When my 11 year old started secondary school she came home very excited after her first week as she had her planner and a new timetable. As this was the first time she has to learn to manage her own time, her homework and meet deadlines. This planner was going to be invaluable to her – because like most 11 year olds, she is easily distracted and forgets stuff.
But do you know what? As a mum, nana and business woman I have too much stuff to remember and a whole heap of deadlines to meet for myself and for my clients, so I use a planner and timetable too!
Most of us will use a calendar or diary to add appointments, meetings etc. but do you use this to book in the stuff you need to do to grow your business?
Every day we should be making time to do something that moves our business forward.
It’s not just enough to get up each morning and go about all the routine stuff that you have to do on a day to day basis to run your business – if you want your business to grow and you want to achieve success then you have to do the things that make this happen too.
Think about who your biggest client is. What one thing generates a large portion of your income? Now allow yourself to think the unthinkable – what would happen if that disappeared? Would your business be vulnerable? Could you replace this loss of income quickly?
If you are actively growing your customer database, if you are marketing to your potential new clients on a regular basis, if you are out there and visible and people are talking about you, then the answer is probably yes. If you are not, then where would this leave you?
By scheduling a little time each day for marketing your business, your audience and your prospects will grow, and so will your business. And if the worst were to happen, you would have a list of potential new clients lined up ready to fill that gap.
So what could you do in say, 30 minutes a day or over a couple of days using your 30 minute sessions?
You could create a Facebook campaign to attract new customers, write a blog post help with your website SEO, plan and draft a leaflet, create an offer, plan new products, draw up a customer dream list….there are 100’s of things you can do that take just half an hour.
So grab a brew and look at what you need to do this week, next week and for the rest of this month and next month to grow your business and add a slot to your diary or calendar – because if you don’t schedule it, it won’t get done!
Want to know how I can help you achieve this? Drop me a line at hello@suzanneedgley.co.uk or call on 01229 383262
