If you’re ready to start moving in the right direction and become amazing at getting things accomplished then let me explain this concept to you. It might sound simple but take the time to actually think about it. Let it sink in. I believe this concept needs to be understood by every business person out there. 

I often get asked how I managed to grow my business and Wordsmith Membership so quickly and I can say that it had to do with a lot of things. One of them is reading a lot. I’ve never been able to get lost in storybooks, but hand me a book on business and I can’t put it down. I soak it up like a sponge and then piece it together to make it fit my life, my business, and the way I run my business. Something about business fascinates me, and I love reading how things work, how ideas succeed, how they fail. I love reading stories about others that built a business empire out of a simple dream.

The 80/20 Principle

I remember reading about something called the 80/20 principle. It’s actually a really simple concept, but to me, it was absolutely mind-blowing. For the past few years, I have applied this 80/20 principle to running my own business and it has helped me in so many ways. It helps me make decisions quickly and always reminds me of the big picture.

Most people believe that when you put hard work in, you get the same return. If you put 50% of hard work, you’ll get 50% in results. The problem with that concept is that it usually doesn’t actually work out like that. People that have this mindset all too often spend time on the wrong things and move forward a lot slower than those who understand the concept of the 80/20 principle.

The 80-20 rule will teach you to focus on what’s really important in your life and your business. You can apply it to almost every aspect of your life and business and below I’ll list a few ways photographers can think about the concept.

The 80-20 rule states that 20% of inputs create 80% of the outputs and that 20% of the effort leads to 80% of the results.

Here are some examples in business when it comes to the 80/20 principle.

CLIENTS & BUSINESS

80% OF BUSINESS COMES FROM 20% OF YOUR CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS

Figure out who your top 20% clients/customers are!

80%  OF YOUR NEW CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS ARE REFERRED OVER BY 20% OF YOUR CURRENT CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS

Who are your top 20%? They bring in over 80% of your NEW clientele/customers!

80% OF CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS COME FROM 20% OF THE BUSINESS REACH 

What is your top 20% business outreach strategy? It is bringing you 80% of your clients/customers!

80% OF COMPLAINTS COMES FROM 20% OF YOUR CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS

Unhappy clients are hard situations to deal with but realize that it’s only 20%. (Although in the moment it might feel like 80%)

SALES & SESSIONS

80% OF SALES ARE GENERATED BY 20% OF YOUR CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS

This is KEY – Who are your most loyal clients/customers? They generate 80% of your sales!

80% OF PRODUCT SALES COME FROM 20% OF YOUR PRODUCTS

What are your BEST sellers? Those items account for 80% of product sales!

80% OF REVENUE COMES FROM 20% OF YOUR CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS

Again – Who are your BEST clients/customers? They account for 80% of your entire business revenue!

TIME MANAGEMENT & OFFICE WORK

80% OF BUSINESS IS DONE IN 20% OF THE TIME (YEAR, MONTH, WEEK OR DAY)

Know when your busy season is and make sure work extra hard during that time – it brings you 80% of your business!

80% OF RESULTS ARE ACHIEVED BECAUSE OF 20% OF THE TASKS

KNOW what your important tasks are – 80% of results come from those tasks alone! Don’t waste so much time on the little things.

80% OF EMAILS ASK 20% OF THE QUESTIONS

Do you get a lot of repeat emails from a lot of people? Save yourself time by creating email templates. 80% of ALL your emails are looking for the same information!

80% OF YOUR TABS OPEN IS 20% OF WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING

How many search browser tabs do you have open right now? 80% of them are unnecessary!

SOCIAL MEDIA & BLOGGING

80% OF YOUR INTERACTION COMES FROM 20% OF YOUR FOLLOWERS

Who are your most AWESOME fans? They make up 80% of all your interactions!

80% OF YOUR TRAFFIC COMES FROM 20% OF YOUR KEYWORDS

Know what your TOP keywords are – they bring in 80% of all your traffic!

80% OF SOCIAL SHARES COME FROM 20% OF THE SOCIAL UPDATES

What posts get the most shares and attention? They get you 80% of all shares!

MARKETING & ADVERTISING

80% OF SALES COME FROM 20% OF YOUR ADVERTISING 

What advertising method works best for your business? It brings in 80% in sales!

80% OF BOOKINGS COME FROM 20% OF YOUR MARKETING

What marketing method works best? It brings in 80% of your bookings!

Hope you enjoyed this post! And always remember the most important rule of all:

80% OF SUCCESS IS SHOWING UP

If you’re ready to start focusing on the right things, it starts by figuring out what your 20% is first. Once you know what that is, you’ll be able to focus on the pieces that move your business (or life) in the right direction. The best thing about the 80/20 principle is that you can apply it to literally anything in life and business. Looking to learn a little more about this? There’s a ton of books on it, but I highly recommend reading The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less by Richard Koch.

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