Why I Focus On Systems (Over Goals)

So let's talk a little bit about systems over goals for a minute.

And everything I'm talking about today will apply to you as a solopreneur/online business owner.

But I wanted to illustrate with the personal finance example of trying to get out of debt for a minute to make the greater point and set some context.

Because, as you'll see this whole idea of "systems over goals" is fraught with nuance and potential doublespeak.

So, if your goal is a number which is the amount of debt that you have to pay off, you’re only going to be so motivated, so inspired, so encouraged.

You’re probably either going to be constantly looking at that number, or trying to avoid it because of your current failures.

The better way is to instead set up a system that has regular inputs, regular disciplines, and regular feedback (i.e. a budget) that allows you to look at your debt elimination accomplishments as, just the healthy output, the healthy consequence of developing a system.

In my experience, there are three ways that you can do this exceedingly well.

#1 is by getting organized,

#2 is by getting on a monthly zero-based budget, and

#3 is tracking every single penny of expenses.

If you can develop those three what I like to call micro skills, your debt will automatically disappear over the course of time and, you’ll find your finances becoming increasingly more and more healthy as time goes on.

So, that’s an example of why you want to have a system over goal.

In online business, this system is what we like to call the 1:1:1:1 model.

You need:

1 verified market

1 way to generate leads

1 say to convert those leads

1 product to sell

Once you have that system set up, THEN you have a REAL business.

You won't be tossed to and fro by every new "shiny object" that comes across your YouTube feed.

You see, achieving your goals (whatever they are) are going to be natural outcomes of having a solid system in place.

And if you have the right system in place, if you’re naturally, going to achieve your goals and even go well beyond them.

Why? Because you're going to be focused: daily, weekly, monthly and yearly on the INPUTS of your system and NOT on far-reaching goals that produce the the that constant feeling of pre-success failure that causes so many people to drop out of the race before they even begin.

And if you want to take a peek into exactly how I deploy my 1:1:1:1 system, you can start with my free quiz: "What Type Of Online Business Is Right For YOU? www.bradlong.co/quiz

Once we figure out your business model, we can then get to work by making sure you have:

1 verified market - that we measure with a very specific, data-driven process

1 way to generate leads - I recommend a quiz funnel

1 say to convert those leads - we convert most of our new students via a high-impact and repeatable webinar, and

1 product to sell - which is something we produced in concert with our audience so as to make it as relevant to where they are in the process as possible.

That's it!

So make sure to get started with my free quiz: "What Type Of Online Business Is Right For YOU? www.bradlong.co/quiz