To use a quote from the A-Team, I love it when a plan comes together.
The trouble is a lot of the clients I work with don't really have one. A plan that is. It's part of the reason why their business just isn't going the way they want it to.
One of the ways that I help them, is by getting them to think about planning and getting them to think about planning in the very short, i.e.: immediate, the less short, the weekly and then the medium and long term planning.
I talk about planning a lot.
I love nothing more than making lists of things and using my post it notes and my sharpies, regular readers of my blog know that my addiction to these things are the stuff of legend.
But having a plan is really important. Plans need to be flexible, realistic, and an actionable working tool to get your business from A to B. So where the heck do you start?
Well, you start at the very beginning by making a plan, I’m reflecting on where you are.
I'm going to start by asking some questions, and I simply want you to look at these questions and answer yes or no. Don't overthink it too much, just let you guide you to answering with a simple yes or no
Success can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. In answering these questions without overthinking them, the only important definition of success is what it means to you. So here we go….
- Do you plan for success?
- Do you follow through on your plans?
- Do the results in your business match your efforts?
- All you generating the leads or inquiries you want?
- Are you converting the sales you want?
- Are you moving your business forward consistently?
- Are you satisfied with the amount of progress you've made in your business so far this year?
- Are you willing to make changes in your business?
- Are you looking for support in your business?
- Are you looking for help to make clear decisions in your business?
- Are you serious about keeping your business on track and getting it where you want to be?
- Do you let yourself off the hook too often?
- Are you serious about growing your business?
Would you achieve more and faster if you intentionally leveraged the power of accountability in your business?
Your answers to these questions can, and should, make you feel uncomfortable and a bit stretched outside your comfort zone. This means you are open to learning and getting support with making key decisions to move your business forward, which is a good thing!. It also means that you're serious about making changes to create consistent results.
So let's start with the good news and the bad news. I'll go with the bad news first. It takes a lot to run a business. You need to dedicate time and energy to it and although it might feel like you're winging it, it also means that we're uncomfortable when we leave our comfort zone and that can cause us all to give up too easily. We come up against challenges and we simply don't know what the answers are.
We're passionate about the difference we want to make in the world, we speak out about what we believe in, but others judge and don't believe in us. We lose clarity and confidence because business turns out not to be as straightforward as we thought. We might feel a bit lonely, overwhelmed, stuck, blocked, whatever you want to call it which just means we lose our focus and motivation.
This leads us to not showing up and not being consistent with our activities. Alternatively, we might be persistent but in the wrong way which makes it all feel a bit well, icky. We might not show up and get our products and services out there because we want them to be perfect before anyone sees them. We might get impostor syndrome, thinking that we're not qualified to sell what we could do for people.
We might experience fear of missing out and jump on the nearest passing bandwagon, attracted by shiny objects and brand new things. We make mistakes but we don't learn from them, because we tell ourselves we don't have time for planning and reviewing.
We feel like we need to be personally in control of every single aspect of our business, that we don't have a handle on our numbers, we're not setting clear boundaries and we simply lack a solid foundation to our business. A lack of guidance, support, solutions, advice, vision, goals and a plan is why a lot of our business dreams simply don't get off the ground.
And that means many of us give up on our dreams because it's just so bloody hard.
But if it was easy, everyone would do it.
So here's all the good things that you get from running your own business.
You get to follow your passion. You can be your own boss. You have the freedom to run a business where, how, and when you want to and over the past few years we've really shown how possible that is.
You can have a clear mission which supports the values that are important to you. The results that you get for your clients can change their lives, and you get to choose which people you help. You can form great relationships and friendships with like minded business owners and clients.
You can create a business structure that works for you. You can set your own income, hours and holidays. There's nobody to tell you what sort of business you have to create, how much you may earn, or what time you may take off.
Now does that sound more like it?.
Are you excited now?
Are you ready to move forward and start building the business you want?
Here are four more questions for you to think about before my next blog that will help you move things forward.
- What are you good at? This is what you really want to focus on in your business.
- What are you passionate about? Is this currently reflected in your business?
- What do you really want to achieve?
- What kind of success do you want in your business? Does that relate to where you want to be in your life [whether that regards your family, your loved ones, or earning a certain income]?
Think about those four questions then check back in next month for the next blog from me helping you create the business you want on your terms. If you can't wait that long, then you can always book a free no obligation mini coaching call with me to start moving your business forward today. Use this link to find a time and date that suits you, I look forward to hearing from you.