Over the last few posts, I’ve pulled back the curtain on my wild journey to discover the TRUTH about what it takes to start a service-based online business without feeling overwhelmed, confused, alone and broke.

I’ve shared with you how I struggled early on trying to build my business on my own. It wasn’t until I hired a business coach + joined my mastermind that things turned around. I really needed support, accountability and connection with other entrepreneurs who understood what building a service-based online business was all about.

And my mastermind connections helped me uncover three common business building mistakes out there like the idea that you can create a perfect customer avatar. Many people teach that by creating a fictional customer avatar you will create amazing products and services that real people will beat down your door to buy….

As I shared last time, I was guilty of this when I first started out. It seemed really logical to define the ‘ideal customer’ I was trying to serve. But instead I committed a BIG mistake by creating a business around this fictional character.

This led me to serious business overwhelm and feeling like I was working hard creating a lot of ‘stuff’ that no one really cared about… which left me feeling like a huge failure.

It was only later – after a lot of overwhelm, self-doubt, frustration and very few sales – that I realized the entire foundation of my business was built on a complete fiction.

And that realization came during a hot-seat opportunity in my mastermind. Just a few key questions from my mastermind group helped me to see that I needed to get past the fiction I’d created and actually talk with real human beings.

Once I realized the amount of time and effort I was wasting on navel-gazing ‘ideal customer’ exercises, everything changed.

I stopped trying to think my way into the perfect business and began taking focused action instead.

And quickly all that overwhelm, self-doubt and confusion I felt completely disappeared.

Although I knew I couldn’t design my business around a fictional character if I wanted to create a clear, profitable (and fun) business, it wasn’t enough to KNOW this concept.

I had to figure out HOW to actually accomplish it without getting bogged down in total overwhelm or wasting a ton of time.

Trying a few different things helped in my quest to create my redesigned business. There were business-building podcasts and webinars to attend. I read more than 20 business-building books in a month. And of course, I purchased a number of ecourses to dive deep into exercises to accomplish my goals.

During this process, my mastermind + coach supported my progress as part cheerleader (when they helped celebrate my wins) and part butt-kicking accountability partners (if I tried to short-cut doing some of the hard stuff).

Pretty quickly, I started noticing recurring themes and strategies. I began testing them out to see how they would work for me. Over time, I have distilled down the techniques that truly work and combined these ideas into what I’ve found is the single most effective way to get clarity and profit in your business.

I call it the “Business Clarity” Technique.

Thanks to this technique, I feel confident with my business direction. It has helped me create my dream business instead of trying to copy what others out there are doing.

Once I discovered this technique, I had to share it with others to see if it would work for them too. I tested it out on more than 20 people in very different markets, shared it with some of my one-on-one clients, my mastermind groups and proved to myself over and over again that it truly works.

Let me share some results:

A couple months ago, I was at a 3-day retreat with ~80 women from all over the world. On the first day I shared this technique with a woman sitting next to me during lunch. She tried it out and by dinner I had eight more women lining up to ask questions about how they could use it in their business.

Shortly after the conference, Annalicia Lynn of TruthBeautyPeace.com, said:

“Michelle embodies the perfect combination of a kind, intuitive mentor and a marketing master. She knows how to beautifully blend soul and strategy! Her insights have changed my marketing mind from confused and drained to clear and excited. I know the strategies Michelle teaches me will payoff and pay the bills. With her help, I now know sustainable income and powerful impact is possible with more ease than I could have ever imagined.”

What would your business be like if you were feeling this clear, confident and supported in your strategy and direction?

Another mastermind client of mine, Raine Boyd of LimeTreeFruits.com, said:

“Working with Michelle is always an eye-opener. Every time I get stuck she's able to put in into words what has been stopping me from reaching my fullest potential. She has an ability to see beyond what I am showing to the outside world, identifying my inner strengths and how to translate them into my business. It has made all the difference between struggling to squeeze out some money and thriving feeling in the flow and confident of my direction.  Priceless! I completely recommend her to anyone needing a fresh eye with their business direction.”

And imagine feeling like this while also being supported with a supportive mastermind group who will hold you accountable to actually make it a reality. The business excitement and momentum you can generate from the Business Clarity Technique + mastermind support is priceless.

Business Clarity Technique: How Five Hours Can Change Your Business And Life (or how to save yourself a year of business-building frustration and wasted money by talking with ten people!)

Step 1: Business Starting Point

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Who do you want to serve?
• How do you want to work?
• What do you think you want to sell?

Step 2: Research

Next, you’ll test out your step 1 answers to validate if you’re on the right track OR see what you discover.

• Connect with five – ten people who may have a problem/desire that you could solve
• Find the common symptoms
• What do they want?
• Is this something you want to solve?
• What are you most excited about?
• How would you solve it?
• Would they pay for it?

Step 3: Business Clarity

You’ve finished your research, and feel comfortable that you know about the problems of your ideal customer. Now it's time to get excited about solving it!  You can now answer these questions.

• My dream clients are:
• My dream clients have these symptoms:
• The pain they have/the desire they want is:
• I can help them achieve their desired results through/by:

And that’s it! It, literally takes just a few hours of work.  You can use this Business Clarity framework to save you tons of wasted effort, money and time. No more creating a business that is ignored (like I did at first). It will help you align your business with what people actually want from you. It’s worked for me, it’s worked for everyone I've tested it with and it can work for you, too.

Want more?

Find out what marketing funnels can do for your business!  Take this fast and free quiz to learn what kind of marketing funnel is right for you and your business. Then layer on your personal secret sauce and see what a sold out business looks like to you.