There is NO magic pill you can take, no cure-all tonic, no fairy godmother to take away your crazy, distracted thought process.

Actually…let’s backtrack on that last one.  My goal today is to be your fairy godmother.  (Fair warning…I’ll turn back into a pumpkin at midnight.)

After years of learning how to run my business, I learned the most important lesson EVER just one year ago.

Before we jump into THAT, though…let’s see if we can connect on a higher plain real quick.  If I’m great guesser…I’m betting a billion that you:

Lack of focus can be one of the biggest killers of small business.  It can kill your creativity, your productivity, and your passion for your small business faster than a wookie winning a space chess match.  (Bit of advice kid.  Let the wookie win.)

In 2014, a company reached out to Sir Richard Branson to ask if he would speak at their upcoming conference.

He politely declined.

They came back with an offer of $250,000…

He politely declined.

They bounced back with an offer of $500,000 and a private jet!

Again…he vollied back with a firm “no”.

Finally,  the group asked WHAT exactly it would take to say yes.

His answer?

“Right now I have three main priorities I’m focused on and I will only allocate my time to those three priorities…speaking for a fee is not one of them.“

Now THAT is what I call focus.

It’s a little easier, I think, for the owner of Virgin Enterprises to turn down $500,000…but all in all, his answer still boiled down to having a laser-sharp focus on what would help to push his business forward.  So, my question is, do  YOU have that focus?

Today, I’m going to share a tool with you that will not only help you to focus your OWN small business path…but will focus your individual products AND help your customers focus on their NEED for your solution!

Today…I am going to teach you all about your small business success path.

A success path is LITERALLY a visual guide that walks your readers from START to FINISH.  Think about it like a board game for your business!!

The Uncork Your Dork success path walks readers through EVERY step I’ve deemed important for that final outcome, creating subscription revenue.

Specifically, there are two components to a success path that you should consider.  The steps needed…AND the “buckets” your subscribers fall into.

In the above success path, the steps (each pink square) are pretty obvious…the “buckets” each individual row that encompasses the steps!!  Buckets are SUPER important, since they’ll help you define the stage your customer is entering your business!

For example, I know when someone clicks a link to an article all about “launching a summit”…they are PROBABLY working to grow their list with more advanced methods than creating PDF’s, and are in the “grow and grind” phase of my success path.

I NOW know, that I can send emails and offers to them on growth, and they’ll be more open and appreciative of the very focused message!!

FOCUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!  No…no. I wasn’t telling YOU to focus.  I was simply answering your question! (SHEESH you’re touchy.)

A success path should encompass EVERYTHING you do in your business. From PDF’s to products to blog posts!!  If your “next big idea” doesn’t fit easily into your success path…it’s PROBABLY not something you should be offering your audience.

Here’s a little test. Go back through your emails. Pull out an email that doesn’t really have to do with your business’ specialty.  (We’ve all sent those emails.  It’s called experimenting.)

Now, take a good look at your analytics.  Was your open rate lower than normal?  How does that click through rate look?  Do you remember getting any enthusiastic responses from your email?

GENERALLY, folks sign up for your emails and soap boxes for a reason!  If you break from that reason, they think you’ve changed directions and will usually unsubscribe…or just simply ignore you.

Your success path keeps you accountable and ON task. I get passion projects…but when you’re running a business, focus is the key to success!