2020 is halfway over. There’s 6 months left in the year. It’s officially Day 1 of Q3. The first day of the rest of your life. You’ve got big, awesome life and business goals that you’re working toward right now. Even though 2020 hasn't gone exactly how you planned.
Maybe you’re just starting your business so your big goal is to sign your first paying client. Or maybe you’ve been at your business for a minute and your goal is to scale to 5k or 10K months or to bring on your first team member so you can finally let go of all the stuff you don’t love doing in your business to create space for all the stuff you DO.
First, CONGRATS! Creating big, exciting (see also: scary) goals in your business is necessary to grow and create a bigger impact.
But here’s the truth: no matter what your big goal is, it’s going to take work, consistency and dedication to get there. And taking a bunch of teeny tiny, baby steps will all add up to you celebrating with a bottle of bubbly in one hand and a confetti popper in the other after you smash through your goals.
All those teeny tiny, baby steps...well they can make (or break) your big goals in an instant.
I want you to set yourself up for success so that you actually sign that first client, reach the 10K month and FINALLY get to do more of what you do best. I want you to check your big goals off your big list with a big hot pink Sharpie and feel dang good about in December.
Let’s focus on those smaller steps so that we can move the needle closer and closer and closer to that big goal of yours.
Here We Go, 5 Ways To Make Sure You're Meeting Your Big Goals.
Create Microactions Out of Your Big Goals Every Single Day
So you’ve identified your big, exciting, scary goal and you’re probably wondering, uhh now what? To get to that big goal, we’ve gotta break it on down into mini actions that are doable daily. We’ve gotta reverse engineer it. Okay I'm a big believer that paper and pen are magical when it comes to goal setting. So take out a piece of paper and write your big goal at the top. Then, write a list of small action steps you could take DAILY to bring you closer to your big goal.
Here’s an example:
Ashley’s goal is to sign her first paying client for her VA business. A list of microactions could include:
Signing up for Acuity so it’s easy for clients to book discovery calls.
Setting up her Zoom account
Creating a discovery call calendar link.
Setting her availability in Acuity.
Adding a questionnaire to her discovery call link.
Checking to make sure links to book a discovery call are active and everywhere she is showing up online.
Creating a 1-page info sheet to send to potential clients.
Writing value based and promotional content to post.
Posting the content.
Creating genuine connections and relationships online with other entrepreneurs.
Engage in all the places she’s showing up online.
The list goes on and on.
The important part here isn’t that the mini steps are perfect...no no no, perfection is NOT the goal, it’s that you’re taking daily action towards your goal and trusting that you can build the plane WHILE you fly.
Get Support Daily
Success isn’t achieved alone. Ever. In order to smash through your goals you’re going to need support. That could mean from family, from friends, from your babysitter, from Instacart or from a coach or mentor. It could be physical support (like someone to watch your kids or walk your dogs), emotional support (like friends or family to listen to your highs and lows), mental support (like from a counselor or therapist), business support (like from an experienced coach or mentor) or by finding services to grocery shop for you or deliver things you need right to your doorstep (what did we do before Amazon Prime anyway?).
The entrepreneurs that achieve the most success almost always talk about how much support they have in all areas of their lives. In order to achieve great things, we have to lean on others. So if you don’t have support go get it. This is something that has been HUGE in my business across the board. I have support everywhere- and it's what allows me to show up for my clients in a really unique way.
Block Block Block
Y'all know I love and believe that time blocking is the secret for work life balance. Recently, I’ve had a few clients KNOW what they need to be doing in their business to achieve their goals but they just weren’t making it a priority by making the time for it. Knowing and doing yield two separate results. Thankfully this is a super simple fix!
Once a week (Sunday nights are my favorite time for this) block out 30-45 minutes DAILY in your calendar to do the things that are going to move the needle closer to your big goals. Your big goals are important. Your big goals DESERVE dedicated time in your calendar for them. For some of my clients, this looks like writing and scheduling content. For others, it looks like following up with leads. If the goal is to get more clients, then you’ve gotta get super visible online, market your business, network, build relationships and follow up. Simple right? Super easy to do, even easier to NOT do. But you must make this time a non-negotiable in your day.
Organize Your Self Every Single Day
If you’re providing done-for-you services for online entrepreneurs + small business owners and you’re a Mama, and you’re a wife/sister/friend and your life and business is only written down in a web of sticky notes...well, that ain't good. I am a shoot than aim kinda girl, the biggest cheerleader for taking messy imperfect action and taking action BEFORE you're ready, but there is a time to get yourself organized too. You have to make time to organize your business backend. This will save you time and energy. Time and energy that can be spent working toward your goals. My FAVORITE online (totally FREE) project management platform is Asana. Two other popular options are Trello + Clickup. It’s so easy to use but also super powerful, incredibly simple, and totally robust. It's functionality will grow with you and your business. This magical program allows me to keep all of my business tasks, to-dos, dreams, goals and workflows in one (secure and backed up) space. I also have my entire team in there with me so it’s effortless for us to collaborate on a task or project. Even better, no one has to ask me what’s on my to do list for the day or wonders what has to get to done. Whatever goals (and mini goals) you’re working on right now should be organized inside an online project management software so they can be tracked, traced and easily checked off your to do list. Asana Bonus: when you check something off your to do list a magical unicorn flies across the screen to cheer you on. Double bonus: once you become an online organization pro you can add this to your menu of services to help your clients do the same.
Focus On The ONE Thing
Entrepreneurs are an interesting bunch. We can go from idea to execution in 2.2 second flat which is part of what makes us so successful. But it’s also a bit of a double edged sword.
Because when we don’t get the result we wanted within those 2.2 seconds we often “PIVOT” on to something else. And honestly, this is an issue I help my clients work through almost every day. It's so so easy to see what someone else is doing and having seemingly "overnight success" with and want to do that too.
Here’s an example:
Jenny's big goal is to sign her very first VA client in her brand spanking new business. So she’s going through the motions, but, it takes a minute to start seeing results. Starting a business is rarely a get rich quick scheme. And before she gets the result she’s so desperately after, she gets distracted and tells me she wants to try starting this direct sales business. And listen, I’ll entertain the idea with Jenny because that’s my job. But know what else is my job? To remind Jenny what she really, truly wants in her business. And since we’ve identified that at the beginning of mentoring that makes it super easy for me to explain to her that this new shiny object isn’t actually going to be what gets her closer to her big goal...it’s going to push her farther away from it. Split focus yields split results. If Jenny wants to grow her VA business, she needs to focus on only that VA business until it’s bringing in the income she desires and we have systems and processes on lock. Then, we can talk about adding additional streams of income.
We can sub “direct sales business” for any other “shiny object” that’s distracting you from your big goal because you’re scared/afraid/not seeing results in 2.2 seconds...it's all the same thing.
If you want to reach a goal, the more energy, time and resources you give to it the quicker you’ll see results.
So there you go, 5 ways to make sure you're meeting your big goals. Did you notice a theme? Each of the 5 ways mention that you’ve gotta do them DAILY to get to where you want to go in your business. Not monthly, not when you have the time, not when you remember to do that. It isn’t about perfection, it’s about consistency. And consistency is KEY in reaching your goals.
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