Meeting Topic
Introduction to Meeting Topic:
How do you reconcile that huge vision you have for your business with the amount of time you have each day to make it happen?! This week, Michelle Keating has contributed a short article about how we can manage this dilemma. As you prepare for your meeting, consider sharing with your group how YOU make time to bring your vision to life!
Connecting the dots between business vision and your daily reality By Michelle Keating
We’ve all heard how important it is to have an overall vision and SMART goals for your business, but how do you bring your vision to life while keeping up with the day-to-day running of your business?
I wholeheartedly believe in having a big vision for your business. Something that lights you up and drives your business forward. Without it, it is easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of daily life and it can lead to taking on any client or work that comes your way.
When you are clear on the kind of business you want to create and the kind of people you’d love to serve, you’re better equipped to make decisions that will take you where you want to go.
However, depending on how big you’re dreaming, the distance between your vision and current reality can be huge. It can feel almost impossible to figure out where to start or how to stay motivated as you bring that big vision to life.
The secret to achieving this? Ensuring a large proportion of your time as a business owner is regularly dedicated to making your vision a reality.
It’s not always easy, but it is possible. I started Dreamers Collective from my own frustration of having big dreams but constantly getting caught up in day-to-day activities, only for months to go by without making progress.
What made the difference was realising that the day-to-day work was never going to cease, so I had to find ways to make time for the important things alongside the necessities.
Firstly, make sure your business vision is clear and actionable. I recommend crafting an overall reason or ‘why’ your business exists, alongside a vision for how you would like your business to look in 3 – 5 years’ time.
Next look at the next 12 months and set 3 – 5 goals that will lay the foundations for your future business. Then break those down into smaller, more specific milestones that you can work towards.
Now for the most important part, make sure you make a plan for how you are going to achieve each milestone by breaking them down into projects that you can take action on quarter-by-quarter.
Once your project plans are finalised, it’s important to block out time in your calendar on a regular basis to work on your project actions. Treat this time like you would a meeting with an important client – you can postpone it if things come up, but you can’t cancel it.
Breaking down your vision in this way will give you a solid plan to work towards making it a reality.
Now, like most of the best laid plans, they won’t always go accordingly so ensure you build in ways to measure and monitor your progress and adjust as necessary.
Your business will change and grow as you do, so while executing your projects hold onto your bigger vision and embrace the twists and turns. And remember, progress is better than perfection!
Michelle Keating, founder of Dreamers Collective
Find Dreamers Collective online at www.dreamerscollective.co
Next Meeting Topic
Set Aside Time to THINK! By Jennifer Myers, MBA, CBC
In this fortnight’s instalment for the strategy Pillar, our author dives into the 10 (YEP!) ways we can invest in THINKING TIME to positively impact our businesses.
From ‘big picture’ to ‘creative’ to ‘bottom line’, when we set aside regular time to consider HOW we do things, WHO we serve and WHY we’re special (among other things), we set ourselves up for true success and longevity.
Read the article and consider speaking to one of the 10 points in your 60-second introduction.
Set Aside Time to THINK! By Jennifer Myers, MBA, CBC
In my work as a business coach over the past decade, I have witnessed so many clients’ businesses moving forward by leaps and bounds when they begin to set aside a specific time each week to work ON their business. By working ‘ON’, I mean THINKING about your business. Not worrying about things or over-focusing on what didn’t get done today. I mean investing time to think critically about HOW you do things, WHO you serve, WHY you’re special! Thinking literally increases your value to your business and your team (if you have one). In this article, I’ll share 10 different types of thinking that we can employ when it comes to working ON our businesses – betcha’ didn’t know there were 10 different types of thinking, eh?
- Big Picture – ‘Big picture’ thinking is stepping away from the day-to-day and considering your longer-term goals and objectives. Re-visit your vision for your business. Set those annual goals and review your progress against them.
- Focused – When we set aside a distraction-free zone for ourselves, we’re helping our brains to focus on a specific task or problem. This is problem-solving time. Focused thinking can help you weigh up options and opportunities and then make the appropriate decision.
- Creative – Creative thinking involves, for example, looking at HOW you do something and considering how you can do that thing just 1% better. Creative thinking will help you come up with new and interesting topics for your fortnightly newsletter or your daily social media post.
- Realistic – Realistic thinking comes into play when we need to weigh up the IMPACT of taking a certain action. For example, ‘If I make a change to how I communicate with my clients, how will that impact on their experience?’ or ‘If I change up this piece of software, what impacts will it have in other areas of my business?’
- Possibility – Possibility thinking is ‘no-limits’ thinking! If money and time were of no consequence, what would you do in your business? What could you do if you were fearless?
- Strategic – I like to think of ‘strategic’ thinking as ‘lateral’ thinking. Making connections where connections aren’t immediately obvious. Strategic thinking comes into play when we begin to think about scaling our business, for instance. It also helps when we consider who else we need in our inner circle to help take us farther, faster in our business.
- Reflective – This is the type of thinking that allows us the time and space to ask ourselves ‘What went well this quarter? What didn’t go so well? And What can I LEARN from that?’
- Questioning – When we question the status quo, that’s a wonderful thing, because we shift ourselves our of our comfort zone. Asking ourselves WHY we do a certain thing a certain way is key for helping us try new things and dump things that aren’t working.
- Shared – Shared thinking is the ‘mastermind’ or ‘inner circle’ concept. When we have a small group of people we can bring problems and unique challenges to and discuss possible solutions, we expand our thinking!
- Bottom-Line – This type of thinking is all about how taking a certain action will impact your business’ profitability! Because let’s face it, if we aren’t profitable, we won’t be around very long! Ensure you weigh up your return on investment for each purchase, each hire or each CHANGE in your business before you jump in.
If you’d like to know more about Jennifer, check out her LinkedIn profile here OR visit her website here.
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