Information Overload: How Too Much Research Is Hurting Your Business and What You Can Do About It

I’m curious: How many business-related newsletters and blogs are you subscribed to?

How many webinars have you attended in the last month? Podcasts listened to this week? Blog posts saved to Evernote?

There’s certainly not a shortage of business-building information out there. Run a quick Google search, and you’ll find millions of suggestions on how to create great offers, build your list, get clients, and implement systems.

You would think that with so much information literally at our fingertips that we would all be on the fast-track to success.

But you know that’s not the case.

Instead of feeling empowered by all that knowledge, we’re weighed down, confused, overwhelmed, and totally, completely, utterly stuck.

So how do we climb out from underneath the information avalanche AND still grow our businesses, even when we don’t feel like we have enough of the right information to make it happen?

I have my own theories but always love to get an outside perspective.

For today’s post, I talked to Kim Wensel, a recent Make It Work Online graduate, to ask her why this happens to even the smartest business women and what they need to do to get past it.

If you can relate to the ironic combination of too much information and too little direction, you won’t want to miss her spot-on advice.

What Type of Information Has You Overloaded?

I’m excited to share Kim’s Before & After story with you, but before I do, it’s important to understand that information overload is a legitimate challenge for business owners.

Studies show that we only retain about 5% of what we learn by just reading about it. This means you could devour blogs, books, and opt-in offers and still feel completely clueless.

But this doesn’t stop business owners from continuing to gather as much information as humanly possible!

I’m curious: Are you guilty of spending way too much time researching, learning, and adjusting?

Let’s have some fun. Check out this quiz to see what kind of I.F. you are.

Info Fanatic Type A: The Newsletter Addict
You subscribe to every business expert’s newsletter you can find. You try to read, digest, and implement what you’re learning, but sometimes you get stuck because one person’s advice is the total opposite of another’s. It freezes you in your tracks!

Info Fanatic Type B: Social Lurker
You know you should be of service on social media, but you struggle to find where your ideal clients are hanging out. Instead of making connections with prospective clients, you’re sidetracked by notifications, distracted by ads and articles, and left wondering where the last two hours went.

Info Fanatic Type C: Webinar Watcher
You jam your calendar with webinar appointments that are supposed to help your business, but instead you’re more confused than ever by the conflicting advice and don’t really know what strategy to use to get clients.

Info Fanatic Type D: Constant Comparer
You keep “checking up” on your competitors to see what they’re offering, how their websites look, and what their clients are saying about them. Your comparisonitis has left you feeling disconnected from your own passion because you’re trying to keep up with everyone else.

Info Fanatic Type E: Religious Stat Checker
You watch your stats like a hawk, obsessively wondering why, of the 11 new people who viewed your site, none of them signed up for your opt in.

Info Fanatic Type F: All of the above. 🙂

Click to TweetWhat  type of “Info Fanatic” are you? Take this quick quiz to find out.

While it’s fun to chuckle in recognition at some of our own bad habits, it’s also important to remember what a huge time-waster these behaviors are.

So how do you overcome them? That’s where Kim’s story comes in.

You’re Not Alone

Now that you know where YOU are, you can read Kim’s story and determine how to make the strategies she learned work for you and your business.

As a Personal Branding + Career Strategist, Kim is proof that when you get support and follow ONE, proven action plan your business thrives.

Here’s what I mean by that.

Kim Before

When Kim first joined Make It Work Online, she felt totally overwhelmed. Here’s how she says she felt:

I had few friends that were entrepreneurs and virtually none that were building a business online. My family and friends didn’t really understand what the heck I was doing, so I didn’t have anyone to bounce ideas off or get motivation from.

It didn’t take long for Kim to fall into the trap of information overload. Here’s how she describes it:

I was following a few successful business owners online, but I was definitely the comparer to the max! I would get so frustrated that someone else got to be so successful and I didn’t. It was easy to fall into a comparison trap and label myself the victim of her circumstance. I could find all the reasons that I wouldn’t be successful.

Plus, I was SO distracted and overwhelmed figuring out what was most important to do first. Was it creating the product? Was it building a mega Instagram following? Was it podcasting? Who the heck knows! I was reading article after article and freebie after freebie but not taking any action because I didn’t know what to do.

Can you relate?

You’re swimming in options and wondering what steps you need to take. Like Kim, you might not be seeing the results you want, and clients just aren’t coming in.

Kim After

During Make It Work Online, Kim had some major a-ha moments.

My biggest two problems were..

1. I didn’t know how to act like a “real” business owner, and
2. I didn’t know how to sell myself.

I was convinced that to make a business work I had to have my 4-figure package on my site and ready to sell. What I didn’t realize is that I was completely ahead of myself, living a year in the future without paying attention to the things I needed to get my business off the ground and start getting clients.

I needed steps, not theory.

This is when things started to click for Kim. She realized that she needed ONE plan that she could follow step-by-step, not 15 different plans that she was trying to piece together all on her own.

And once she followed that ONE plan (the one all of my Make It Work Online clients get), her results skyrocketed.

Here’s how she describes what happened next:

Before MIWO, I hadn’t had a single paying client. But within two months of starting MIWO, I booked 15 client sessions for my small, bite-sized offer. I then quickly built up to a longer coaching based on what I learned from those initial sessions.

From there, it was a whirlwind:

* I had repeated 4-figure months.
* I filled my client roster for the first time.
* I booked out the month of July in the first week of the month.
* I was able to tell my supervisor at my consulting job now that I will be leaving because my coaching business is growing so quickly.

But honestly, more than any of that, I have gained the confidence I need to succeed as a business owner. The community, support, and reality checks that Jenny gives reminds me that I can do this. It helped me get past the mental blocks that had been so self-sabotaging before.

Now I’m focused on growing my business in a way that supports my life without taking it over.

This stuff works (that’s why I teach it!). And I know it can work for you, too.

And where do you begin? With ONE CLEAR ACTION PLAN.

Click to DownloadHow to Create the Perfect Bite-Sized Offer for Your Business