Should you have lots of projects or keep focused?

I have weighed them and found out that there is a lot more confusion than income in having lots of projects at a time unless you want to outsource so many things.

Chris

I couldn't agree more! When you first start and have no proof of your own as to what works and what doesn't, it is very easy to get "the Grass is Greener" syndrome. Where what ever you are doing seems to be harder and less rewarding that what everybody else seems to be doing! So you jump the fence and find that the new field was just as bad, if not worse!

It really is a matter of keeping the faith, focus on what you are doing, learn what you need to know and don't think you will ever know everything about everything!

All the best
Andy

Totally agree - focus is key. But even so, I often work on more than one project at a time. Time management becomes even more important during those times. When I am 'multi-tasking' I have to pay closer attention to my to do lists and stick with schedules.

I think everyone starting out must start broad and
then find their niche and then focus. There are just
a few lucky people who hit gold on their fist project.

Focus is what comes after you are first out of focus
and then find an area that is profitable for you. Most
experienced marketers would tell you to focus but
that is after they have gone through their own
initiation.

It's like looking for a wife--you consider the field
of possibilities then focus on one.

-Ray Edwards

What I've learned is that the problem isn't so much that people spread their focus around, it's not seeing each thing through to completion. I have Internet Marketers Attention Deficit Disorder (IMADD™) - I'm talking about a major case of it, too - but it doesn't really slow me down most of the time. The key is not totally moving on to a new thing at the expense of finishing something else you've started. Do 12 things if that floats your boat, but FINISH them.

John

I think it is important to remain focused, at least in the beginning. I spread myself out fairly thin, but I've also been doing this for 15 years and I already have sites making money for me. When I first started out, I only ran one or two websites.

These days, I have quite a few more but a lot of them are websites that I do not need to update very often. As I expanded, I tried to get a healthy dose of various types of websites to diversify my income and not put all of my eggs in the same basket. That is something that is hard to do when you first start though. Most people will be working a real job when they start internet marketing (or recently unemployed). As a result, they usually only have limited time to accomplish various things each day. When you are in a situation like that, you definitely want to stay focused on one or two projects.

Look at it from this point of view. Let's say you already have five finished websites up and running. If your primary focus at this point is marketing, then say you can write about 5 articles with your time each day. After a year of writing articles, you would have 5 sites with approximately 365 backlinks each. If you had only been working on a single website for that year, you would have about 1825 backlinks!

Considering a lot of people have the tendency to enter a high competition market with their very first website, you really don't want to spread yourself too thin because you will need a ton of marketing to get good search engine rankings in the high competition markets.

I can barely focus for 5 minutes at all. I cant handle being focused for more time. My mind starts drifting in a few directions at the same time. I can barely pull off a single project... I need some time management skills and definitely remove my health problems because they are making me nuts.
And more sex, definitely

John - I think you hit the nail on the head - the important thing is sticking with projects and seeing them through to completion.
I sometimes find it hard to spend hours on one project so I will stop on one and work on another. That is why I often have more than one thing in the works at a time. I like the diversity. But I do set completion deadlines for each project that I start and I do work according to a plan. That includes knowing what I have to complete each week and each day in order to meet my completion deadline.

Focus is still the key.

A lot of company, even like Microsoft that you mentioned, when they became big, they start to diversify and forget their main business, then they ends up losing market to other competitor. Ultimately they found out they need to go back to what originally got them so big (i mean they go back to their main service & focus on it again)

In business, there is an interesting term for Diversification... it is Diworsefication (worse)...

Just my thought...

I had the same problem when I first got started. When I finally saw one project thru to completion and actually made money from it I figured out that focusing on one thing at the time is much better for me. By putting my focus on that one project I can complete it in a much more timely fashion and will be able to realize much more quickly if it will be a hit or a flop. Then I keep the hits and get rid of the flops and move on to my next project.

I used to aim all but missed all so now I'm determined to focus on aiming small so that I'll miss small..

In a way my answer is a little of both. I like to initially have lots of fishing lines in the pond so to speak and see if anything gets a nibble. If I start to have a little bit of success with a particular website I will go back and focus on it pretty much exclusively by optimizing it, improving its conversion and SEO. Once I feel it can sustain itself on its own I will then focus on the next one exclusively.

I have had much more success when I focus on one project at a time. I think you can have several, but you need to make sure you focus on the one main one to make sure it gets done, otherwise it is too easy to bounce all over the place getting not much of anything done at all.

What I am trying to do right now is stack my projects in an order that builds and relies on each other, that way I know what needs to be done and I know I can't worry about the other ones untill the first ones are done.

I have 5 all on page one on google but the thing is they are all rank 5,6,7ish so don't get great traffic. Would I change them all for one rank one, yes probably.

I have had to learn to tame my ADD (no, not meds) and as a result I have done very well. It is sooo easy to get distracted with IM but if you learn to "hyperfocus" you will do well.

When I first started out I was all over the place. Now I only focus on a couple things. I think that is the best way to go about it in the long run.

Hey guys,
I am a developer, but I am also trying to sell my own product. In the beginning (about 4 years ago) I developed tons of project that I wanted to sell. I made some projects so complicated and powerful, but I didn't came any step close to becoming "rich".
I forgot the main part ... marketing

Now, I am focusing at 1 project at a time, investing all my time and efforts in it, and I must say it's a success recipe

"Should you have lots of projects or keep focused?"

Yes.

George Wright

I tried doing 3 different products at the same time. Failed miserably. I am but 1 person, and it was becoming a pain having to monitor and track all 3, and drive traffic etc

i think its ok to do multiple projects as long as you have enough time and take effective action on each project.

I think it depends on your personality and how you work. I like to mix things up and take a break from one project to work on another. But I have a daily 'to do' list that guides me in my time management. And as I said before, I always set a completion deadline for every project that I start and I work according to a plan -- that keeps me focused on what I need to do in order to get the project(s) done. And the variety helps to keep me motivated and enthused about what I'm working on.

As a working mother, with a career and a few kids, and trying my luck at Internet Marketing, my answer will be to stay focused on one topic or one way of doing things. This allows for clear thinking and achieving my goal slowly but with a higher chance of success.