Getting Your Ducks in Order – Where to Start

It’s all very well knowing that having a well organized and structured business that runs like a well-oiled machine can make the difference between being successful and failing or even being successful and being wildly successful.  The biggest hurdle most entrepreneurs and service providers come across and often never get over, is knowing where to start and in which order their ducks need to be attended.

Most of you will have some sort of business to start with.  Whether you have been in business for 5 minutes or 5 years, the principals are the same.  Many entrepreneurs are big thinkers and look at the big picture of where they want to be and unfortunately forget about the steps they need to take to get there.  Not only do they forget about these steps they also struggle with how to get from where they are today to where they want to be in the future.  In their vision they have systems in place, people to delegate to and many more resources than they have right now – these still have to be created today in order to move into that vision of tomorrow.  Reality sucks!

Putting Your Ducks in Order

Within any business there are certain “ducks” that need to be taken care of.  Depending on where you are with your business depends on which duck you need to deal with first.  Each duck has certain stages of life to go through from the egg, to becoming a duckling to a full blown duck and even to having little ducklings of their own.  Just like your business, it starts off as an idea getting off the ground, to a baby business trying to find it’s feet and grow it’s income, to a business that has achieved growth and financial security (it’s usually this last step that we focus on and get frustrated that we aren’t there yet).

So where do you start?  Many will tell you to start with the end in mind.  It’s a good place to start as it tells you where you want to end up, although be aware that this may change as you actively move towards it, and that’s fine.  Once you know where you want to go, you need to be honest about where you are right now.  To start with you need to actively work on getting these 2 ducks in order, they will give your business a strong foundation in order to realize your future vision:

Your Website

• lead capturing system
• sales funnel
• sales copy that speaks directly to your ideal client
• sticky content creation
• social media integration
• tracking & measuring results

Marketing

• clear messages
• lead generation
• social media
• traffic generation
• referral & jv partner acquisition
• tracking & measuring results

Starting with your website as the first duck to get into order, make sure that it’s built on a platform that enables and encourages growth – for me it’s got to be WordPress.  Next create your basic content that sells you and your business as your visitors problem solver then add an opt-in form for lead acquisition.  Make sure that you have a clear sales funnel for your leads to go through and then it’s on to the next duck – marketing.

Getting your website ready, even in skeleton form is hugely important, then market, market, market your free gift for your opt-in, your products and services and your position as a problem solver in your field.  Once you have completed these tasks then it’s time to relook at re-ordering your ducks!

If you are struggling with getting your ducks in order then why not book our 30 Day Kick-Start Strategy Coaching Program where you will be taken through the steps to be taken in order to achieve the future vision of your business with a 30 day actionable plan.  We will provide your how!  Check it out here:  30 Day Kick-Start Strategy Coaching Program