When you start building an online business, it can seem like one of the biggest challenges is figuring out which tools you need.
Have you ever noticed how one seemingly reasonable online business decision leads to another?
You start with a website. Then you need email marketing. Then landing pages, payment processing, course delivery, scheduling, community...
Before long, you can end up with a complicated "spaghetti system" that consumes too much time, effort, and money.
I thought I could avoid that problem by choosing an integrated online business platform.
I thought the online business puzzle would be solved by having the right tool.
But I was wrong.
Doctor’s Notes
My corporate software systems background helped me recognize the problems of using multiple special-purpose tools in engineering, so I deliberately chose an integrated online business platform for building an online business, even though the choice of integrated tools was very limited at the time.
That helped me, because I had only two platforms – a WordPress website and an integrated marketing, sales and delivery tool.
So I started building and trying things, and spending time and money building systems that did not create the business results I wanted.
Then, I realized:
I had solved a systems problem. I hadn't solved the business problem.
Online Profits Insight
Design Your Online Business Before You Build It
For someone with a technology background, it's easy to assume that online business problems could be solved with technology solutions.
Technology certainly matters.
But here's something I learned the hard way:
Having better tools doesn't necessarily mean you're building the right things.
Before building your next online asset, ask yourself: What specifically does this need to accomplish for my business and my customers?
If you don't have a clear answer, choosing a tool to build something isn’t the decision you need to make right now.
It took me a surprisingly long time to recognize what I was doing wrong, especially considering how differently we approached building complex software systems during my 30+ year corporate software career.
That realization became one of the foundational principles of the Online Business Success Operating System™.
In this week's Online Profits Insight, I share what I learned and a better approach for deciding what to build, when to select the technology, and what to build first.
Read the full Insight article here...
Kajabi Korner
How should I start my online business?
Don’t Start With Kajabi
That may sound like strange advice coming from a Kajabi Expert.
But when someone asks: "How should I start?"
My first questions are about their business.
- Who are your ideal clients?
- What are you offering them?
- How will they discover you, buy from you, and receive the value you provide?
The answers determine what online capabilities the business needs, and whether Kajabi is the right platform to provide them.
Depending on the business, sometimes Kajabi might not be the right fit, but for many expert businesses, it can be a great fit.
Either way, the principle is the same:
Design the business first. Then select the tools needed to support the design.
Sprint to Success!
Before You Build the Next Thing...
Think about the next online business asset you're planning to create.
Before you build it, ask:
- What customer experience am I trying to create, and for what purpose?
- Where does it fit in my overall customer journey?
- Is it upstream or downstream from the capabilities I've already built?
If you don't have clear answers, don't start building yet.
You may discover that you need to build something else first or that you don't need to build it at all.
Sometimes the fastest way to build your online business is to stop building long enough to design it first.
For now, just identify the complexity and any overlapping capabilities. That's often the first step toward simplifying it.
Community Updates
Follow this space… more resources are coming
I'm getting close to completing my new Expert Online Business Guide, along with accompanying video training and an online business self-assessment. This resource will provide a big-picture introduction to designing, building, operating, and improving an expert online business using the Online Business Success Operating System™.
I’m preparing to launch the Online Business Roundtable, a weekly live session where we'll explore practical online business topics together.
And I'm developing an upgraded Online Business Success Design Workshop, planned for September 21–25, where I'll guide you in applying OBSOS Step 1: Design Your Online Business Concept to your business.
More details about those new resources are coming soon.
In the meantime:
What are you working on in your online business right now?
Hit reply and let me know.
Thank you for being here.
I’m excited to continue building this community together.
To your online success!
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