The Biggest Threat to Your Success

It’s easy to get distracted. There’s a thousand things a day that need to get done when business is going well…and when it’s not, there’s still a lot to do. But the biggest threat to your time, money, growth, and ultimately your success, is a serious condition called Shiny Object Syndrome. 

It may sound silly, but Shiny Object Syndrome is a real problem for many entrepreneurs and business owners. If you’ve started a business, you’re probably a pretty motivated person. You enjoy a challenge. You crave new possibilities and ways of doing things. It’s ingrained in who you are. These are usually fantastic qualities and can be some of your greatest blessings when running a business, but they can also be some of your biggest downfalls. Because if you’re constantly looking for the newest and best way to do something, you very well may suffer from Shiny Object Syndrome. 

It’s a condition of distraction. Every new app or software program that may help us, every new plugin for our website, every new Facebook feature, every new promotional idea we see in a Facebook group….they’re all distractions. I’m not saying they’re all bad, by any means, but they’re all distractions. 

Think of it like this… 

If a basketball player is too focused on getting the most outrageous dunk in a game and practices that over and over again…great. They may deliver an amazing dunk. But if they don’t work on the most basic, fundamental ball handling skills, they’ll never get the opportunity to show it off in a game. 

Another basketball analogy here (can you tell I miss sports with this shutdown?)…. 

Shaquille O’Neal, was famous for missing free throws. Like, ridiculously so. It was even part of the strategy for opposing teams. He was a huge guy underneath the basket, but all you had to do was foul him and make him miss the easy shots underneath – he’d get sent to the free throw line and, more than likely, miss. It was a basic fundamental skill that he lacked. And just like in basketball (or any other analogy you want to use), the fundamentals are far more important than any trend. If you don’t have some of the most basic things taken care of, those trendy little apps or promotional ideas aren’t going to help. 

So what are the most important fundamentals for a massage business owner? 

• A professional looking, functional website that appears on the first page of search engine results. 
• A solid marketing strategy; putting you in front of potential clients wherever they are. 
• The massage skills to back up any claim you make. 

• Incredible customer service and an amazing client experience 
• Excellent communication skills 

 These are the basics. You can run the flashiest promotion, but if they get to your website and it doesn’t exude the same flashiness as your ad, they’re not buying it. If you can’t get in front of your ideal clients, it doesn’t matter how pretty your ad is; they’re not seeing it. If you can’t back up your claims with solid hands-on skills, you’ll hurt your reputation. If you get them in the door, but don’t deliver an amazing experience, they probably won’t come back. If you can’t effectively communicate with your clients, you’ll lose them. 

Get these fundamentals in place before you get distracted by all the “shiny objects” and trendy new stuff out there. Shiny Object Syndrome is real and you have to keep it in check! It can lead you down a quick path of lost time and money, with nothing to show for it.