I’ve been spending a bit of time over the past couple of weeks planning my blog strategy for the next 12 months and I’ve been thinking about the concept of a BHAG – a Big Hairy Audacious Goal!

The term was first used by Jim Collins in his book Built To Last. It’s become more popular in the business world in recent years and is something worth thinking about when it comes to strategic planning for any business.

Wikipedia defines a BHAG in this way:

A BHAG encourages companies to define visionary goals that are more strategic and emotionally compelling.

In many cases a BHAG is a long term vision / goal but it can also apply to the shorter term.

BHAGs for Bloggers

Most bloggers have some goals for their blogs (at least I hope they do!). And as part of your business planning for your blog you’ve probably sat down this year and written down some goals you’d like to achieve.

Lets say you’ve been getting an average of 500 visitors a month to your blog. A simple (and achievable) goal could be to increase this amount to 600 visitors a month.  A BHAG is much bigger than that. A BHAG would be all about doubling your traffic – go to 1,000 visitors a month, or how about 2,000!

Another example could be newsletter sign-ups. Maybe you only get 10 people per month signing up to your newsletter (it could even be less for some people – don’t worry!). A simple, ‘safe’ goal would be to increase this figure by 20% or 30%. That’s achievable, realistic and possible – it meets all the criteria for a good goal.

But a BHAG takes this and smashes it! Why don’t you aim to double your newsletter sign-ups – go from 10 a month to 20. Or why not make a BHAG to go to 100 per month?

Can you see where I’m going here? A BHAG isn’t a normal goal – it’s a goal that will massively stretch you, but is still achievable.

One last example – revenue. Maybe you sell a few affiliate products (promoting other people’s products). Maybe you make $100 per month. A simple goal could be to make one or two extra sales a month and increase your revenue to $150 pm. A BHAG would be to increase it to $1,000 per month.

BHAG’s are scary things, but they’re great.

Why are BHAGs Great?

BHAGs force us to step outside our day-to-day business reality and dream a bit.

What if I could increase traffic to 2,000 people a month?

What if I could earn $1,000 per month?

A BHAG is all about helping you think about what could be, rather than what is currently happening.

The reality is that these things are possible. You can go from 500 – 2,000 visitors per month, it’s been done before.

Here’s the thing to realise with BHAGs:

The things you’ve been currently doing won’t be enough for you to achieve your BHAG – you’ll need to do things differently!

Think about that last line for a minute. Re-read it again and again. You need to change what you’re doing to achieve your BHAG.

Some Practical BHAG Examples

Now that I’ve got you thinking about BHAGs , here are some ideas that relate back to the three examples.

Traffic BHAG

• Guest posts work. Write guest posts for other bloggers and engage with their readers.
• Keyword research. Get a program like Market Samurai and do your keyword research. Find some keywords that you can rank well in and increase your organic search engine traffic.
• Improve your use of social media. Drive traffic to your site from Twitter and Facebook.
• Put your content elsewhere. Once you’ve written a blog article, submit it to article directories. Make a video about it and put it on You Tube. There are plenty of places to put your content.
• Write to your subscribers more.
• Write more content. Give readers more ways they can find your content.

Email Newsletter Conversions BHAG

• Let’s say that at the moment for every 100 visitors to your site, 2 of them subscribe to your newsletter. If you can double your traffic, you could double your subscribers every month.
• What about conversions? Could you increase that 2% sign up rate to 10%? How would you do that?
• Consider a plugin like Pop Up Domination which can boost conversion rates.

Increase Revenue BHAG

• Sell more of whatever you’re currently selling.
• Consider using Google AdWords and social media.
• Find other products to sell or promote.
• Promote more to your email list.
• Create your own product and sell it!

I bolded that last one because it’s so simple and easy to overlook, but the best way to achieve a revenue BHAG. Stop only selling other people’s products, take the time to create your own and get other people to sell that for you. If you do this, a BHAG of going from $100 to $1,000 (or more) per month is very achievable.

What’s Your BHAG?

I challenge you to think of one BHAG for 2012. What’s one thing related to your blog that would be amazing to achieve? Remember, don’t limit yourself by your current reality. The BHAG comes first, then you work to find the ways to make it happen.

Good luck in 2012. I’ve got a number of new articles I’ll be posting to help you achieve your BHAGs.

I love getting your comments. Let me know what you think about BHAGs – in fact share your 2012 BHAG in the comments below.

I recently did an interview with the guys at BlogcastFM where we spoke about a whole range of ideas relating to business principles and blogging. I’ll cover some of the points in more detail over the next few weeks but for now I want to look at one – The Power Of Focus.

I’ll admit it – I have a short attention span. According to some of the personality tests I did as part of my MBA I have the ability to grasp concepts quickly. The downside of this is that I can lose interest in things quickly.

The internet marketing world is awash with ideas to help you make more money – training courses, workshops, e-books etc. Take a look at the Warrior Forum and check out the Warrior Special Offer section – there’s no shortage of stuff there.

Even today I was looking over some files on my hard drive and found some training I’d downloaded but hadn’t finished watching.

The problem in today’s world is not getting the right information – it’s using it!

In the music world it’s called GAS – Gear Acquisition Syndrome. You want to have the latest guitars or amplifiers because you feel like they’re essential, only to wake up and realise you actually just need to practice more. The best guitar in the world won’t sound good if you can’t play it properly.

In the BlogcastFM interview we talked about how it’s so easy to get distracted. I could spend a day surfing the net, learning about internet marketing, but not putting any of it into practice.

Sometimes it’s easier not to do something. If I’m tired, it’s easier to read forums than it is to focus and write a new article.

The best way I’ve found to focus is to have very clear goals. For instance, this month I’ve set some goals around writing a certain number of articles, planning some guest posts, and creating some videos. I decided at the start of the month that these were important tasks for me to do for the month – more important than lurking in forums or watching too much TV.

The other thing that works is to only focus on one big goal at a time. I own a few different domain names, and have grand plans for all of them. But I also have a finite amount of time. So at the moment, I’m focusing on two blogs only, and putting the others on hold. Before I did this, I found that I was trying to do too many jobs at the same time, and couldn’t focus on any. So for the rest of this year, my major goals centre around these two blogs.

Finally, begin with the end in mind (thanks Stephen Covey). Know what you’re working towards.

I have a strategic vision for this blog that goes way beyond the next six months. I’ve broken that vision down into broad strategies, and those strategies further into goals. So a motivating factor for me in achieving my short term goals is that I know how each goal I achieve gets me closer to my long term vision.

Do you have trouble staying focused? What works for you? How do you get things done?

Leave a comment below and let me know.

photo credit: andi.vs.zf

A while ago I wrote about the importance of a vision for your business. Since then I’ve had a number of conversations with business owners about their strategic planning for their business and discovered that many of them are having trouble determining the difference between a business vision and a business mission.

In this article I’ll look at the differences between a business’ vision and mission, and give you some ideas to develop effective vision and mission statements.

What’s a business vision?

A business vision is a statement about the company’s future business scope.  It’s about where you’re headed. It talks about what your business will do and be known for in the future.

In a lot of cases, a vision statement can be summarised in a short slogan.  Examples include:

• Levi Strauss & Company : “We will clothe the world by marketing the most appealing and widely worn casual clothing in the world.”
• Nike : “To bring innovation and inspiration to every athlete in the world.”

Another point to remember is that a good business vision statement or slogan can either be made public, or private.  In a lot of cases, a vision is intended for the internal market only, and is not for the public.

What’s a business mission?

A mission generally looks at the present reality of a business.  In a simple sense it’s about who you are, what you do and why you’re here.

A mission statement is frequently found in a lot of the public marketing documentation of the company.  It talks about why the company exists, and why you should do business with them.

Crafting effective vision and mission statements

I’ve been involved with a few organisations when they’ve developed their vision and mission statements.  Some common problems I’ve seen include:

• Making statements too vague and too general.
• Too broad – covers so many areas that it doesn’t provide any clear direction
• Bland – it’s too boring and uninspiring.  No-one gets excited by it.

To build an effective statement, make sure it’s graphic, forward-looking, focused (not too broad), possible, desirable and easy to communicate.

Importantly, once you’ve completed your mission and vision statements - use them!  I’ve seen too many organisations who have invested days into crafting these statements, only to forget about them.

I was speaking with someone last week about their goals and vision for their life and I made the comment that a good vision is like a compass – it keeps us on track and helps us focus on the things that are important.

Do you have a vision or plan for your business?  What do you think about these ideas?  Leave a comment below.

Do you have a vision for your life?  Do you have goals and dreams that you’d like to accomplish?

I’ve read a few articles this week that reinforced the importance of having a vision for your life.

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

I read the Seven Habits book years ago, and have always remembered one of the habits – Begin with the end in mind.  Covey tells the reader to have a vision of where you want to be, of what you’re trying to achieve.  So few people ever take the time to step back from their day-to-day life and actually think about the future.  In this day and age some people consider it too hard to even think one year in advance.

In my financial planning business I often ask clients about their goals and dreams.  I want to find out about the things in life that are important to them, so I can help them put in place a financial plan that helps them achieve their goals.

What Does the Ideal Life Look Like?

If you could design your life the way you want it, what would it look like?

If money was no object, what are the things you’d do?

Imagine you’re 90 years old and looking back on your life.  What are the things you want to be remembered for?

These are all important questions that you need to ask yourself. If you don’t have a personal vision, it makes it difficult to create a business vision.  Without a business vision you can fall into the trap of chasing your tail, and never quite getting a grip on what you’re trying to achieve.

Your Personal Vision Drives Your Business Vision

A well defined personal vision will make it easier for you to decide on the online business model that suits you.  If your personal vision is to be recognized as an expert in your field (ie a John Chow), then your online business model may be centred around you and your personality.  This can also create some extra pressure as your business model becomes very dependant on you.

You may have a personal vision to make money by selling a variety of information products that may take some effort to write and set up, but provide passive income over time.  This model may not be as dependant on your personality, and may not be as demanding of your time.

Either model (and everything in between) is suitable for different people.  What is suitable for you?

I see many people who don’t think about what they’re trying to achieve in life.  They start their own business (online or offline) to get away from being an employee, but a few years down the track the realise they’re just as trapped in their own business as they were in their old jobs.

Over the coming weeks I’ll write a series that will help you arrive at a personal vision which will in turn help you decide on a business vision.

For now, take some time out to think about your personal vision and goals.  What do you want to achieve?  Let me know in the comments below.

I’ve been watching the internet world for many years and seen internet businesses evolve over that time.

The past few years have seen an explosion in home-based businesses, many of them web-based.  The blogging world has grown to the point where traditional print-based media is slowly declining and some bloggers are becoming household names and hold incredible influence.

It’s so easy today to set up a hosted blog and begin writing and selling something.  If you want to get a bit more serious you can register a domain name, set up hosting somewhere and begin your web based business and try to make money online.

If you want to make money online, there are so many people out there who will tell you how to do it.  Some will tell you to sell affiliate products, others will get you to use Google AdSense or AdWords, some will tell you to create your own products and others will suggest you build membership sites.

There are so many choices, but which ones are right for you?

The answer is…’it depends’.

Back To The Beginning

What are you trying to accomplish?

If people asked themselves this question more often, I think they could be a lot more successful.

When it comes to blogging or having a web site, what are you trying to accomplish?

Your Personal Goals and Vision

When I work with my business coaching clients, one of the first questions I ask them about is why they are running a business.  I want to understand how it fits in with their life.

Usually, their first answer is they want to make money.  That doesn’t tell the whole story.  I want to know what their personal goals are and how the business fits in with those goals.  A couple of questions I are:

• “What role does your business play in enabling you to achieve your personal goals?”
• “Do you feel your business is helping you achieve your personal goals?”
• “What would need to change in your business to help you get on track to achieving your goals?”

For many people their business runs them.  They don’t feel in control of their business.

A Clean Slate

In most cases, beginning a web-based business is an opportunity to start from scratch.  But sometimes it isn’t, so it’s important to think through this stage properly.

Are you blogging or running a web site as a way to make money, or do you just want to do it for fun – as a hobby?

Your answer to the above is tremendously important.  You may want to blog as a hobby.  You may have a topic you want to write about that you feel so passionate about but you may not care about making any money.  Your vision is for your blog to always be a hobby, to never replace your full time job, and you’re happy with this.

If that’s you, well done.  Congratulations on having a strong vision in place and knowing what you want. 

If you don’t fall into that category, and do want to make money, here’s another question:

Realistically, how much money do you want to make from the internet?  Do you want it to produce enough to cover your costs, pay for holidays and ‘extra’ purchases, do you want it to replace your current income, or do you want to earn five or six figures from it?

Again, your answer to this question will help to influence the choices you make with your blog.  Remember, everyone is different and there is no one-size-fits-all.  The important thing is to decide what’s right for you.

Following on from this last question, here’s something else to consider:

How much time can you realistically spend on your internet business?

Think about your answer.   Be realistic.  Think about it in relation to the previous question.  If you want to quit your day job and earn a full-time income from your blog, it’s not going to happen if you only spend a few hours a week on it.  It’s going to take a huge commitment from you in terms of time and resources – are prepared to make that sacrifice?

Why?

So let’s come back to the title of this post – ‘why are you doing it?’

What do you want to achieve? 

Take some time to think about your personal goals.  Decide how the internet blogging / business thing fits in your life.  Decide on whether you want to make money and if so, how much you want to make.  How much time will you commit?

If you decide that you want to make money online, then by default you’re really saying ‘I want to start a business and run it online’.  And running a business is different to having a hobby.  It takes time, effort and commitment.

Many of the principles for running a successful business apply regardless of whether the business exists online or offline.  Over time we’ll discuss those principles and ideas here.

Let me know what you think.  What are your goals for your online endeavour?  Is it a business or a hobby?