Whenever I get asked

“Nick, what do you want for your birthday…”

The answer is easy.

I just send them links to one of my many wish-lists on record and book websites.

Whenever I’m browsing online and see something I fancy I chuck it on one of these lists, to save it for later.

The problem is, I’m so interested in so many things it would be IMPOSSIBLE to buy them, read them, or listen to them all.

If I were to buy everything I got excited about then Heloise and I would have to crawl over piles of records and books just to get out of the living room.

That’s because it’s so easy to want something…

But it’s much less easy to actually consume it or use it.

This is why so many people have garages, cellars and lofts full of gym equipment, cooking gadgets and outdoors sports gear that they barely used.

The same goes for home business ideas.

A common email I get from subscribers is to complain that they have so many opportunities on their wish list they can’t choose which one to pick…

Or they’ve bought something and not done anything with it yet (but are intending to)…

Or they’ve started something they’ve abandoned for a shinier and newer idea.

I’ve even talked to people who have done the initial set-up for multiple mini-businesses….

Yet none of them are actually ready for launch or none are getting results…

They’ve spread themselves too thinly to make anything work properly, which means nothing works at all, despite all their efforts.

If you’re also a bit of a ‘business opportunity hoarder’ then you know what I’m talking about here.

You end up procrastinating… dithering… going from one thing to another… getting distracted by new things…

Until eventually, you just do nothing.

It’s what’s known as ‘decision paralysis’.

But there is a cure….

THE POWER OF ONE

There’s a principle known as ‘the Power of One’.

It means that focussing on just one thing makes the eventual outcome far more effective.

For example, in the world of copywriting, every sales message should have one core idea, one promise, one reader, and one call-to-action.

Or if you want to develop a new habit that sticks, you should focus on just one first (for example, daily walking) rather than trying to overhaul your entire lifestyle.

That same principle applies to building an online business…

You should pursue one clear business idea, with one clearly defined audience, with one clear objective.

When it delivers actual results, that’s when you can add another string to your bow.

Of course, this is easier said than done.

How exactly, do you choose something – and, even more trickily – how do you push yourself to stick with it, even when shiny new things catch your attention?

Well, there are a handful of strategies you could try.

THE ‘ESSENTIALISM’ PRINCIPLE

Business writer and consultant, Greg McKeown wrote a book called Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.

He suggests that most of us fall into a trap he describes as “the undisciplined pursuit of more.”

We say yes to too many opportunities.

We scatter our energy on too many tasks.

And we confuse being ‘busy’ with being ‘productive’.

But instead of trying to be everywhere – and do everything – we should eliminate non-essential goals and channel our energy into what truly matters.

That means ruthlessly cutting things out, rather than adding more to the pile..

He suggests the following:

• Explore and Evaluate – make a list of all the options on the table, and rank the ones that will make the greatest possible contribution to your goal. If you don’t rate an idea as a 9/10 or higher (in terms of fit with your skills, excitement, and goals), treat it as a no.
• Eliminate – now remove the non-essential activities and obligations so that you can focus on the options that will make the most difference.
• Execute – now make a plan to carry out the actions towards that one goal, including a schedule and targets.

When a new opportunity comes along and catches your eye, instead of defaulting to ‘yes’, pause and ask yourself:

“Does this help me advance the one thing I’ve chosen?”

If not, it goes on the ‘maybe later’ pile.

It’s a good idea to keep a list of ideas you reject in this way, as it gives you some options for backup if it all goes wrong – OR for income streams you can add later when your first idea is up and running.

THE “HELL YES” METHOD

You could be even more ruthless and use a method developed by Derek Sivers, called the “Hell, Yes!” strategy.

Basically, if you come across a home business idea, course or plan and you don’t give it an immediate, enthusiastic “Hel, Yes!” response… then reject it.

This is a way to follow your gut instinct so that you follow only the ideas you genuinely want to pursue – and that you’re most likely to stick at.

THE ‘ONE THING’ APPROACH

Authors Gary Keller and Jay Papasan wrote an excellent book called ‘The One Thing’ in which they use the analogy of dominos arranged in a line.

When you push just one small domino, it topples the next one…and then that domino topples the next one.

Not only that but a single domino can knock over another domino which is 50% larger than itself.

Then that domino can knock over something 50% larger again…

So by the 10th domino, you’d be knocking over something the size of a fridge.

By the 18th, the Tower of Pisa.

Their point is that small, focused actions compound into massive results.

But it needs to start with that ONE SMALL THING.

So instead of scattering your energy across ten half-baked projects, you line up the dominoes for just one final goal.

They recommend that you determine the ONE most important priority, then work backward from there.

It might be a long term goal – for example, a home business that you can depend on as a second income, or a full time income that might enable you to retire early, or move abroad.

Or it might be a short term goal – for instance, a quick cash project that can deliver a specific amount of money for a defined reason (like buying a car or paying for a holiday) in 30–90 days, or within 12 months.

Make sure you’re clear on what you want, then break that goal down into smaller, achievable goals that will help you progress towards it.

Of course, there might be several business opportunities that might fit the bill.

So ask yourself, “What’s the ONE business idea I could try that would make everything else easier or unnecessary?”

That’s the one to go for!

Or if you’re still unsure try this….

THE ‘IMPACT VS EFFORT’ MATRIX

Take your top candidates for a home business and plot each one on a basic graph.

Use two axes…

• One vertical line for ‘effort required’ (time, skills, levels of focus)
• One horizontal line for ‘potential impact’ (income level, speed of results, pleasure and pride you’ll feel).

When you’ve finished, pick the one which has the highest impact for the lowest effort.

I hope that helps!

Of course, I realise that it can be hard to pick so by all means send in a few ideas that you’re comparing and I can offer you some advice.