What NOT to Do to Build a Profitable Business

By Tiffany Sylvia –

I love that show “What Not to Wear” on TLC. I love how Stacy and Clinton ambush some unsuspecting, fashionably challenged woman and turn her into a fashionista.

They tape secret footage of her wearing sweatpants and ratty old t-shirts around town and then they have her bring her wardrobe to New York so they can look at everything and toss out the stuff that just isn’t working. By the end of the show she has a brand new wardrobe worth $5000 and looks amazing!

Today I’m going to share with you what not do in your business. And believe me, ditching these things is well worth over $5000 in cash, time, and energy.

1. Work with anyone and everyone. Sure, what you have to offer could probably benefit most everyone on the planet, but please narrow it down a bit. When your niche is not well-defined everything is kind of generic (your marketing, your message, your services, your products, the benefits you provide, etc). Not having a niche makes it hard to stand out from the crowd. Your ideal clients will likely have a hard time finding you and you will have a hard time finding your ideal clients if you haven’t decided who they are. You don’t have to marry your niche, but please choose one for now. You can always tweak it as your business evolves. Not having a niche is costing you precious time, money, and energy.

2. Toil away at tech projects. I see solopreneurs spending countless hours working on things like setting up shopping carts, building websites, and who knows what else. Unless you are really tech savvy and enjoy doing this kind of thing in your spare time—you need to delegate your tech projects to a professional who can do it faster and better than you can. It‘s one thing to upload a video or even a newsletter every now and then, but don’t get carried away. Remember your role is income generation.

3. Agonize over administrative tasks. Just say “no” to the following:

1. Bookkeeping,
2. Doing your own taxes,
3. Answering the phone,
4. Scheduling new clients,
5. Weeding through emails,
6. Writing your own contracts,
7. And anything else that takes longer than 30 minutes and falls outside of your “great work.” None of these things brings in the dough. Hire a bookkeeper, tax advisor, accountant, lawyer, and/or a VA.

4. Wing it. Put systems in place that save you time, money and energy. If you have to do anything more than once, figure out the most effective, efficient, and cost-effective way to do it and then do it that way all the time.

5. Fly by the seat of your pants. Make sure you have thoughtfully planned out how you intend to generate consistent cash flow in your business. Is your business model sound? What are your weekly, monthly, or yearly goals? Are you doing all you can to achieve them? If you want a profitable and sustainable business you have to be very intentional about building it.

What one thing can you kick to the curb that would positively impact your business? Leave a comment below—I’d love to hear it.

© 2011 Tiffany deSilva, Order and Balance, LLC

Tiffany deSilva, founder and CEO of Order and Balance, LLC, specializes in helping women entrepreneurs build rock-solid, financially successful and sustainable businesses that not only run seamlessly, but integrate seamlessly with their ideal lives. Visit http://www.RockSolidBusinessSuccessSummit.com to register for the Rock-Solid Business Success Summit. Registration is FREE so don’t miss this opportunity to overcome overwhelm and start making great money doing what you love.