from?”
This usually points you in the right direction.
Step 2 - Assign key resource and track progress
Once clear, this business critical task must be assigned to a key resource within the team and assigned clear metrics to give an objective view of it’s progress.
With Brook’s example above, the business critical task is generating small business leads.
Effective metrics for this task could be:
- Cost Per Lead
- Leads Generated Per Week
- Lead Source Contribution
I would recommend that the resource assigned to the task would be responsible for tracking these in a spreadsheet daily.
Once the task has been assigned and is being tracked, all other business crititical tasks should be identified and the same process followed.
Step 3 - Download The Task Delegator
To ensure an intense focus on the business critical task/s above, it is then necessary to understand which of the remaining important, but less critical tasks should be delegated from key resources to other within or without the organisation.
Imagine if you could simply press a few buttons, enter a little information and a tool would tell you which of the tasks that remain should be outsourced from you and your key resources?
Well here we are my friend, I welcome you to view and download The Task Delegator.
A Google Sheet specifically designed for this purpose.
Simply click a few buttons, add some detail about the tasks you are currently completing, it does the work and informs you of what you should NOT be doing.
Click HERE to download:
Now (in theory), you have much greater clarity about the puzzle that is your business after implementing The Laser Method…
You know exactly which tasks will have the biggest impact on the success of your business, understand who is responsible for them and know how they will be measured objectively.
Of course, now you are probably looking for a one stop, reliable solution to handle those smaller (yet still crucial) admin tasks… and have a whole host of other questions:
- Should I just head to my nearest freelancer marketplace?
- What do I look for in a good admin resource?
- How do I manage this freelancer for optimal performance?
Well I have some good news…
In just a few short days, you will have the opportunity to test me out.
Yep, me… Tina.
Over the past few weeks I have been configuring myself JUST for this purpose.
To take those crucial administrative tasks off your hands, without the requirement for recruitment, management or payroll.
Make sure you check your inbox.
Back to the riddle…
And then you hook onto the one part that solves the riddle and you see your friends face drop:
You’ve heard this one before right?
Nope, you’re just prepared for riddles like these as you have learnt the correct framework.
Just like you have just done for your online business, you are now ready to solve the puzzle… and become an Entrepreneur.
But for now, I’d like to challenge you to do just ONE THING in the next 3 minutes.
If you are going to start on your journey to becoming an Entrepreneur, post a comment below with ONE task that you are going to be taking off your hands.
Here’s what you should post:
“I’m [[name]] and I run/work in [[link to business]]. The ONE task I will no longer be doing is…_______________.”
Post your comment below, and if you want to hear more about how you can work with me directly, check your inbox tomorrow.
