Have you ever seen those commercials where the business owner talks about wearing every hat including the janitor’s?
While those commercials are definitely true, what I don’t like about them is they also imply it’s okay to KEEP wearing all sorts of hats in your business, like the janitors.
You see, it’s one thing when you first start out to do everything in your business. At that point you have more time, less clients and not a lot of money flowing in. And chances are you’re so excited you WANT to be working on your business all the time.
The problem comes in when you never leave that place. If you’re one of those entrepreneurs or business owners who feels like you “must have a hand in everything or it falls apart/isn’t done right/doesn’t get done at all/etc” then this is definitely for you. Because, you see, you will NEVER build a sustainable, profitable business unless you stop doing and start leading.
And the first step is to stop wading around in the details and instead take a step back and start looking at the big picture of your business. (I mean, if YOU don’t have the big picture view of your business, who does?)
So with that in mind, here are the 3 top things you need to keep a big picture eye on in your business if you want it to grow to a successful, sustainable, profitable business:
1. Vision. Are you on track to reaching your overall goals? Are you staying in integrity with your overall brand and message? Are you creating confusion in the marketplace with your offerings or are they in line with what your ideal clients want from you?
It’s very important to have an overall plan for your business and to be working that plan. Without a plan it’s very easy to be flailing around and not be building any traction or momentum. (Or even worse, be slowly sinking because you’re created confusion in the marketplace.)
2. Finances. Do you know where you sit financially? What is your cash flow each month? Your expenses? Also do you know when you need to be marketing? For instance, you have a 6-month coaching program — do you have plan so you can launch your program every 6 months? Even if it’s a rolling program (meaning people can join anytime) you still need set times in your schedule where you know you’ll be actively marketing to attract new clients into your programs.
3. Marketing. Do you have a marketing and promotional calendar in place? Does it include regular marketing tasks (like writing your ezine) along with program and product launches? Are you following it? This is something else you need to keep an eye on — how your marketing is going. And if it’s not going, then this needs to be a priority for you to get it going.
Now this doesn’t mean YOU have to do all this work yourself — what is does means is you need to be aware of the big picture of what exactly is happening in your business and then figure out the best way to get all the tasks completed in the most efficient way possible.
