The Long Road From Start to Profit…
I was talking to a close friend the other night, about running my business for the last 10+ years. I commented on how much I really loved the idea & development phases. Also how much I enjoyed a true sense of accomplishment. It’s incredibly satisfying.
But then there’s that long grueling phase in the middle. The work it takes to get from point A to point B. It seems like a million little tasks that need to be done for every single business or marketing idea you want to implement.
That’s where I get bogged down. That’s where we ALL get bogged down.
You work at it day in and day out, week after week. Sometimes investing years to reach your target, even. It’s easy to lose sight of the end goal and get sucked into mindless work – or mindless management of a million outsourced tasks…
Obviously the goal is to get from start to profit in the shortest time possible. It takes focus, self-discipline, a lot of hours – or a lot outsourcing if you’re willing to invest some cash.
With an online business, things move fast. Trends and new strategies require evaluation and change. Not to mention the fact that constant business growth requires close management. So even after you reach the profit stage, you’ll still go back to the drawing board and find yourself in a work phase again now and then.
That’s exactly how the last year was for me.
I’d reached many of my lifestyle & financial goals along the way, but it was time for me to buckle down and restructure my business model. Set and reach some new financial goals. I also decided to launch several new websites.
So I went from working 10-20 hours a week with a lot of free time & flexibility… back to working full-time on my business. As usual, the idea phase was fun! Then came the work, and the million little details. 
I just came out on the other side of it all. I still have my hands in a lot of pie, mind you. I don’t think I’d be happy otherwise -lol. But at the moment I am enjoying that deep sense of satisfaction and accomplishment – and it feels great!
A year ago, I was overwhelmed and frustrated. My business was not running as smoothly as it should. I was working more hours than I preferred. I owed more in taxes than I used to make in a year. And I was feeling a lot less personal fulfillment from my work. A far cry from my “work less, make more” formula, and the flexible laid back lifestyle I’d been used to for years before.
I worked hard to change all of that. That’s a confession. I should have worked smarter, than harder. But hey – I got it done. 
I’m betting you can relate to all of this. If I had to guess, I’d say you’ve been putting in a lot of brainpower and long hours with your online business.
I just wanted to take a moment today and encourage you. It pays off.
Keep your eye on the target – whatever your personal goals are, or whatever you’re working on & toward at the moment. And remember to pass everything that comes your way through this one simple filter:
“does this take me closer to my goal, or does it distract me from it?”
Work smart when you can, and work hard otherwise.
It’s so worth it!
Best,
Please share "The Long Road From Start to Profit…" with your friends using the buttons below. Thanks!
Great post. Too many people miss the four letter word called Work on the way to success. They have great ideas but miss the implementation.
Way to take a look at your goals and your dreams and develop your business to suit your desires. That is the key to wealth both financially and personally. Glad to see a fellow TN doin well. Keep up the exciting work.
Follow me @scottlovingood on Twitter.
Great filter.
Unfortunately I used to get sidetracked 10 times a day … or was that before lunch?
That is so true Stan. I am exactly the same, but am making some changes to become a lot more efficient.
Follow me @Large DogKennels on Twitter.
Hi Stan and Tom
I too have that same problem of becoming distracted, and I think that the more pies your fingers are in, the harder it becomes to prioritize and make progress.
Lynn, its so true that starting something new is exciting and fun, and then the “work” has to happen, before you can start benefiting from the results of your labours. When I start out on a new project it all looks so easy, and then I get stuck with the technical bits, and wonder why it just won’t fall into place faster. I would really love to get past this stage, and come out the other side smiling at the results.
Thanks for your words of encouragement keep it up.
Follow me @dianegifts on Twitter.
Hey Lynn, that’s great motivation for me. Patience and perseverance is has always been my motto so thanks for the reinforcement
Good post Lynn. Its the work between A and B that determines the success of your business. Many people give up on it mid way and never reach their destination. Good to see that your near your point B.
Follow me @ArticleDirec on Twitter.
It’s been a long road but boy once things start to happen, it’s really all worth it. And you might not end up doing what you intended on in the beginning so be open to new things because that is when great things happen.
Everything I’m doing right now is definitely taking me closer to my goal!
Follow me @angienewton on Twitter.
Lynn,
What an awesome personal story to share. “Work smart, not hard”…yeah, easier said than done at first. It’s almost like we have to “work hard” to pay our dues first…and that was very frustrating for me.
Enjoy the moment Lynn, you deserve it.
Follow me @josephratliff on Twitter.
I can relate, to me it always seems like it takes forever. It always starts out as excitement, then turns into long hours of work that seems endless and ends in, Oh Think God that’s finished. And if it ends in making money, a big smile
If not, it ends in “What was I thinking” 
Follow me @MikeStorzieri on Twitter.
Ah what you mean I cant be rich overnight? Damn it….lol
Great post as ever
to do lists and goal setting the way to do it
Danny
Follow me @DannyCutts on Twitter.
Thanks for the dose of encouragement Lynn. It can be tough and quite overwhelming when you don’t seem to be getting to the desired results when you want. I guess that’s why so many people ask if it’s possible to make X amount of dollars in 30 days right?
We don’t see all the hard work that goes on behind the scene so I’m almost surprised by your growing pains lol. Not a bad problem to have though
Thanks for sharing…
Follow me @Kimmoy on Twitter.
Lynn, what a timely post. I also seem to get so bogged down with the million little details!
I recently found myself missing the start up phase of my business- because there was no customer-service, project-magement… just me and my ideas!
Thanks,
EB
PS Gorgeous pic in this post- you can be a model:)
One should have a goal. Set short-term goals to be able to reach a long-term goal. Focus on that goal, always moving forward and not turning to the right or to the left. You are right, one should always ask the question: “does this take me closer to my goal, or does it distract me from it?”
Follow me @andrewrondeau on Twitter.
I love how our online business often provide the opportunity for self reflection and visualizing where we see ourselves 5 years down the road.
Taking this time to visit our values and vision and making sure that the actions we are taking with our business are in alignment with these values and visions, is time well spent and a wise time investment in your business and life.
Like you said Lynn, it sure feels great to accomplish our goals and to allow ourselves the time to really soak that up. But it’s just as important to start thinking of new goals to achieve that will continue to contribute to our happiness and the happiness of those whom apply your teachings.
Thanks once again for being so open.
Scott Tousignant
Follow me @FatLossQuickie on Twitter.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you said “work smarter, not harder”.
That is what truly separates the gurus and other highly successful people in this business. They aren’t out pounding as hard as they can 24/7. Instead they formulate a plan and execute it to a ‘T’.
When you can start doing that then things really start to pick up.
Cheers,
-Tom
Thanks Lynn: a very timely bit of encouragement for me. I am just where you were . . . .
Follow me @drbob4u on Twitter.
What a great post. I love the encouragement that you always give to others.You have been a big turning point in my life and business. I am so happy that you are where you want to be. You deserve it.I have learned to follow a list everyday and not do anything else until I get that list done. I now ask myself “is this taking me closer to my goal or distracting me” and I thank you for that.
Follow me @gailjrichardson on Twitter.
You’re honesty and great advice that goes with it is refreshing. I have been going through a similar phase, but definitely NOT spending more hours on the business. It’s something I just don’t want to do, but I have also had to restructure things and set new goals.
Your question is right on:
“does this take me closer to my goal, or does it distract me from it?”
For me, the goal is minimizing work time (but growing profits), so a lot of projects have been dropped in favor of that. It’s been a process about 9 months in the making and is REALLY starting to pay off now.
Thanks for sharing with us, Lynn.
Follow me @aliceseba on Twitter.
You nailed me with another one here, Lynn. My single biggest obstacle seems to be finding my self bogged down in things not supporting my direct goal. The other day I read a forum post suggesting how to completely start a small site every day. While the concept’s not practical for the long term, I found it appealing in that you’d at least have a full accomplishment behind you. Upon your suggestion, I’ve been reading “The Power of Full Engagement” and really getting into how necessary it is to form daily activity habits that support your goal. Mental actions are similar to muscles and strengthen with repetition and stretching.
Follow me @wade_watson on Twitter.
Working hard is more prefer thing to me and working smart is my wish. As more and more day I pass, I able to find ways to do work smarter and save sometime for those hard working job. It’s fun and it’s really pay.
Follow me @arafat21 on Twitter.
Oh, Lynn, I love how honest you are.
And I need to hear it over and over – the sentence “does this take me closer to my goal, or does it distract me from it?” because I seem to be easily distracted.
Being a member of your Elite Forum really has helped me to focus more, and I am starting to see progress in areas that I have worked on for several years, because I am more focused.
Thanks for your honesty and encouragement, Lynn!
Diana
Follow me @DianaWalker on Twitter.
This is a great post. I have lots of irons in the fire, and find it difficult keeping up with all of it. Obviously the immediate money needs always supersede the long term money goals, but one can’t forget to work on those as well. You’ve spoken the reality of many of us; I hope most of us can find the energy to fight through as you have.
Follow me @ on Twitter.
Hi Lynn
Love it “Work smart when you can, and work hard otherwise”
Reminds me of maths questions at school that asked you to prove something and then said “hence or otherwise prove the following.”
My maths teacher used to say…
If you know what you’re doing it’s hence… if you don’t know what you’re doing it’s otherwis.”
Looks like it’s the same with blogging… work smart or work hard.
Looks like hard work for me. LOL
Lynn,
So inspiring and so honest…I love that you differentiate the humming along phase from the r&d phase. They are so different. Also, LOVE the quote and will begin implementing that. Agree with you that sometimes you need to work smart and sometimes you just need to work HARD!
Follow me @escapehatcher on Twitter.
Great post Lynn,
I totally agree that Persistence hard work and having the correct mindset are crucial to having all the success you deserve on the internet. My emphasis is on having the correct mindset especially when you are starting out in this business because without the right ‘mindset’ there’s a good chance you will end up spinning your wheels and end up at the same place you are now in a year’s time.
For me It’s about starting from the ground up and that is with the correct mindset.
Wow, what a timely word. I am neck deep in that work phase, but yes it is paying off. The encouragement you offer is like a cool drink on a hot day, thanks! I do find it is good to take a couple short distraction breaks a day to keep my brain from getting exhausted.
Follow me @pennyraine on Twitter.
Awesome post as always Lynn.
I really appreciate how open you are with your readers. Working smarter in less time is definitely a skill in itself that I intend to master someday before I’m entirely gray. 
Thanks for your encouragement!
Follow me @wendywood on Twitter.
Thanks, Lynn! You are so right, there is no such thing as a ‘magic-bullet’ or free money. If you want it you have to work for it. That’s where the passion comes in. If you don’t like what you do it will never get done. I’ve worked hard in the last year to reconnect with what work makes me happy and it’s starting to pay off. Be happy = be wealthy. (and wealth can be defined in several ways)
You’re the best.
Follow me @the_nak on Twitter.
Lynn, thanks for this post.. I can definitely relate to this.. I often times make things much harder than they should be by getting off track or doing things that are not benefiting my business which brings about frustration. I love to read encouraging stories about people who have been there.. so thanks and keep up your awesome posting!
Follow me @Brismom on Twitter.
I liked the point on idea phase being fun…until execution time
I like your idea of working smart than working hard. In this way, I could actually be more productive than before if I know how everything goes. First, I need to know my goal and focus on it. Then from there start with a good strategy and make sure I act on it.
I feel you! Sometimes, I have this really great idea for a website and then I sit down to work on it… and I feel overwhelmed. Where do I begin? I think sometimes, jotting down various ideas and working on various ones bit by bit helps me from feeling swamped with my own thoughts and ideas. Sometimes a day off seems to work miracles as well. Like sometimes (a few times a year I would say) I choose to not use the computer for a whole day and I feel better about it hehe.
Follow me @FreeSampleMan on Twitter.
Lynn-
That is good stuff. It is easy to get excited in the beginning, and at the end, when you are being rewarded. But, you are right, it’s hard to keep yourself motivated through the grind in the middle.
One of the comments above said many people “miss the implementation” So true. Many people soak up information like a sponge, but the time and effort they put into learning gets wasted, because they don’t implement the knowledge they took in.
I notice this most in the advice every person, that I see as successful, gives to people; provide value.
Most people have a solid understanding of this concept, but when it comes to implementing this advice in their own marketing efforts, they fail to live by this advice.
This alone is the reason so many people fail, in their own eyes, after launching an internet marketing venture.
That and what you are talking about, staying motivated during the grind. Staying on task, and not getting distracted.
This is great advice from someone who has been there; you.
Thank You-
Matthew Zinda
Follow me @matthewzinda on Twitter.
I always love to hear your story, Lynn. It is so true that we all get stuck in that middle phase, and that’s probably where a lot of people give up entirely. It’s a good reminder that the end result is so worth all that mess in the middle.
Follow me @retta719 on Twitter.
You don’t really need to work hard in order to be successful in your online business. You just need to work smart in a way to know your goals and to set an effective strategy to accomplish everything. Of course, you need to start working on it, don’t just plan without doing anything.
[...] friend and mentor, Lynn Terry, has a catch phrase “From Start to Profit” which means to stick with one idea until it makes a profit. Too often we start projects and [...]
Another fantastic post! Thanks Lynn. Following a project through from ‘start to profit’ is so important, yet so many people seem to lose their way. I appreciate you taking the time to write posts like this to help the rest of us stay on track.
Follow me @ppcmom on Twitter.
Lynn,
You could not have said it any better! I can totally relate to your challenges of keeping it together in the midst of building a successful business online.
You are absolutely correct about keeping our heart,mind,and soul focused on the end of accomplishing a business goal.
Thank you for sharing the truth about what we all go through, no matter our status, while building our businesses.
To Your Success,
Stacie Walker
Woman in Leadership – Essential Knowledge for Business Success
Follow me @staciewalker on Twitter.