Personal Development | First Things First
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
How To Choose Your Personal Development Priorities
Solopreneurs battling the tyranny of the urgent face the ever-present danger of neglecting personal development.
Did you ever think starting a home business would so totally consume you?
It is a dilemma for offline and online businesses alike. There is so much to do and when you’re the boss with no employees, as is the case in so many start-ups, it’s “Tag, you’re it!”
Overheard at a time management class: “I’ve been meaning to take this course but could never find the time.”
That’s what happens when we allow our life to be driven by the tyranny of the urgent. Internet marketing guru, Ann Sieg, once told me she kept this saying taped to her computer monitor… “First things first, second things not at all.”
Protecting your personal development from becoming a victim of neglect is a matter of priorities and time management.
Choosing Your Personal Development Priorities
Priority setting questions to ask yourself:
- What must I be able to do that I don’t know how to do?
- Am I the best or only person who can do it?
- Are there systems available that can make it easier or do it for me?
Let’s consider each question about personal development priorities in more detail
What must I be able to do that I don’t know how to do?
Success in starting a home business requires certain skills. You may be an expert in your product or service but may lack marketing skills.
Let’s say you want to promote your home business on the Internet by blogging about your product or service… but you don’t have a clue about setting up a blog. So you’ve now identified something that you must be able to do but don’t know how.
Blogging becomes a personal development priority.
Am I the best or only person who can do it?
It you are just starting a home business you are likely the only person if not the best. You have a couple of options. Learn how to do it yourself or outsource it (pay someone to do it for you).
Outsourcing may not be an option if you are just getting started and operating on a shoestring budget as most of us are in the beginning. That being the case, learning how to blog becomes a personal development priority.
Are there systems available that can make it easier or do it for me?
Developing a high level competency in all the technical aspects of setting up a blog may not be in your best interest. Depending on your existing expertise there could be a long learning curve and you could spend a lot of time and money learning skills that will not contribute to your bottom line.
For example:
- How to choose a domain name and a hosting company for your blog.
- How to set up cPanel for your blog sites.
- Using the WordPress dashboard to configure your blog site.
- Choosing a theme and the appropriate plugins.
- And more…
Unless you are already competent in these areas or you have aspirations toward becoming a techno-geek you would do well to look for a system that provides a blogging platform with most of the technical requirements done for you.
But there are other important things you will need to know… some technical and some less so.
Such as:
- Finding a profitable niche
- Keyword research
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Backlinking strategies
- Social networking
- And more…
All of which are necessary to ensure you have a viable business and can attract readers who can be converted into paying customers.
Resources To Help With Your Personal Development
The Empower Network provides a blogging platform that requires little or no technical expertise to start blogging right away. It also has the advantage of an aged domain which works to your advantage in getting your blog ranked by the search engines.
There is also training beginning at a basic level and progressing to the more advanced as well as an affiliate program that gives you the opportunity to earn 100% commissions on the training products available for resale.
Small Biz Incubator also provides a blogging platform that requires little or no expertise in setting up a blog. It too has an aged domain and training available. A rather unique aspect of Small Biz Incubator is its Affinity Groups which are small groups of like-minded entrepreneurs building their own online businesses. They attend training webinars and assemble with their affinity group leaders where they can discuss what they are learning and get their questions answered. They participate in group projects designed to generate income for individuals in the group while learning to apply what they learn to their own personal blogs and businesses.
These are two resources that I am familiar with that have systems in place to shorten your learning curve for the skills you need in starting a home business. You would do well to explore them as part of your personal development plan.
This is a repost of Bob Young’s article from the StartingAHomeBusiness.SmallBizIncubator.com group project blog.
To Your Success.
Corinne Floyd
P.S. To find out more about group projects you can take part in – join the Small Biz Empower Network Team.