What are your big bold goals for this year? Do you want to grow your business? Earn more money? Get a new job or promotion?
When we think about reaching our most ambitious goals, we often start by adding more to our to-do list. More effort. More money. More action. More time.
What if I told you to work less to get more?
Yes, that’s right. The key to actually accomplishing your biggest, boldest goals doesn’t usually happen when you hustle. #sorrynotsorry to burst the fauxtivational “hustle” trend. #thehustleisbullshit
I’ve been living, breathing, and writing work-life balance for 8 years and one of my biggest a-has is more effort rarely gets you more result. In fact, the opposite is usually true. The more you work, the harder you work, the less effective you are!
You don’t have to take my word for it, new research shows what I’ve personally experienced, that top performers do less.
But this isn’t really a new idea at all. For years economists, scientists, health care providers, and business consultants have used the 80/20 rule to get results.
The 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle, proposes that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. What is your 20%? What if you focused most of your time and attention on the 20% that would bring in 80% of the results? You could have a bigger impact doing less- if you’re doing less of the right things, that is.
For solo entrepreneurs, for example, I recommend focusing on 3-5 marketing strategies that will bring in the most new business. You don’t have to do everything in your business and, in fact, I don’t recommend it! There are tons of marketing strategies out there, with a multitude of “experts” telling you the solution they are selling is the fastest way to success.
Here are just some marketing tools you can use to grow your service-based business:
- Networking
- Speaking
- Blogging
- Podcasting
- Webinars
- Workshops
- SEO
- Website lead magnets/ opt-ins
- Sales funnel
- Facebook pages
- Facebook ads
- Facebook groups
- Sponsorships
- Paid advertisements
And the list goes on and on!
What happens to many solo entrepreneurs is setting an ambitious goal and starting a podcast to reach your goal. Maybe starting a podcast makes sense for you, your potential clients, and your business. Maybe starting a podcast is a great way to create overwhelm and burnout in your business. Is podcasting your 20%? How do your ideal clients consume content? Where do your ideal clients look for the type of service you provide? Focus your marketing where your clients are.
I see the same thing happening with career professionals who are in a job search. They are on every website, applying for every possible job that might possibly maybe be a job their interested in. In doing so, they spread themselves too thin, wasting resources searching and applying for jobs they don’t really want.
I recommend job seekers start narrow in their job search, focusing on targeted websites and jobs they really want- that’s your 20%, and that’s how you increase your application response rate.
Now you’re starting to see how you can get even better results with a more focused approach in your business or career pursuits! And, even better, you can get results and have work-life balance applying the 80/20 rule. Remember, top performers do less, and there’s a good reason why!
To reach your most ambitious goals, focus on your 20%. Stop working harder. Stop working more. Work smarter and you’ll achieve more!