Confession: I broke my own business rules

On social media, you’ll find me talking about how to simplify your business. And for good reason.

When you have simple systems, processes, and funnels, every aspect of your business becomes more manageable.

But funny enough, sometimes I forget my own “simple” advice when it comes to running my business. How ironic.

Last week I jumped on a call with Olly Richards, who runs a $10M education business called StoryLearning. We met last year when he sponsored my newsletter, and we’ve since become online friends.

I was telling Olly about some complicated funnels I’ve dreamed up for my newest product, The Creator MBA.

3 different entry points, 7 different pathways, 10 different offers, and so on.

Complicated.

As I got further into talking, I realized I was struggling to explain exactly what I wanted to do and why. And that’s a bad sign.

Olly stopped me with a suggestion.

Why not make everything more simple so you can move fast and experiment more easily?

It’s advice I’ve given so many times, but I couldn’t see when it came to my own business. Like so many other entrepreneurs, I had blinders on. And Olly helped take them off.

From the complicated entry points, pathways and offers I had in mind, we landed on something much simpler:

• 1 entry point
• 1 lead magnet
• 1 sequence
• 1 offer

My goal will be to measure the number of leads who enter at the top, tag them effectively, and then look at revenue at 14, 30, and 90 days out. From there, I can calculate a dollar amount that tells me the value per lead.

If 1,000 people enter and 15 people buy at an average price of $897, then 1,000 people equals $13,455.

That means each lead is worth $13.46.

Once I know that value, I can move fast and experiment. I can change the lead magnet while keeping everything else constant, and measure the same equation. Then, I can change the sequence and do the same. And finally, the offer.

By running experiments and isolating different variables, I should be able to maximize my funnel with the best lead magnet, best sequence, and best offer.

This is how you get great results, all without spinning up the worlds most complicated funnel.

Simplicity wins.

So for today, here’s how you can apply this to your brand or business:

Don’t have a business yet? Start by making your social profiles, like LinkedIn, easy to understand. Fewer links, fewer words, fewer areas of ‘expertise’. Become known for one thing. Consider simplifying your content strategy rather than making it more complex. If you have a website, make it easy to find. And when your followers go there, consider offering one CTA only. (email you, buy something, submit an inquiry, etc.) When you give people too many options, they often end up doing nothing.

Already running your own business? Look for opportunities to move from multiple funnels down to one. Find places where your business is so complicated that you can’t get the true data you need to see what’s working. When you find that area, ask yourself, “What would this look like if it were simpler?” And start there.

And that’s all for today.

See you next week.

P.S. This is a small sneak preview of my flagship course, The Creator MBA. 14 Chapters and 111 Lessons of instructional video that will teach you how to build a lean, profitable internet business (even if you're just starting or don't have an idea).

Join 4,000+ internet entrepreneurs here.