You’re working on the Shopify store, and a dark, gunky substance seeps into your brain. Like when Will comes back from the Upside Down. It’s overpowering, hard to describe, and kills creativity.
It’s the list of unidentified problems you haven’t written down yet.
Principle: A problem identified is half solved
A year ago I’m pumping out ads and social media videos for my little brand during November (i.e. HOTT dealz).
The more I input, the lower sales slide. What??
After 3 days (way too long) I figured there might be something broken. Not only did we need to make payment on a Meta ads limit we’d hit yesterday - truly a rookie move - our most popular size for the product being advertised was “sold out.” Idiot.
Head down, nose to the grindstone is not how a business owner should be at all times. There are icebergs on the horizon, and you’re the one responsible for spotting them.
Tactics
Take one full day, and identify all (ALL) the cancer cells in your business. Pretend you’re about to buy the business, and uncover every last reason not to.
customer churn >25%
ads getting stale
LTV decreased last quarter
3-star reviews all talk about X
fulfillment team mistakes are increasing
Fine-toothed comb. Lay them all out.
Like a deep-tissue Thai massage it’s going to suck, and then you’ll feel amazing. With 100 problems, at least you can now identify which ones need the most action.
Then, make an action plan for each problem. Could be “all hands on deck,” and it could be “get rid of it.” Just make an action plan.
Habits
Start keeping a running log book of pains/problems that pop up in your business. I use Obsidian because it lets me map problems to their solutions.
Over time you’ll start to discover just how skilled you’ve become at 1) identifying problems, and 2) handling them or dismissing them as nothing burgers without dipping your toe into the Upside Down.
Good luck,
Mike
Today’s inspiration: What I Learned Growing an 8-Figure Business by Noah Kagan (point #9)