What would it look like to prioritize growth in your business? Lots and lots of details. So let’s simplify. Let’s dive into the mindset behind putting your business first.
Prioritizing your business starts with a simple premise: Your business is more important than your client’s business. Even though you might be working on creating healthy boundaries, we still tend to prioritize our client’s work before working on our own business.
“The Leftovers”
Your business should literally come first. Every day, your business activities should be the first thing you touch. Why? Because if you leave it for last, it’ll never get done. If you’re like me, you’ll stay up late and work outside regular hours to fulfill a commitment to a client. But you wouldn’t consistently do the same for your own marketing activities, would you? You’re giving your business the leftovers. The leftovers of your energy, your time, and your focus.
Intentionality
This can only happen with intentionality. Because some days, it won’t feel easy to prioritize my business when my client to-do list is a mile long and my time is limited. I intentionally touch something in MY business first. Some days it might be something small, but it has become a habit that I rarely break.
For you this might not mean first thing in the morning, but the goal is to reserve our most creative, energetic times for our own businesses.
What’s on the back burner?
It’s time to analyze where you have put your business on the back burner. What areas have you said “I’ll get to that later”? Sometimes it really isn’t’t a time issue. It’s an energy issue. Have you ever saved something for the end of the day, but when you find yourself with the time to complete the task, you’re so drained of energy, you just can’t even get started?
Your Vision
It can be really difficult to prioritize your business if you don’t have a clear direction or goal for your business. (Last week’s episode is GOLD, go listen if you need help building your vision!)
Do you have an answer for most, if not all of the following questions?
- What is on the agenda for this quarter?
- What are you selling or promoting?
- What are your revenue goals?
- How many new clients do you need to sign?
- What internal projects do you need to tackle?
- What are you working on creatively?
The answers to these questions all stem from your overarching vision. I’m a big fan of starting with the big picture, and then slowly breaking it down into smaller and smaller chunks until I have a very achievable and reasonable to-do list for my day/week/month/year.
We need to lead with intention and our vision which will help us set goals, and THEN we need to create a step-by-step plan. One reason why it’s really, really simple to jump in and do client work is because the scope is clear. You know exactly what you need to do for that client. We need to recreate that in our own business!
Getting uncomfortable
Sometimes entrepreneurs will have a step-by-step plan, but they still struggle to take the action because it’s uncomfortable. Why? Because prioritizing your business for growth is centered around money making activities, the activities that actually generate money. The core of these activities centers around getting visible, nurturing ideal clients, creating strong content with sales CTA, and other authority building activities. All of these things require you to put yourself out there in a way that may feel strange and unfamiliar to you.
The silver bullet
As a business coach, I’ve met so many women who are serial investors. They’re buying course after course, and program after program. They’re buying all the mini-courses and go through business coaches like they are speed dating. They are waiting for their silver bullet. The THING that’s going to turn the light on and catapult their business into massive success. I wish they could understand that they are the freaking silver bullet.
You are the one. You need to get committed to getting uncomfortable, staying uncomfortable and doing the things that you already know you need to do to tick the needle.
Getting started
If you haven’t been in the habit of prioritizing the growth of your business, start with looking at your day-to-day activities and how you’re spending your time. Are you being intentional about your money-making activities, even if it means getting uncomfortable?
Maybe you’ll need a mindset shift. Maybe you need to take a good long look at the overall vision for your life and business. Maybe you need to grab some things off the back burner and start maximizing your time by prioritizing those things first.
Speaking of prioritizing your business…don’t forget to check out all the details on the independent business retreat I’m hosting in September! This invitation is open to all of my listeners and I hope that you’ll consider investing in your business and yourself by attending this one-of-a-kind retreat! During this retreat we are going to be focusing on the vision for our lives, and for our businesses. We are going to create goals, actionable goals, and we’re going to make a plan! Not only will this be a productive, inspiring opportunity for your business, it’s also going to be a chance to kick back, be pampered, catered to, and to relax and recharge your batteries. Join me!
