Archive for Development
Looking Ahead – Blogging in 2010
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As I look back upon this year of blogging, I can only be happy about the development and distance this blog has traveled toward blogging success.
Many accomplishments have been realized and just as important are the many friends and fellow bloggers that I have had the opportunity to network with, building some real relationships of value. This is a critical function of blogging, perhaps overlooked by some.
We are now heading into the final month of 2009, a time to look ahead and plan out the strategies for 2010, if you’ve not done so already. Yeah, this year was great but it is just about in the books now, so it’s time to look ahead.
One thing that I feel is of great importance going into the new year is to clear your slate of things that have been hanging around on your to-do list, or projects that have lingered for longer than they should have.
It is imperative that you get off to a good start, refreshed and stress free. You do not want to start the year off looking at last year’s task. Just the thought of it brings negative energy, because it represents a shortfall in execution. So you have one month to somehow clear away those nagging items or projects.
The key here is to free up your time to be productive, like working on your next product release. So here is what you need to do:
- Get out of that “sole source” mentality and get some help.
- Identify those things that are holding you back and delegate
- Realize that delegation means you’ll have to spend some money
- Weigh the cost of delegation against the cost of your time.
- Commit to the investment and move on, looking toward 2010.
Let me expand upon those just a bit.
The “sole source” mentality
As a blogger and entrepreneur we often feel as though we have to wear all the hats and know how to do everything associated with the operation of our blogs. While this may be a good idea, to actually know what is involved with every aspect initially, the sooner you realize the value in reserving your time for what you do best, the more productive your operation will become.
Identify those things that are holding you back
We all have skill sets that make us who we are, but nobody is good at everything. When you look through your list of things that are not yet accomplished, you will most likely find these items to be things that you are 1, not good at doing or 2, just don’t like to do them anyway.
This had led to procrastination, which is why they remain on the list. Get them off of there and let someone else deal with them.
Take accounting and bookkeeping for instance. Who actually loves to do that? It sucks and you probably suck at doing it so hire someone who has the love for it. These types of tasks will not become any more user-friendly for you tomorrow or the day after. Get them out of your hair and move on.
Delegation means money
Unless you have a family member with the skills to do these task and is willing to do for them for nothing, be prepared to spend some money.
Realize that this is not money lost, but money invested. You are building a business are you not?
Weighing the cost of delegation
If having your books done cost you $100.00 and you are now free to finish off your next product that will bring you several thousand, are you really being smart about this? Do the math.
Commit to the investment
Again, you are “investing” in your business and thereby investing in yourself. Many people say you cannot make money blogging and they are right. You cannot make money blogging – or at anything else for that matter without some investment.
Those who are not willing to spend a little on their businesses are doomed to failure; it’s just a hard fact. Those who are unable to spend at this time need to somehow raise some money to move forward.
There is no need to go heavily into debt by lining the pockets of those credit card companies, but you need to find some means of capital to build your operation.
Conclusion
Having relieved yourself of the nagging things in your business life will have you so looking forward to the coming year and all of the excitement of being productive.
Taking the steps above will bring you that much closer to the day when you will want to delegate nearly everything, because you will be making so much money, it will no longer be an issue.
You will be just where you want to be, bumming around the beach writing a few articles daily and working on money making projects.
Whatever your dream business model, you get my point.
Now go get busy clearing those tasks from your vision, so you can clearly see into the future.
Keep blogging!
Recognizing the Phases of Building Your Blog
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It is both interesting and challenging to watch the building of your blog. Much like the construction of a house, there is so much material to be assembled that the task seems daunting. You want to use the very best materials for the assembly, but you don’t quite understand how it all fits together, so you follow a blueprint provided by someone who had build one before you.
Even then, much of what’s on the list of materials may make little sense initially, but you continue to follow the instructions provided in hopes of finding success.
Like any house or structure, it all begins with the foundation. A strong foundation is a must if you want this house to stand up to the winds of blogging. You know these winds will arrive at some point and you cannot have your house begin to lose materials and take on an appearance of shabbiness. If this occurs, people with not want to visit and those that do will not stay very long.
So you continue to build in hopes that this will someday begin to take on the appearance laid out on the blueprint. Early on, you also recognize the fact that you cannot build this alone and that help will be required during the various phases of construction.
After the foundation phase has been completed you turn to the next phase, which is to erect some exterior walls. These are needed to protect what you hope will be your most valued assets, your content and the various systems required to protect it and keep it in good order.
You can now begin to see the formation of the house, as it has started to resemble the blueprint you’ve been working from. At this phase, you’ve allowed yourself a slight smile, feeling that perhaps you CAN actually pull off this construction project, but realizing that there remains so much work to do.
Pressing ahead and having gained a level of confidence, you turn your attention to the roof which will fully enclose the structure and keep out unwanted elements, thereby protecting what lies within. Again, the process is quite slow as you assemble this section piece by piece.
Perseverance and hard work eventually gets the job done and you have a structure that looks exactly like the blueprint. This brings a high level of satisfaction tempered by the fact that you must now turn the page and begin the infrastructure phase.
Once again you reach up to scratch your head as you look at the blueprint, seeing the many elements that will make up various systems to support your house and make it function efficiently. You may even wonder if you will ever complete this project as you realize that there are far more intricacies to this than you ever could have imagined.
Having come this far you press on, but you now realize that this project will never be finished because it is a living thing that requires the continual building of systems and the associated maintenance thereof. This realization however, brings a great sense of accomplishment because you now know that you can handle the job.
As you continue to work on this house of yours, visitors, through various means of feedback, will let you know how you are doing and whether you need to adjust your plan.
This is the great challenge of blogging, having a plan but not truly knowing with absolute certainty if your plan will require some adjustments along the way.
More than likely there will be adjustments which is why bloggers must be both receptive and flexible. Without these traits, your hard work up to this point may well go out the window.
In the end, it was the enjoyment of the challenge that drew us in. Reaching your goals and achieving that sought-after level of success is the reward for taking on the challenges and being nimble enough to conquer them.
Keep Blogging!
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