Grow Your Business Using The 80/20 Method

Like most founders and business owners, you might be pushing 40-60 hour work weeks.

You’re probably juggling a ton of things on your plate.

There are always fires to put out or things that aren’t working.

And never enough time (or energy) to fix everything.

You might look at this and think you have a business problem.

The real problem that I see… is a lack of alignment and an attachment to that misalignment.

The problem is an attachment to some (or many) things that are not aligned with what you truly want.

This could be an attachment to a certain way of doing things. Or an attachment to avoiding something that needs to be done.

This could be an attachment to a certain way of being. Or an attachment to avoiding a way of being needed to get what you want.

Because your attachment is not aligned with what you truly want, your nervous system gets triggered into overwhelm and anxiousness.

Your emotions start playing tricks on you and to avoid feeling the feelings, you distract yourself by doing more.

You take on too many things, losing focus on what is actually important.

Doing more of what’s not aligned will not create alignment.

Working harder on more of the same will not get you better results.

It’ll get you more of the same.

More is not the answer here, less is.

You’ve probably heard of Pareto’s Law: 80% of results come from 20% of the actions.

If you want to truly move the needle and grow your business: get clear on what 20% will create the best results and get hyper-focused on that 20%.

Sounds easy and straightforward right?

Well the hard parts that no one talks about are:

• Deciding what falls under the 20%

• Eliminating the 80%

Deciding to go all-in on the 20% that will scale your business the most requires letting go of the 80% that gets you more of the same.

This is challenging because you have an attachment to the 80%.

There’s an identity that you’re attached to that’s associated with that 80%.

There’s a level of familiarity and certainty (read: sense of safety) that you’re attached to with that 80%.

The 20% that will create massive change and exponential growth for the business…

Requires a different identity and different level of commitment and focus.

Most entrepreneurs spend so much time spinning their wheels and staying stuck in their business because they are so attached to a current identity that’s committed to the 80%.

Committed to grinding harder, doing more of the same, only to yield more of the same.

If you want to achieve more by doing less… focus on less.

This week I’m going to share a simple process for using the 80/20 method to redefine your focus.

Specifically how to decide what makes up the 20% that will create the most transformation and growth.

Step 1: Know What You Want

Most founders and business owners don’t know what they truly want.

Some do and then go on to build a business that’s not aligned with what they truly want.

And then they wonder why they end up on a hamster wheel, never feeling fulfilled.

One of my biggest lessons in 8 years of entrepreneurship: the “doing” and the “how” is only 20% of building a successful business.

The other 80% is battling with yourself.

• Overthinking

• Overcomplicating

• Overwhelmed

• Self-doubt

The key to winning this battle with yourself is getting so clear on what you truly want and aligning everything in your life and business to this.

Business decisions made in alignment with your true self will always lead to a more profitable and valuable business.

Know what you truly want.

I’ll tell you what I want:

• A business with over 50% profit margin

• Time freedom (today, not in the future)

• A self-managing team who can run the business without me

• My profits diversified into other investments and businesses to create generational wealth

• Full alignment between my business and my lifestyle

Knowing what I want, I can more easily decide what goes in the 20%.

Step 2: Get Clear On Your Vision & Goals

Now you want to get clear on your Vision and Goals for your business, making sure it’s aligned with what you want in your personal life.

• What’s your 10-Year Personal Vision?

• What’s your 10-Year Business Vision?

• Are they aligned?

It’s important to think big picture and visualize your perfect day and future self.

What does your life and business look like in 10 years? How does it feel? Describe it.

Who do you need to BE to hold that 10-year version of your business and life? Describe your future self identity.

Now take this 10-Year Vision and reverse engineer it into:

• 3 Year Personal Milestones

• 3 Year Business Milestones

• 1 Year Goals

Always think 20% when breaking it down: what 20% do I need to accomplish in 3 years that will put me on track for my 10-year target?

What 20% of my 1 Year Goals will create 80% of results for my 3 Year Milestones?

Simplify and eliminate.

When done right, doing less and focusing on less leads to more and better results.

This becomes your North Star to make it easier to define what goes in the 20% that you should get hyper-focused on.

If you want to create full clarity on your Vision and Goals, from your 10 Year Vision to your 1 Year Goals, check out my Strategic Vision Planner (it’s free)

Step 3: Know What’s In The Way

Once you have your Vision and Goals, brainstorm and list out everything that you feel needs to be done to get to your goals.

• What’s in the way of you achieving what you want?

• What needs to be done?

• What needs to be fixed?

• Who do I need to hire?

Get everything out onto the list.

Step 4: Choose The 20%, Let Go Of The Rest

Once you have your list, not it’s time to prioritize.

• Which top 20% of this list will create the best and most results?

• Which 1-2 things are bottlenecking the rest?

• When done right and effectively, which 1-2 things will make everything else unnecessary?

Commit to going all-in on this 20% and let go of the rest.

Letting go could mean delegating them, hiring someone to handle them, or automating or even eliminating them.

Remember, letting go of the 80% also means letting go of the identity that’s attached to that 80%.

Who must you BE to stay hyper-focused on that top 20% of the list?

Step 5: Design Your Systems

Now you can go and design the system to get hyper-focused on the 20%.

A clear vision and a well-designed system does NOT look like a long to-do list and 60-hour work week.

What it looks like for me is:

• 10 hours a week of focused work on the 20%

• 10 hours a week creating leverage (with team and systems)

• 10 hours a week of honing the “soft skills” and doing the identity work

• the rest is the margin to enjoy my life

It doesn’t have to look like that for you. But it does need to be in alignment with what you truly want.

Clarity on what you truly want first.

Then prioritize and let go.

Then design the systems.

Actions and results will follow the alignment.

That’s all for this week.

Thanks for reading, I hope you found it helpful!

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Your Pal,

Colin

P.S. Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. I’m currently doing some market research on founders, so for a limited time, I’m offering free Strategy Calls (all value, no pitch). You’ll walk away with actionable tips on scaling your business and time freedom. Claim a call!

2. A new course launching soon - The 20 Hour Founder, to help you reclaim your time by unlocking the power of your EA, AI automations, and systems. Join the waitlist!

3. Follow me on LinkedIn and Instagram for more tips on business growth and personal development

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