How To Stop Playing Business and Get Serious In 4 Easy Steps

Are you still “Playing” business?

It’s an honest question.

A lot of people want to play business.

They want to tell everyone about their latest business ideas, show off their brand new business cards, and talk about being a #boss.

People who are playing business, do a lot of the same things people that are serious about their business do.

They read books, go to seminars, hire coaches.

Sometimes they even create websites and products.

But they’re not really “all in.”

If you’re sitting there nodding your head, this article is for you.

Maybe you already have a good job and want to build a business but you want to do it at your own pace on your own terms.

Maybe you love the fantasy of running a business, not the actual day to day reality.

Maybe you’ve mistaken attention for success, as Russ Mayberry of Digital Marketer always says.

“You can’t eat likes or views.”

Maybe you’ve gotten mesmerized doing research, trying to figure out what the best platform is for you, or listening to other successful entrepreneurs talking about their success.

But if you’re ready to stop fantasizing and get real, we are here to help!

One of the things our founder Kenny Reuter always says is:

“Kajabi is where people go to get serious.” 

So in the spirit of getting serious, here’s how you can stop playing business and get serious about your online business in 4 easy steps!

How to Stop Playing Business and Get Serious In 4 Easy Steps:

1. Find your "Why." The first step to stop playing business is to find your big why. Why do you want to be an entrepreneur? What does it mean to you? Who does it affect? When you find your why you’ll realize that your success is bigger than you which will motivate you to stop playing and put in the work!

2. Stop Dabbling! In his book, Mastery George Leonard talks about the 3 types of learners, the dabbler, the obsessive and the hacker. If you want to stop playing you have to stop dabbling!

3. Know Your Strengths. People who play business think they can do everything themselves. People that run successful businesses KNOW what they are good at and what they aren’t. Then focus on their strengths.

4. Get help, support, and accountability! The last step to getting serious is to get help! Successful entrepreneurs know that no one does it alone. And they find the specific help support and accountability they need!

Ok, now that you know what the steps are let’s get into some specifics.

Step # 1: Find your Why.

Your why is the purpose, cause or belief that drives your business.

Why do you want to start a business?

Why should anyone care?

Why you?

Why Now?

It’s not just some touchy-feely woo-woo concept, there is a lot of science that supports the idea that having a why directly drives action, motivation, and persuasion.

Simon Sinek author of the best selling book “Start with why.” writes

“... this whole concept of WHY is grounded in the tenets of the biology of human decision making…..

The middle two sections—the WHY and HOW—correspond to the middle section of the brain, the limbic system. This is the part of the brain responsible for all our behavior and decision making. It’s also responsible for all our feelings, like trust and loyalty. But unlike the neocortex, the limbic system has no capacity for language. This is where “gut feelings” come from. It’s not our stomach. It’s a feeling we get about a decision we have to make that we struggle to explain.

That separation of powers is the biological reason we sometimes find it difficult to put our feelings into words (“I love you more than words can say”), explain our actions (“The devil made me do it!”) or justify our decisions (“I don’t know ... it just felt right”).

We can learn, however, to put words to those feelings. And those who do are the ones who are better able to inspire action in themselves, among their colleagues and with their customers.”

So, the first step to getting serious is to figure out your big why!

Take a few moments now to write down your BIG why, before moving onto the next step!

Step # 2: Stop Dabbling!

In his book, “Mastery” learning expert George Leonard separates people into 3 types of personalities; The Dabbler, The Obsessive and The Hacker.

Almost every person who plays business is a dabbler.

Dabblers love learning new things.

In business, dabblers always know the newest techniques, and trends in the industry and have a ton of enthusiasm.

But they often get distracted by the newest shiniest thing.

Maybe you can relate?

Dabblers love excuses.

There’s always a reason why they haven’t put up their website, created their course or launched their latest offer.

And dabblers eventually hit a plateau, get bored and move on to the next shiny object.

If you’ve ever met someone who is on their 3rd business idea in 18 months, you can be sure you’re talking to a dabbler.

You can’t succeed in business as a dabbler.

So what do you need to do?

Stop dabbling!

Get serious and take action.

Stop talking about what you’re going to do, and start doing!

Commit to a certain number of hours a week, set deadlines and stick to them!

You already know your why now you just have to make the decision to go all in.

Right now, commit that you are going to stop at nothing and do whatever it takes to create a real business!

As an exercise, write down, “I will stop at nothing to achieve my dreams and build a real business.” Date it then place it somewhere you will see it every day!

Step # 3: Find Your Strengths.

In 2014 research firm Gallup produced a report about entrepreneurship with some fascinating findings.

The most important finding for our discussion today is that you have a greater chance of success if you stick with your core strengths and innate talents.

In other words, find out what your strengths are in terms of business building and then spend the majority of your time doing those things.

If you're unsure of what your strengths are, try a strength finder test like this one to get a better idea. 

The most successful entrepreneurs spend all their time doing the things that they are best at which create the most value in their business.

Maybe you’re a killer salesperson if so spend 95% of your time making sales calls and following up.

Maybe you’re great at making videos that go viral, spend 95% of your time doing that.

Instead of trying to learn how to do everything from marketing to social media, yourself focus your attention on the thing you do in your business that no one else can do better.

Take a few minutes to think back over your past wins, skills, and achievements or take a strength finder test to figure out what your biggest strength is and what your highest leverage activity should be.

Once you know what you do better than anyone else, it’s time to find some help!

Step # 4: Get Help, Support, and Accountability!

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” - African Proverb

If you’re going to stop playing and get serious about your business, you’re going to need three things.

Help, support, and accountability.

In step number 3 you figured out what your strength was and what the highest leverage activity you can do in your business is.

Now you’re going to hire some help for everything else you need to do to get your business up and running.

You want to hire help for two reasons.

First, it will help you focus on your highest leverage activity which will help you start to turn a profit.

Secondly having to spend money deepens your commitment. Even if you’re just hiring a personal assistant on Upwork for $5 an hour a few hours a week.

The second thing you’re going to need is support.

Most of this support should come from your friends and family but you may also want to find a like-minded community where you can ask questions, vent and talk to people in similar situations.

Finally, you’re going to need accountability.

Accountability means being responsible to someone else.

The American Society of Training and Development (ATD) did a study on accountability and found the following shocking statistics:

Your probability of completing a goal if:

• You have an idea or a goal: 10%
• You consciously decide you will do it: 25%
• You decide when you will do it: 40%
• You plan how you will do it: 50%
• You commit to someone you will do it: 65%
• You have a specific accountability appointment with a person you’ve committed to: 95%

So the last thing you need is an accountability coach.

Luckily for you, there are a few different options for this.

The first option is to use the website Stickk.

Stickk is a website where you will “bet” a certain amount of money that you reach a certain goal by a certain date.

Then you have a weekly check-in with a “referee” who will function as your personal accountability coach.

You can also do this with someone in real life.

For example, you could hand your sister $200 in cash and tell her to give you back $20 every time you post a new blog or create a new video module in your course.

However, you choose to set it up having an accountability coach will help you actually take action, even if you’ve already tried and failed before!

Ok, that was a lot of information!

Let’s quickly recap everything you learned so that you can stop playing and get serious!

First, we talked about how some people like to play business, and how if you were ready to finally stop playing and get serious this article was going to help.

Then we got into the 4 simple steps to stop playing and get serious about your online business which were:

Step #1: Find your why. The first step to stop playing business is to find your big why. Why do you want to be an entrepreneur? When you find your why you’ll realize that your success is bigger than you which will motivate you to stop playing and put in the work!

Step #2: Stop Dabbling! In his book, George Leonard talks about the 3 types of learners, the dabbler, the obsessive and the hacker. If you want to stop playing you have to stop dabbling!

Step #3: Know Your Strengths. People who play business think they can do everything themselves. People that run successful businesses KNOW what they are good at and what they aren’t. Then focus on their strengths.

Step #4: Get help, support, and accountability! The last step to getting serious is to get help! Successful entrepreneurs know that no one does it alone. And they find the specific help support and accountability they need!

Now it’s up to you to finally stop playing and get serious!

Kajabi is Where People Go When They’re Ready To Get Serious

No matter what kind of business you run, Kajabi can help you take things to the next level!

At Kajabi we have helped thousands of digital entrepreneurs just like you turn their knowledge into a thriving business!

Need help?

We recently put together a FREE proven, step by step program to take you from day 1 to actually making sales!

We call it the 28-Day Challenge.

In the 28-day challenge, you’ll learn everything you need to know to earn your first $1,000 and become a Kajabi hero in just 28 days!

With the 28-Day Challenge every day you’ll get video lessons, detailed downloads and more that help you do everything from brainstorming your ideas to creating landing pages and making sales!

And the best part is it’s 100% FREE!