Picture the scene.
You’ve booked a holiday in a remote cottage in the mountains, and you’ve planned to hire a car. There’s a flight delay, so you arrive several hours later than you expected, you eventually pick up your car, and you set off in the dark. It’s a foreign country and you don’t know where you’re going. You wouldn’t set off without looking at a map, right?
Now think about your own business. How many times have you simply set off and hoped for the best? Do you find you wind up in dead ends or go round and round in circles not going anywhere in particular? Take a moment to plan your route – if you know where you want to get to, it’s far easier to get there. Just break down each pit stop into a series of small, achievable tasks, review whether you’re on the right road regularly and enjoy the journey as the bigger picture unfolds.
It’s up to you how often you sit down and review where you’re going.
Some people thrive on minutely planning each week or even each day, while others prefer a couple of bigger sessions each year. Questions you should be asking yourself should be around your objectives for being in business in the first place – do you want financial security, the freedom of making your own decisions, or perhaps the flexibility of being able to pick the kids up from school? Maybe it’s all three. Whatever your motivation, focus on what it would look and feel like in reality. Then think about what milestones will make you think you’re on the way to achieving these. What can you do, daily, weekly monthly, to chip away at your dream? Don’t forget to review how far you’ve come – the very act of planning means you’ve set your intention and you’ll be surprised at how many targets you’ve reached.
Yes, along the way you might well find you decide to veer off and choose another route – you always need to be prepared for the unexpected – but if you know what you ultimately want, then ready, steady, go!
Need some help focusing on your ambitions? PA Angels can help by automating some of your regular tasks and setting up management systems to organise your office. Call us on 01621 680818 or email us at info@pa-angels.co.uk