How is a Smashed Finger Like Online Marketing?

Whew!

I've spent the past two days building my new garden area moving railroad ties and stacking them 4 rows high...

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Double whew!

My back is aching, legs are banged up, and a finger mashed...but it's done and it feels good.

That's what happens on Memorial Day weekend, right? It's the first 3-day weekend of the "summer" and we all get out work in the yard. It's a time to get all the stuff done that's been on the list since winter. And my wife and I got a ton of it done just 3 days.

But I did a lot of thinking too.

If you've got a minute, let me tell what I learned from building this raised garden. (It's got a lot to do with what I've learned about marketing too.)

I didn't know how to do this. Just a couple of years ago, I hired someone to build another raised landscape area like this. I didn't watch him build it, but I examined the finished product thoroughly. It looked simple enough.

So, a few weeks ago, I had the local lumberyard deliver 20 railroad ties.

I staked off my area with twine. Then I walked around the previously completed raised landscape area and noted how he had cut the corners, spaced the ties so the joints didn't overlap and fastened them together with 18 inch rebar (steel rods used to reinforce concrete.)

I put in the first row of railroad ties and immediately ran into trouble. Cutting these ties with a chain saw is like cutting rock. Really tough material. So, I went to Lowe's and picked up a chain saw sharpening guide. In between cuttings, I sharpened the saw. That helped tremendously.

On the second row, I began trying to drive the rebar directly into the ties with a sledgehammer. After driving two rods through the ties, I was completely spent -exhausted. On the third, I bent the rebar and broke the sledgehammer handle.

I called my friend Gene and asked him how he would do this...He said, "drill those ties before you drive the rebar." Off to Lowes, I bought an auger bit and another sledgehammer. Still, the sledgehammer work seemed to take forever! But it was getting better.

I thought there had to be a better way. Then, I remembered that I had 12-inch lag bolts left over from when I built my log house. I used my heavy duty drill to create the holes and the same drill to drive the lag bolts.

Much faster, more stable, less exhausting, and more rewarding.

By the end of the day Sunday, soaked with sweat and covered in mud (and bleeding from a scrape on my shin), I gazed at my accomplishment.

And it felt good.

It occurred to me that I began marketing online in much the same way.

I didn't know how to create an online business when I started, but I knew others were doing it. I bought the tools and ordered the products recommended to prepare for my online business. Some I needed, some I didn't. Some worked, many didn't. I studied marketers with more experience and success trying to absorb their knowledge and experience. I got a mentor who could personally lead me through the maze that is online marketing. He steered me toward the techniques that were time-tested and most reliable. I improved on some of the techniques he's taught me and made them my own. I tried new techniques until I achieved some success by analyzing my progress and adjusting to create a better outcome.
That seems to be the natural progression of any new endeavor. You may be somewhere along that path. And of course, you want to know how to get the end more quickly.

Here are a few suggestions...

Get a mentor. Make sure it's someone who has been where you want to go and can lead you there easily. Make sure they have the same values as you do too. Discover the tools you'll need and get them as quickly and cheaply as possible. But make sure they work for you. Hang out with the right people who have the same goals as you, and who can help you achieve those goals. Most importantly, get started. Just take action today. I looked at my pile of railroad ties imagining what the raised garden would like for nearly a month.
Everyday, the pile of railroad ties was just a pile. Until I put the first tie down, the garden was never real. Now, it's all there. Success...

Good luck in your success, too.

How is a Smashed Finger Like Online Marketing?

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