You knew I would eventually do that, right? LaVonne didn’t believe me – she should know better by now.
For those of you who were not a physicist in a former life (there’s like two of you, yeah?) universal entropy is the process of equalization of temperature, pressure, and chemical potential in a physical system.
Now in English: it’s why the ice in your water glass melts. The water and ice eventually reach a state of equal temperature – the water gets colder as the ice gets warmer. Eventually they meet in the middle like Martin Scorsese’s eyebrows.
Your business is a lot like that. The water, not the eyebrows (we hope). Sometimes it may feel like there are too many different things going on – you’re overwhelmed. Blog post, Twitter tomfoolery, Facebook status updates, email update, ebook chapter, (did I eat today?), rinse, repeat… it’s too much. Too many individual aspects to this one very important thing – your business. But you need it all. Every one of them. So how do you keep up with everything?
If you look at any successful small business, online or physical, you’ll likely find that they never look like a bunch of small parts, all scattered about in a seemingly random pattern. Successful businesses look like one central purpose with associated aspects all tied to the main business. They complement the business, they do not exist outside of it.
This is universal business entropy.
Yes, I just made up that term – Rudolf Clausius just rolled over in his grave. (You can google him, I’ll wait.)
When you throw ice cubes into a glass of water you don’t necessarily want a noisy glass of water – you want cold water. You simply utilize the ice cubes to chill your water. When you start an email list you don’t necessarily want email addresses – you want a list of people to whom you can promote your business, and get them to buy stuff. If you don’t utilize your email list properly it just becomes another seemingly random thing taking up time without benefit – it serves no purpose. Every aspect of your online business should be utilized for a specific purpose – to build your business. If it does not do that, get rid of it!
It’s easy to get away from a single purpose or goal.
You start a blog – you’re gonna take over the world! So you get on Facebook, get an email list going, then before you know it you’re on Twitter typing, “The fact that I have chocolate syrup on my tennis shoes says a lot about my physical conditioning” – wait, what??? When did you go from promoting an ebook you’ve written to chocolate syrup? Your Twitter account just became dead weight. (Unless, of course, you’re me – my website’s tagline is extreme jackassery, it fits.)
I am not saying you should only utilize Twitter, Facebook and the like strictly to advertise (spam) your business. They are, after all, social networking sites. But while the five people with whom you regularly converse may actually care that the fish taco you just shoveled down your gullet made you feel queasy – your potential customers do not. The term social networking utilizes two words, many people make the mistake of utilizing only the first without realizing that the second is actually what will build your business. You need to find that equilibrium.
Social networking entropy.
Yes, I just made that one up, too.
By simply being a bit more conscientious about what you post online you may find that you can multiply the number of potential customers with just a few little tweaks. In order to be social, build a list, network, or any number of actions you may utilize to build your business, people need to know what you do! Otherwise you’re just another faceless username on the internet who tweets about fish tacos and chocolate syrup. Here’s an example:
Funny useless tweet: Buy this truck and PUNCH MOTHER NATURE IN THE FACE!!!
Funny useful tweet: Buy this truck and PUNCH MOTHER NATURE IN THE FACE!!! Or…subscribe to my newsletter for tips on how to go green painlessly. (Insert newsletter link)
Still funny – to those of us who are warped, and it helps build your list. With just a little tweak you have helped your business, and your Twitter account is now a factor that enhances your business rather than a completely unconnected part. And you may get someone to sign up just because you made them laugh. Find that middle ground that still lets you waste endless hours on Twitter yet helps your business at the same time. It’s like ninja spam – sneaky. (Ninja spam is sneaky – I’ve seen it…)
This is just an example with Twitter – do it with everything. That doesn’t mean never take time away or always think about business, it simply means incorporate a small part of your business into nearly everything you do – online and off. Get a shirt with your website on it (and wear it), leave a business card with tips at restaurants, write your website as the return address on your physical mail (do you know how many people see that???). Just incorporate something business related into normal things. It works.
Before long all these little things you do become second-nature, you don’t even think about them.
Then, before you know it, all these little moving parts become an integral part of your overall business rather than unrelated groups of time-sucking chores. They enhance your business rather than take away from it. All of a sudden you don’t have a glass of water with a bunch of noisy, chunky things taking up space for no seemingly good reason, you have what you wanted all along – cold water.
You have reached a state of universal business entropy.
Successful small businesses do all the things you’re already doing such as Twitter, Facebook, forums, all that stuff. But by naturally incorporating some type of business-related messaging into all these things through habit, they all serve to enhance the business. That is why it seems effortless and not unconnected. It’s simply the habit of connecting these things to the business in some manner naturally – see the difference?
Now you can concentrate on scrubbing the chocolate syrup off of your tennis shoes.
Then, in the commentsbelow, tell me the one little change you’ll make today to incorporate your business into a completely unrelated task.
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I didn’t know you used to be a physicist! Me too :o)
My entropic take-home from this is that everything descends into chaos unless you have a source of energy.
Sounds like SOMEONE didn’t listen to my interview. 😀
That is another excellent physics lesson which applies to your business! No energy = chaos.
Gentlemen – love it when two shards of brilliance play so nice together. With just a little pinch…
I wonder sometimes about twitter parties and tweet chats. I know the first time I participated in one, one of my friends txted me that my account was hacked. How do we maintain a professional and helpful presence during these kinds of things?
Hi Nathara,
I don’t worry about that because, well, because I’m not concerned that people think I’m normal. 😛
You can always start another twitter account specifically for the purpose of tweet chats and the like, let everyone know it’s you and you don’t need to worry about confusing your normal readers.
An interesting idea! I’m going to have to think on it, because maybe seeing my participation in business-improving conversations could be appealing…. HRM.
Ahh entropy. That’s the word and experience I am looking for! Thanks Roger!
You are very welcome Ann! Now go make everything juicy! 🙂
Hi Roger. I envision my potential customers as eavesdropping on the conversation, so the funny useful tweet intrigues me. It’s like a little layered tweet cake way to let people know about what’s going on in your business and how it might benefit them. Jenny Bones also talks about tweeting this way. Thanks for the reminder.
Hi Linda, It always helps to get their attention first – then hit ’em with what will help you out. Everyone wins.
I love this, Roger! It’s a little like a geeked out (or would that be nerded out?) explanation for my theme of living a well-blended life. Entropy. That’s a beautiful word!
Both geeked and nerded Laura. :-). Before the internet(s) scientists were geeks as well as nerds. Whenever my life becomes well-blended it usually involves vodka in some form. Alcohol entropy – that’s beautiful!
This was so valuable to me Roger. Thank you! As my new little biz is just birthing, this is something I need to develop. It’s funny how it’s taking a bit to muster up the courage to start talking about what I want to achieve through my biz. Fear is such a funny thing!
Thanks for the encouragement.
You’re very welcome Mandie. Fear is a funny thing – laugh at it! I normally go through my day giggling at myself – I’m actually laughing AT fear. People just think I’m weird.
I’m fine with that. 🙂
You’re very welcome Mandie. Fear is a funny thing – laugh at it! I normally go through my day giggling at myself – I’m actually laughing AT fear. People just think I’m weird.
I’m fine with that. 🙂
You’re very welcome Mandie. Fear is a funny thing – laugh at it! I normally go through my day giggling at myself – I’m actually laughing AT fear. People just think I’m weird.
I’m fine with that. 🙂
You’re very welcome Mandie. Fear is a funny thing – laugh at it! I normally go through my day giggling at myself – I’m actually laughing AT fear. People just think I’m weird.
I’m fine with that. 🙂
You’re very welcome Mandie. Fear is a funny thing – laugh at it! I normally go through my day giggling at myself – I’m actually laughing AT fear. People just think I’m weird.
I’m fine with that. 🙂
Roger, I am trying to find that balance between being myself on social sites and offering my self as a blogger/artist/business/etc. Sometimes its not that easy to come up with funny things like that tweet example. How do you suggest people use their own natural humor or sarcasm or dry humor or whatever to make their business messages more interesting and more themselves while still getting the right kind of attention?
Hi Emily,
It really depends on what type of message you are trying to convey – and to whom. The best first step is to figure out who is your perfect customer. Not a real easy thing to do, but imperative. Once you figure that out do not be afraid to tweak it! (Your idea of the customer – not the actual customer. that may lead to problems…) Figure out what gets their attention – what makes them tick. Once you figure out those things it’s so much easier to reach them.
Think about what gets your attention – what do you do that would grab the attention of your ideal customer? Try posting links on twitter and facebook to things related to what you do and that you find interesting, then figure out what people respond to / retweet the most. That will give you a good idea about what your customers find interesting.