With today’s ever-expanding access to every piece of information on whatever the subject, it’s no surprise that we are overwhelmed with info.

For instance, if looking for online-business-related links, Google throws a staggering 8,750,000,000 results at you in 0.56 seconds.

(Fun fact: six months ago it was: 174,000,000 results in 0.75 seconds. True. Try it out today. Comment below.)

So, what happens? (I know this from personal experience, and you will probably relate)

You consume one piece of content after the other, bookmark more articles that you can read, get a ton of books and buy stuff online. And it’s more than you know is necessary.

You find yourself attending free webinars, and you even purchase a couple of online courses; but in the end, you find out that none of them helped you grow your business. (Aaargh! Those $39.99 online courses, were such a hook!)

Then you find solace in telling yourself: “It’s probably me; I didn’t quite follow what they were teaching me.”

Brutal Truth #1: It’s NOT your fault. Well, not always!

Alternatively, sometimes you think any or all of the following:
 “It probably works for those that already have a website – I don’t”
 “He already has 500 followers on Twitter and a network of 1000 on LinkedIn – I don’t”
“They’re lucky, they live in the US and know people. I live in a hut on an island in French Polynesia with a population of three (…replace with similar scenario!), and I don’t have connections.”

Or worse:

“Maybe I’m not cut for it”

However, then you get more hype thrown at you; buzzword-stuffed articles and neologisms that attract you to learn more.

“I probably need to read more and do some more courses to become an expert at what I want to be known for. I’m not ready, yet”

So, you jump onto the next ‘new thing’.

The circle never ends.

However, if you stop and think it through, you can put the pieces together:

The content you’re consuming (be it an article, a book, a video) is tackling a super-specific issue.

It lured you in with a carefully crafted title that promised you huge benefits, which is what got you all hyped up and excited – at first.

When you go through it though, you get bombarded with jargon that is never explained further. It’s as if it’s your sacred obligation to learn to speak ‘tech’ and know how to code!

Here’s my theory: it might be intended to scare you away.
Maybe it’s even done on purpose (naughty me!)
It makes you want to “hire a person for the job”. One who DOES speak that language and CAN code because “you’ll never be able to do that on your own”.

However, since you haven’t even got a handle on what the fundamental steps of building a business are, where to start from and what to do next, how could you even know what you need to assign to others and what you should do on your own?

You need to think carefully now and focus on what matters. Because you’re just getting started and the techy stuff will not work for you if you’re struggling to understand it right now.

Leave it for later ─ by then, some will prove to be obsolete anyhow.

Unless you already have a solid and profitable business and have diagnosed a particular problem (it might be SEO-specific, Facebook-ads-specific, lead-generation-specific, and so on) you‘d better avoid getting excited with techy and eye-catching jargon-packed titles like “Build a seven-figure business with this backlink hack”. (Seriously?)

Because they’re not for you.

Not yet.

Maybe never.

The title might be catchy, but it’s crafted with one aim in mind: to trick you into reading – or worse – purchasing it. No matter what stage of your business you’re at.

You end up getting information that’s so fragmented (and advanced), that even if you applied one piece of the advice, you’d then be dividing your work into more silos than you thought was even possible – even within your small business.

What you should be looking for, instead, is a consistent method that can show you the full picture of what it means to run an online business day-in, day-out — a method that will accompany you through every step and have a plugged-in accountability system that pushes you to follow through, even when it gets tough.

That’s what will make things work every time and separates just “being taught” something, from “putting what you know into action”. It will get you results.

Here is a hint: It might be intended to scare you away. It is done on purpose.

It makes you “hire a person for the job” that DOES actually speak that language and CAN actually code “because you’ll never be able to do that on your own”.

But since you haven’t even got a handle on what are the concrete steps to building your business, where to start from and what to do next; how could you even know what you need to assign to others and what you should do on your own?

You need to think clearly now and focus on what matters. You are getting started and if the new techy stuff does not work for you probably this why:

Because unless you already have a solid and profitable business and have diagnosed a very specific problem (might it be SEO-specific, FB-ads-specific, lead-generation-specific etc.) you ‘d better avoid getting excited with techy and eye-catching jargon-packed titles like “Build a seven-figure business with this backlink hack”. – seriously now? Because they are not for you. Not yet.

The title might be catchy, but it is crafted with one aim in mind: to trick you into reading – or worse purchasing it, no matter at what stage of your business, you are at.

You end up getting info that is so fragmented that even if you applied a piece you’d be dividing your work into more silos – even within your small business –  than what you thought was even possible.

What you should be looking for, instead, is a consistent method that can show you the full picture of what it means to run an online business, accompany you through every step and have a plugged-in accountability system that pushes you to follow through, when it gets tough.

This are the elements that make things work every time and separates just “being taught” something from “putting what you know into action” to get results.

OK, I admit it. You can admit it, too!

I’ve dreamt of the sweet moment when I could delegate the entire running-my-online-business-thing to someone else. (Hell, I’ve imagined it a lot.)

Go on, own up:

Have you done a Google search for a top-notch freelancer who can both code and take on basic marketing for you?

I have. It doesn’t work!

You imagine that there are business ninjas who know how to do this – like, naturally! And you could trust them to do it for you and be off the hook. Ready to eventually reap the fruits of your efforts, when things are all set. (D’ya hear the Blue Lagoon music playing?!)

Then you would just need to post a couple of articles, like a true digital-nomad guy or gal. You’d stay active on social media, (which you enjoy anyhow), “Like”, “Clap”, “Retweet”, rinse and rewind. Nice!

Hell, you can do that all day. From your couch. In Bali!

If only you had someone to make it all happen for you. Like a magic bullet. Right?

Then you think (and these relate to my own experiences):

“…. But I don’t have access to an online expert”

“I can’t afford an extra cost right now”.

“Tom, knows how to code. Couldn’t he do it for a fraction of what others might cost?”

Motivation alone is not sufficient to lead to action.

Knowing where to start and how to move to the next stage, is.

Which is why struggling to “get into the right mindset”, “be yourself”, “find your calling” and “be “authentic”” is not a panacea for getting things done.

Though some of these concepts may undoubtedly make you feel more powerful and grounded when thinking of starting a business.

And yet, at the same time, it’s so stressful to think you must stay focused when online tactics are always being thrown at you and you feel (or are told!) that, for some of them, you should probably listen.

However, which ones? Can you even do them all?

You’re already joggling with:

my marketing, my website, my blog articles, my social media feed, my subscribers’ emails.

And then comes all the hype of:

SEO, SEM, PSA, PPC, FB Facebook ads, sales funnels, backlinks, lead scoring, conversion, automation, clickthrough rate, MVP launch, retention rate, subscription programs, A/B testing, affiliates, quizzes, contests, Twitter feeds, Instagram, Pinterest… and, of course, ninja email marketing strategies.

Aaaaarggggh!

But, you see, the thing is, you can’t do all this.

At least, not at first.

And all at once?

Probably never.

You need to figure out on your own or get help in defining what comes first and which foundational principles you should master, before you dig into the rest of the stuff that will be more hassle.

What often happens though, is that our mind’s coping mechanism protects us by inventing all kinds of excuses to help us avoid being overwhelmed:

“Hell, I’m even bad at selling. I hate promoting myself and bragging about what I do.”

“Maybe I am not motivated enough. I need to check out a few more inspirational speakers. Everyone seems to find them valuable.”

“Yeah, this is just for tech-savvy, 20+s that are born on the internet – I am not them.”

“I need more time”

“I need to learn more on this”

“I need a productivity app”

…and so on.

Psychologically, this makes us feel better. Because we know we are good at serving our customers, asking questions and overall, we’re great at our job!

Our job should speak for itself, right?

Wrong!

Let’s just think about it for a second.

Maybe we’re looking at it from the wrong angle?
[See next]

Do you think that any person who’s already doing what you’re after – let’s say a person whose work you admire – gets all frantic and frustrated over the tactics and all the little stuff?

They do have concerns, yes, and there will undoubtedly be tons of unexpected stuff happening in their business. But these things don’t just ‘magically’ go away for them.

If they seem to handle any situation that comes their way and deliver results every time, then they’re probably doing something everyone else is not doing.

My most trusted mentor once gave me a piece of advice that forever changed the way I think about learning, preparing and doing:

“Cleo, it’s NOT what you don’t have; it’s what you’re NOT doing.”

It marked me.

Try reading about successful people such as online entrepreneurs or speak to the ones you have access to.

It’s what I’ve been doing for months now.

In all cases: whether business people, coaches, mentors, scientists, athletes or any other person who has achieved anything that you aspire to; there is ONE thing that makes the entire difference.

They’ve developed a framework for success; a set of mental and execution principles that allow them to push through and get results every time.

They don’t just focus on getting quick answers. They focus on finding solutions, extract the core principles for each, and make them work for them.

Then they re-use this same framework over and over in different situations and get results every time.

One does not develop this “success framework” only by “setting a few basic rules” and “acting with autonomy inside those basic rules”, which is what we have learned to expect when we hear about “setting a framework”.

Top performers are particular about how this process works.

They use this framework to frontload the work; this allows them to get started with a clear roadmap guiding them through exactly what they need to do at every step of the way.

There is a specific skill in crafting playbooks, roadmaps and guidelines, whether they’re meant for guiding yourself on an upcoming project, helping the team you will work with or guiding others who are running their own gig.

These guidelines must be crafted with the following two elements, and in the ideal doses:

-They need to be, when appropriate, broad enough so that everyone can have abundant room for manoeuvring and can adapt accordingly to “own the way” and make it work for them.

-And, also when appropriate, they must be tight enough, similar to a manual with instructions. So that everyone can take the tried-and-true path and use the right tools at the right time to get to the results they’re after, in the fastest possible way.

It’s the proven way to get people moving toward their goal in a predictable and repeatable manner. So they can maximise their chances to get to the results they’re after.