In a series of short articles we’ll look at what it takes to grow your business.

Part One

Define what success looks like for you

What exactly does your better business look like? Let’s be crystal clear on what you want from your business; it’s there to serve you, not the other way around.

Did you know the average person spends 40,000 hours at work over their lifetime and life is simply too short to be stuck doing things we don’t enjoy.

So, with this in mind it’s vital we make the most of your time and do what you love doing.

To build the vision of where you want to be in the next 12 months grab a pen and answer the following questions on a piece of paper.

1. Who do you need to be right now?
Stop having a mindset of ‘when I have this, I will do that, and I will be this’. I’ve been there and this mindset is a block in itself. Instead, think about who you need to be right now and start acting in a way that’s consistent with that person – doing what you need to do to get what you want to have.

2. What do you love doing outside of work and at work?
Define the things that you love doing most. We all have tasks we don’t enjoy doing and put off for as long as possible. Determine which tasks can be delegated to free up more time to do the things you love. If you don’t have a team so can’t delegate think about ranking the tasks and dropping any you can to free up some time.

3. How many hours will you commit to the things you love doing?
Write down how many hours a week you’ll spend doing what you love. Commit to doing this – tell someone so they can hold you accountable and block out time in your calendar. Setting aside time to do things you love doing is a great way to start taking back control of your life.

4. What holidays do you want to have?
Write down where you want to go and when. Be specific so the image is implanted in your mind. Better still have the place as your wallpaper on your computer desktop or simplt print it out and place it where you will see it every day.

Block out the time in your calendar now.

5. How much income do you need to deliver on this new life?
Write down a figure. Don’t worry about how you’ll achieve this right now, just write it down.

You now have your own personal plan for what you want to get out of your business. Make this visible and start working towards it now.

“The first secret of getting what you want is knowing what you want.” – Arthur D. Hlavaty

In the next part, part two we will look at being open to change and learning.