Let’s meet Bob

We’ve been talking here for the last few issues about certain “bad habits” that people do which end up sabotaging their potential success with their online business.

There’s another one that is all too common…

Information overload and overwhelm are two of the biggest constraints to people looking to build their online business. But, here’s the rub…

Most people are doing it to themselves voluntarily!

Let’s look at a typical person who is trying to start and grow an online business. Let’s call him Bob. 🙂 Hey bob. 🙂

So, Bob wants this. He has visions of making enough money online so that he can walk out of his day job. He is under no illusions that it will be an overnight thing. He knows it will take a lot of work.

But, Bob needs to figure out what to do. So, he goes out and starts searching for and reading various articles and “gurus” in the world of online business. He subscribes to several email lists. He puts a bunch of RSS feeds into his phone so he can keep track of different sites. He registers for some webinars.

But, Bob is confused. He feels like he is understanding the theory behind things. He can start to use some of the terminology from the world of online marketing. But, he’s still personally confused on what HE should be doing.

He tries to solve it by buying a few courses. Being on all these peoples’ lists, he sees things for sale. They look awesome. Certainly, the ad copy on those pages makes each of those things seem like the best thing ever. So, he picks up a few.

He also picks up some tools. He picks up a couple Wordpress plug-ins and some online services. Every time he buys one of those things, he feels like he did something concrete to grow his business. But, there’s still this nagging feeling…

He’s still confused. He’s still feeling overwhelmed.

He’s got the website. He’s got some cool tools. He has some courses with access to a bunch of training materials. He’s still reading those blogs out there. He’s still on several email lists. Bob has no shortage of information! But, he’s still feeling rather paralyzed.

What’s up with Bob?

How does Bob still feel confused and overwhelmed, despite having access to some great tools of the trade and some great training?

Well, I’ll tell ya. 🙂

Bob has drowned himself in information in an attempt to solve his problem, but the solution was never more information. Well, maybe at first it was. But, after while, he’s literally choking on information. At that point, Bob doesn’t need any more information. No more webinars, no more training videos, no more blog posts.

No, what Bob needs is STRUCTURE. He needs ORDER.

In an attempt to fix his feeling of confusion, Bob piled on more stuff. But, since there was no structure or order to it, he simply made his problem worse. Confusion reigns when you have tons and tons of stuff all moving around at once, in no particular order. But, in our case, the “stuff” is simply information. Every time Bob reads an article, or views a training video, he is simply adding another layer to the big pile of confusion.

So, let’s talk about the solution for Bob.

Bob needs to start peeling the layers back off this onion of confusion. Bob needs to return to the basics. And Bob needs to take on the personal discipline of putting ORDER and STRUCTURE into his actions. If Bob can find somebody to help him with this, that’s awesome. If not, he has to take it upon himself.

Bob needs to employ “just in time learning”. It means you only spend the time learning exactly what you need to do the next thing you need to do – and you put the blinders on everything else. It is like a self-imposed tunnel vision. Bob doesn’t need to entertain himself with every marketing guru out there. It isn’t applicable to him yet!

More on this in the next issue, but one more thing…

This is the big idea behind The Online Business Roadmap, found inside the Lab.

One of the big reasons Lab members make progress with The Roadmap when they don’t otherwise is because it imposes “just in time learning”. You follow the Roadmap…. one step at a time. And it ensures you don’t try to tackle everything at once.

If order of progression when building your business is a huge confusion for you, definitely check out The Online Business Roadmap.

– David