One of the hidden downsides of being passionate about what you do is that you live in the details. If you’re anything like me, that means that you see an enormous list of improvements, ideas and new possibilities to explore in any project you take on.

When you want to grow your small business or blog, it sounds like a dream problem – but endless possibilities are overwhelming.

That’s where many thoughtful business owners, creatives and bloggers get stuck.

If you don’t know what actions drive results for your business or blog, you’re stuck.

Stuck looks different for different people. For some brainy babes it means months (or years) of research, or taking class after class. For you it might mean pursuing many ideas at once, steadily drifting into social media, being chronically overbooked or not raising your prices.

Growth doesn’t happen by accident, so don't leave yours to chance! Click to tweet it

In fact, I think you owe it to your ideas and the people they could help to get un-stuck!

If you’re ready to shake off the distractions figure out what drives your work forward, then here are three ways to spend your time that are a great start to getting unstuck.

Three ways to grow your small business or blog today:

Choose a single result to help your readers or customers accomplish

If you’re a blogger or business owner, you might be overflowing with ideas. You may also be drawing a blank because you don’t know where to start. My advice is to stop agonizing and start taking action, now.

Here’s the key: Choose one result that you’ll help readers or customers accomplish in the next two weeks.

You can use this to create a content upgrade for your blog or website, such as an opt-in freebie for signing up for a newsletter. You can also use it to create a paid product or service.

This next result you’ll help customers achieve produces ideas you can take action on now. They’re tangible, actionable and your new two week long production time constraint means they have to be compact.

Try to imagine a result you can easily create for your customer, like “an outfit she loves” or “her new brand colours”. These are easy for your customer to imagine and are intensely useful. And useful always wins.

Stop obsessing about the format

I get it. As a maker, it’s hard to imagine helping someone without imagining how you’re going to get that help to them. It feels necessary. If you’re going to write an eBook, you want to become and expert on eBooks before you start.

Here’s the problem: Your ideas are what’s crucial. Their format is a distraction.

If you don’t give your ideas the time and energy to develop, they will suffer. And if your ideas aren't effective, their format doesn't matter. Ultimately, your readers and customers don’t care how you create results for them, they just want the results.

If you’re a graphic designer, you can deliver logos by hot air balloon, but the logo is still what your clients will want once the hot air balloon lands. The logo is what's crucial. Sourcing hot air balloons before you tell anyone you design logos is a distraction.

The simple truth is that the right format for your next big thing is any you can manage within two weeks.

If there’s a format that will make it easier for your customers or readers to succeed, go with that. Otherwise, choose a way to deliver your results that you already know you can pull off. There is no wrong answer.

Consider the format after you’ve spent hours working on your great idea. Know how you’re going to help, why your readers or customers aspire to solve this problem and how you’re going to sell the idea first. Trust that the best format will become apparent as you hone your ideas, and decide to skip spending hours on it before you start.

Remember: People care about results. Deliver a result and you build trust. Deliver a half-formed idea, product or result with a clever mechanism and people will still feel let down.

Get your good ideas in front of audiences the size of yours or smaller.

Complicated solutions make us feel smart, but most of the time a simple action is all that a problem needs to be solved. Even when it comes to growing your business or blog.

But for many small business owners and bloggers, finding new customers and readers feels like a mysterious task. That’s because it’s new and specialized, but they’re learned skills you can master.

The reality is that you don’t need to know fancy gatekeepers, have different skills or get published in Huffington Post to succeed. You can start thriving now.

If you can write a blog post and an email, you already have what it takes. (Really!)

Even if your audience is friends and family right now, you can to double or triple your audience with a little effort. And that kind of growth over time is what create big blogs and healthy businesses!

Start by emailing bloggers with an audience the size of your website or bigger with ideas for guest posts. Look for a way to fill a gap in their content or bring a different voice to the discussion.

If you can offer one-click subscription or a content upgrade (email opt-in freebie) on your website, so much the better. You’re already on the path to growth.

It's easier to grow your small business or blog than you think. It might mean acting differently than you have before, but the payoff is absolutely worth it!

Looking to grow your business but not sure of the next steps? My Indie Business Intensive coaching program may be just what you're looking for!