You are a music maker and a dreamer of dreams, and you started a business. Either you had some idea of what future you desired, or you had an image in your mind of what you thought your life would be like.
Some castle on a hill, with towers and banners and a shooting star and okay maybe it looks a lot like the Disney castle but that’s the power of culture and I digress. This future you created from nothing but have yet to achieve is there in your mind but it feels uncomfortably as real or achievable as that castle.
Is this inevitable? Do we dream too big? Are our fantasies just that?
I don’t think so. Many of you dream of winning the lottery and yes, okay, that’s a bit fantastical, but the rest of us … the rest of us have a future that is very much attainable. A prosperous business, work we enjoy, money that affords us a better life, and gives us time to enjoy that better life.
But we’re all Here now, and that future appears to be way over There. How do we get There from Here? One of the first steps you can take is to put specifics and a timeline to that future.
For this future to be real, what would need to be true? How much would your business need to be making in profit? How much would you personally need to earn each year? What would have to change in your workload? What can you identify and provide details for in this future? Realistically when would you like to be living in this dream?
Great. You’ve got targets, and dates. Now let’s start backing off from There, to where we currently are … which begs the question: With respect to your targets, where are you currently? How much profit are you making, how much are you earning, what is your current workload, etc.?
You see what we’re doing here? We’re plotting a course. We’ve identified a desired future state. We’ve explored and understood our current state. Now what does the next year need to look like? What about the year after that?
What are some very specific goals that you can set for the next 1-2 years that will act as a stepping stone to that final destination? And in a year, what were you able to accomplish? Where did you fall short? What did you learn? How should you create the next year’s goal with that information in hand?
It’s okay to be wrong. To miss your targets. You just have to learn and adapt.
Every small business owner deserves to have the success, and the life, that they dreamed of when they started. Including you.
PS: This is one of the many ways I engage with people. Many small business owners want to grow their business and improve their lives, but they’re overwhelmed and they don’t know how. So I use straightforward frameworks to help them drive their business forward, increasing profit, gaining confidence and peace of mind.
Here’s how you get started:
- Reach out on LinkedIn or via my website to schedule a call
- We get to know each other a bit and you tell me about yourself, your business, and what your current challenges are
- Schedule a low-risk 60-90 minute coaching session to take the first step toward a solution and experience what it’s like to work together