A few days back I sent you an email that share Step 1 of my 2019 Business Strategy Planning, my hope is that you took the time and actually implemented.
(If you didn’t catch my previous email I would invite you to click here for the post…it really is the foundation for what we will be doing next)
For those of you who are my FAST ACTION Takers and have completed your first assignment….congratulations!!! I know how difficult it can be to take time out of your busy schedule to really work on yourself and your business, so I want to applaud you for making your business strategy planning a priority.
It truly is a game-changer in my business and the clients that I support because we step into the New Year with laser FOCUS, a plan and the momentum needed to hit the ground running.
So what is the next step….It is to decide what type of business you are building?
I can hear you say, “Rae, what do you mean? I know what type of business I am building”
And my response is “Do you really?”
What type of business do you want?
What I have learned after almost 14 years of coaching 1000s of people is that type of business you are building usually fall into two categories:
- EMPIRE Business
An empire business is one in which you may have 100s or 1000s of employees, maybe you own your building, or jet…typically this person wants to grow their business to sell, set it up for merger or acquisition play or perhaps they are creating legacy for their children.
2. LIFESTYLE Business
A lifestyle business on the other hand is all about the “lifestyle” that you want to live. It is about enjoying the journey, making enough money to travel, support family or your favorite charities. It is not about the brick and mortar or managing 100s of people. It’s about creating more with less and truly building a business on your terms. For most entrepreneurs, it is about FREEDOM.
So why is this step so important? And does it really matter?
And the answer is emphatically YES!
It is important because I have watch a ton of entrepreneurs and small business owners who are building their business and they are super frustrated and I believe one of the reason is because they are not clear on what type of business they are trying to create AND the strategy you would use to build an empire as you can imagine is radically different than the strategy you would use to build a lifestyle business.
And what’s even sadder is if you build a successful empire business only to realize that what you wanted was a lifestyle business (and now you are trap into a model that you hate and is draining the life out of you)
So which one is most appealing to you? Empire or Lifestyle?
Once you have decided the next step is to begin mapping out your year on the calendar.
Mapping Out Your Year
Now is the time for you to get out your At a glance Yearly Erasable Calendar….if you haven’t order it yet…you can find it on Amazon (click here)
Let’s pretend for this example that you are wanting to create a lifestyle business.
If I were working with you, the questions I would ask are:
“What are your hours of operations?” (start time and end time)
“What days of the week do you work?”
“What holidays do you take off?”
“How many vacation days are you planning to take off?”
This step creates a lot of resistance for many people but the reality is that you must “run your business like a business and treat your business like a job”. If you don’t have the time allocated you will stay on the perpetual hamster wheel.
Not to mention that it is so helpful when you begin bringing on a team (even a small one).
So, block the vacation and holidays off….right NOW! Even if you don’t know where you are going…it is so important that you block out the time and decide later where you will be travelling.
Once you have your time off…the next thing that you want to do is block out any educational events, conferences or seminars that I am planning to attend in 2019.
Personally my goal is to attend a minimum of (4) events per year – (2) for business building and (2) for personal development
Next, I add the events that I will be actually hosting to grow my business. My goal for 2019 is to do a minimum of (4) events. Again the focus is 1 per quarter.
Here’s the beauty of this step especially when you use the At a Glance Calendar…it will show you the things that are overlapping and also where are your gaps.
You have just created the framework for 2019….how exciting is that?
And if you are still reading…well done…this will make a huge impact and difference in not only your business but your relationships and your life!
Plan Your Month, Schedule Your Week, Prioritize Your Day
Once you have completed the framework for the year, it is time to:
a) Plan Your Month – add any recurring appointments this includes networking events, exercise, church, power hour, etc.
b) Schedule Your Week – I recommend blocking out time in your calendar every week for sales conversations and marketing activities.
c) Prioritize Your Day – What are the top 3 things that you will focus on every day that will get you closer to your goals? These activities should be income producing or high impact.
You can do this with either my favorite recommended Planner from Michael’s Arts and Craft Store (click Here) or you can use Google Calendar/Outlook (make sure you leverage the color if you are capturing it electronically)
And lastly, I recommend you writing down what your ideal perfect day looks like. I actually heard this from the internet marketer Frank Kern and I believe it is absolutely brilliant.
Here are some questions you may want to consider:
- What does your morning look like? What time do you wake up? What do you eat for breakfast? Do you meditate, pray or read during the morning? What time does your work day begin? What do you do first thing in the morning?
- What does your afternoon look like? What do you eat for lunch? Are you taking an afternoon break or nap or walk? What time does your day end?
- What does your evening look like? What time do you eat dinner? Are you eating with friends or your significant others? Do you watch TV or read at the end of the day? Do you take a hot bath?
What I know for sure is everything you want in life….starts first with a vision and a thought. And I recommend that you take at least 2-3 hours to complete this exercise.
(Bonus Coaches Tip: Play some inspiring music while you mapping out your year, make it fun and add color markers/stickers)
