Firstly, a confession – my name’s Jill and I am a compulsive reader. I read everything, from every piece of junk mail that clears my doorstep, to the instructions (and warranty small print) for the new kettle I’m setting up. Reading relaxes me. I read all day, from online articles to text books to novels. I read for relaxation and inspiration.
Right now I’m re-reading (I do that a lot too) The Innocent smoothie team’s business book ‘innocent – our story and some things we’ve learned’. It resonates with me as a lot of the beliefs they hold about the way a business should be run mirror my own values. I like their approach and honesty and I highly recommend the book whether you’re a small business owner looking to grow, or you’ve just got a crazy idea about a new venture!
Anyway, one of the points they make is that you should ‘Make your main thing, the main thing’ – in other words, give your business a single focus and ask yourself if every decision you make leads towards this goal or vision. ‘Focus’ is such a buzzword in our house. We ask the kids to ‘focus’ on the task at hand rather than spinning in circles; I have to work hard to focus on one article at a time when I have tens of deadlines to meet; and I ask every client to ‘focus’ on what they want from their website.
If you know what you want to achieve – whether it’s from your business, or your website, or even a press release – it’s far more likely to succeed. For every page of your website ask yourself ‘why is this here?’ and ‘does it succeed?’. For instance, a contact us page is there not to give people a way to contact you, but to encourage them to contact you. That’s the main thing, so make it the main thing. Put text at the start of a contact page and give the visitor a reason to put their details in your beautifully designed form!
Public speakers use the 3 point technique, with no more than 3 points in any talk. Business consultants encourage you to only have 5 things on your task list for a single day to ensure you achieve them and stay productive. They all have their reasons, but I’m all about the number one. Every page on your website should have a singular focus, every website should have a single goal, every press release should have one reason for being sent out. So my advice for this snowy Thursday – make your main thing, the main thing (thanks Jon, Adam and Rich for the catch phrase which I will continue to credit you for!)
To get their brilliant book for yourself, here’s the link: A Book About Innocent: Our Story and Some Things We’ve Learned
