OK, I know I write about planning quite a lot. But that's because planning is important. And so that's why I go on about it. Quite a lot.
It's really important that planning, reviewing and doing are essential parts of your business planning process.
Well. I just used a big grown up phrase there - business planning process! No, I haven't lost the plot, it's just that so many businesses don't plan and then wonder why everything feels and seems so chaotic.
Why they're constantly lurching from one project to the next, looking for that next magic bullet, that next golden goose egg, the next pint of snake oil. You get the picture.
Planning can mean very different things for different people, but when it comes to planning in your own business, look at it simply as a process to help you take action to achieve your goals. You can plan on a daily basis, a weekly basis, fortnightly, monthly, bi monthly, quarterly, whatever. What's important is that you plan in a way that works for you. And what's even more important is that you plan in a way that suits you. And what’s even more important than that is having someone hold you accountable for that plan.
If the idea of doing a monthly plan or a quarterly plan simply makes your blood run cold, then don't do that! If the idea of doing a daily plan immediately gives you a feeling of overwhelm, then don't do that either.
However you do it - all of your planning needs to focus on the most important thing to running your business.
Money.
Start off by asking yourself two very simple questions:
- How much money do I need to generate each month?
- How much money do I want to generate each month?
Now the interesting thing here, is that you can now find yourself falling down the rabbit hole of pricing. Don't do that. Go and grab a copy of my pricing workbook and do that outside of your planning space.
The thing is you do need to know the difference between what you need to earn each month to cover effectively the costs of running your business, and what you want to put in your pocket for sweets and comics after you've done all of that.
Ideally there should be a decent gap. If you need to create a better space between those two figures, use a really simple strategy called good, better, best.
Let's say that when you look at the current gap between those two figures, you decide you need a plan to sign up some new clients before the end of the current month.
Start with what would be good for your business, which could be signing up one or two new clients. Then, think about what could be better which could be signing up three or four new clients. And finally look at what would be best for your business, which could be signing up five or more new clients.
Now you have a goal, you need a plan! You see, when I'm talking about planning for your business, I'm not talking about your daily tasks, or your daily list of things to do, I'm not talking about my focus pad approach [although if you don't have one of those, you can get one here].
I'm talking about the business planning that is going to move your business from A to B and beyond. So, once you've identified a goal - like signing up new clients to increase the gap between those two money questions - now you need to create a plan to go out and do just that.
Take a look at your goal, and then identify the activities you need to do in your business in the time frame that you've given yourself to achieve it. I'm going to write a lot more about time management in the upcoming months, but this stage is really important. Breakdown the tasks/activities you're going to need to do in the time frame you've chosen to sign up those new clients. Now have a bit of a panic.
This is why working with a business coach like me can help you work out what those tasks are, and a sensible time frame to achieve them. But if you're not working with a business coach yet, then you need to create a plan that will have a list of broken down tasks that you need to complete everyday/week for the time scale you've given your goal.
That's where it can all get a bit scary. This is also why working with a business coach can help you get past the fear.
Because as well as doing all the jobs in your business, you also have to work for your clients, and spend time getting more clients in. That's where it could all start to feel a bit overwhelming. That's why working with a coach like me can help you identify the gaps in your business that you might need to fill in order to go ahead and create the capacity you need to grow.
Working with a coach like me can help you answer the question do you have the capacity to deliver the elements of your plan? I can help you work out if your financial goals are realistic, considering the time that it will take you to deliver your client work and to bring through the leads you have in your pipeline.
And that's because I do all this stuff too. I have to balance working with my clients alongside all the other hats that I wear in my business, as well as looking at ways to bring new clients into that business within the plan that I have for my own business growth.
Here are two key things that stop business owners from taking the next step towards their business growth.
- Trying to work when they're simply not ready to do so.
Sitting down in front of your computer at 8:30 in the morning, and not getting up again until 5:00 in the afternoon, because that's how “proper business is done”, is absolutely fine if you're productive all that time. But seriously?! I know that I am not at my most productive until the afternoon, and I don't mean being productive from a client facing perspective, I mean being productive for my business- they're two completely different things. And if you get those muddled up, you're going to be an even more of a mess!
So you need to work out when are the best times in the day, the week and the month for you to work.
When do you feel on fire for your business? - remember this is not about being client facing, this is about working on and in your business. Take a moment and think about when you work best. Apply that time to income producing activity.
- Chasing perfection.
OK, let's get it out there. Stop comparing yourself with everybody else. What you see of other people's businesses through social media, email marketing, advertising etc, is a carefully crafted picture that is designed to attract people to their businesses.
If you are creating things that could generate income for your business, but you don't want to get it out there because you don't want to be seen as the person who put something less than perfect out there, then for God's sake do yourself and your business a favour, and have a JFDI attitude.
Get it out there, because the worst that can happen is that someone doesn't buy it, and you don't quite get the outcome you were expecting.
But if you do get it out there you can at least learn from it and understand what is and what isn't working. On the other hand it could be flipping amazing! And it could absolutely get the results you are looking for.
So don't hide behind perfectionism. If you feel that this is an area in your business that is holding you back, then book a call with me and let me help you. It can be an absolute game changer when you move things forward rather than waiting for the perfect moment.
If you need a very simple way to work on your priorities when time gets on top of you, ask yourself one simple question-what do I commit to doing this week??
This helps you work out what is non negotiable. That way you can start to work towards your goal for the week, the month and beyond. To make this work even better, find a coach like me, who can help you stay on track with those tasks.
I know I write often about why working with me can help you move your business forward and, put quite simply, it's because I can help you get your act together.