To quit or not to quit.
That is the question.
But is it really? Are those the only two options we have? I think most of the time we just pose the wrong question.
I spent more than two years writing my first book “Leader by Choice” and had plans of it being a great success and making wads of cash while going on paid international book tours. Once I finished writing, I focused on the marketing and that’s when things went downhill.
My plan didn’t work out so well.
Okay, I bombed it!
Actually, I didn’t have a firm marketing plan! And I didn’t come anywhere near to reaching my sales goals. In fact, I sell between 1 to 10 copies per month. While I’m grateful to sell a few copies per month this isn’t what I was expecting.
And worst of all, I’m still waiting for Oprah to invite me for an interview! 🙂
Here’s a fun fact:
There are approximately six million books in Amazon’s Kindle store! Thousands are probably added EVERY SECOND (my calculation). I also learned the average indie publisher sells less than 100 books! That’s insane, but I now understand why.
Am I happy to have written my first book? Absolutely!
Did I learn a lot in the process? Tons.
I learned about writing, marketing, goal-setting, myself, and what doesn’t work. I also learned YOU CAN’T SELL WITHOUT A PLAN.
Most importantly, I learned how to use my writing to take control of my life’s story instead of running from it! Now I truly own my story instead of being ashamed of my past. Writing my first book also gave me the chance to collect my thoughts, stories, and lots of material to use for public speaking.
But this wasn’t a publishing success despite the fact that some of the people who read the book left awesome reviews.
Where did I mess up?
Okay let’s rephrase that. So what can I do differently going forward?
- I didn’t reach enough people because I kept changing my marketing plan and never fully committed to any of them. SOLUTION: It would help to come with one plan and stick with you for a specific amount of time.
- I have tiny email list, which I didn’t know (and still don’t) how to use. SOLUTION: Learn how to communicate with your subscribers before you have anything to sell.
- I was acting like superman by doing too much on my own . (The first few versions of the book had tons of typos and after making the changes I then uploaded the wrong version which had even more typos in it!) Solution: GET A TEAM.
It’s so discouraging when you put so much energy, effort, and love into a project and then it flops. And that’s why I seriously considered quitting all of this online stuff/brand building stuff. I thought about giving up on my dreams of going into entrepreneurism and pursuing my goal of building a business from doing those things I enjoy most: making a positive impact in the lives of others through personal development, inspiration, and sharing leadership lessons.
Fortunately, I snapped out of it.
It’s not first time I’ve thought about quitting and it probably won’t be the last, but I’m focused on doing things differently. It’s like my virtual mentor Eric Thomas says,
“No quitting; just adjustments.”
Sometimes all we need to do is make minor adjustments and not huge changes.
The biggest Mistake I Made
I’m going back to the basics and focusing on building a solid foundation first.
Brick by brick.
The biggest mistake I made during this process was going straight to the dessert (self-publishing/writing a book) instead of starting with the main course (building a platform).
While it’s tempting to focus on writing a book or whatever big product/idea you have the problem is that without a group of people ready to buy it it’s really hard to sell informational products online.
Can it happen? Sure. But will it happen? It’s unlikely.
So why make it so difficult on yourself?
In life when you do the hard stuff first things are easier later on (not easy, but easier). It’s the same thing with selling online. If you do the hard work of building your platform and earning people’s trust first this will make things easier later on.
Find Your Advantage
Most people have advantages they don’t recognize because they take it granted.
For example, my biggest advantage is that I have a good career. I earn good income, work with great people and have enough mental stimulation to avoid wanting to bang my head against my computer monitor.
This means I’m not desperately looking to replace my career with side-hustle income immediately so this gives me time to build my platform gradually without wondering if my family will eat. This give me the time to focus on doing the not-so-sexy stuff like:
- Building a platform.
- Producing content consistently.
- Learning how to use google analytics.
- Improve my writing which is not my strength.
- Learn how to communicate with my email list when I don’t have something to sell.
Nothing on this list is fun for me, but it’s necessary for the long-term. What about you? Are there any adjustments you can make in your life or business instead of just quitting?