I love the opportunities I am getting to work with people on the “working on“ part of their business, which is often ignored because everyone is so darn busy. We think we don’t have time to do some planning, work on our policies, and take proactive actions when it comes to future potential challenges in our business. We all become firefighters instead and just deal with the latest emergency or situation in front of us.
But does anyone ever stop to think, “Would I be dealing with this emergency if I had just planned ahead, put a policy in place, or clarified things with my staff/vendors/partners?”
From the discussions I have had recently, the answer is no. So let me share a couple of questions I recently got from a webinar I presented and my answers to see if you can see the theme:
Q: How can we juggle the social media, the admin, and the actual making of the items for the business when it is only you doing it all?
My answer: Juggle is a great word to use, as that is what we all try to do. Throw as many balls up into the air and see which ones we can catch. But what if you had a great plan and threw one ball up in the air at a time? Caught that ball, then threw the next one up in the air, and so forth. And what if we stopped throwing every shiny ball that comes into view up in the air and just threw the most important ones? There are a ton of solopreneurs out there who are making it work, and I know you can too. It starts with your plan.
Q: I think we could all use this. I struggle with time management; what can I do to fix that?
My answer: I’m excited to share this. As you mentioned, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t struggle with time management. But I have learned that it isn’t time management, as we all have the same 24 hours in the day, but priority management. Are you doing the right things at the right time? That is what is so counterintuitive about planning. It seems like you could be wasting time doing it, but it is one of the few ways you will get your time back. Planning first, so you do the right things at the right time and stop wasting time and money on things you should say no to.
The theme is planning. Do you have a decent plan to get from where you are now to where you want to be with your business? The plan doesn’t have to be fancy, formal, or otherwise extraneous. It just needs to be thought out, considerations for potential pitfalls, and actions must be taken. That is the only way we will consistently work on our businesses and develop them into the dream that forced us to start them.
Ultimately, your reasons have to be bigger than your excuses. Spend a little time clarifying exactly why you started your business. Pro-tip: Your reason is not to make money. I guarantee it. If it is, you will either fail or have to go deeper. What does that money represent for you?
