The Lonely Entrepreneur’s Secret to Success: Planning Time for Business Development
One of the main problems my clients complain about is that they never stop running their businesses. They say their day is a never-ending cycle of completing tasks for clients, having conversations with potential clients, and networking to find clients. They know they need to find some time to plan what they are doing and where they are going in their business, and the only time they manage to do this is late at night with a glass of wine in hand, a Saturday morning in the middle of a kids’ soccer game, or a Sunday afternoon at the dining room table when the kids are working on school projects. How productive can someone be in that kind of environment?
Normally, when you think about time management, you’re told to put your tasks into 3 categories (A, B, and C) based on priority, with A being the highest priority, and then do all the tasks on list A. Ugh, time management, done! If only it was that easy..LOL
The time management system I’m currently using is a more comprehensive system, focusing on the big picture of how you structure your time rather than the actual tasks, though that does come into play. In this system, you have 3 types of days: Rest Days, Profit Days, and Business Development Days. You can set as many (or as few) as you want each week, as long as the total number adds up to 7 for a full week.
I bought a large laminated wall planner for the current year and a set of colored sticky dots to graphically represent my days off, profit generation and business development on this calendar. I have found that having this hanging on the wall in front of me helps me tremendously in my planning and when presented with an opportunity helps me determine how viable it is in relation to the time I have available.
On your days off, you can do anything except work-related tasks. You can meditate, cook vegetables on the couch, spend time with friends and family, go hiking, or take a vacation. The goal of your Rest Days is to revitalize and rejuvenate your spirit and not think about business, work or money. This is the first group of days that I would like you to plan for yourself. Yes, you heard me right. Repeat after me, “Pay yourself first.” What works with money also works with time! Currently, for me, that translates to 2 days off per week. So I have a number of longer holiday periods and 3 and 4 day weekends. Remember, all work and no play makes Jill a grumpy girl…
Next, complete your Business Development Days, which is the time when you are working IN your business, not IN your business. Business Development Days are the most important days for a business owner because they serve as business management days, or time where you focus on finances, marketing, sales, resources, and people.
Let me repeat: this is the most important day of your week. You can’t grow and market your business while you’re doing the actual work of the business, so spend at least one day a week building and overseeing your business. Even if you’re a self-employed business owner, Business Development Days are vital to your success. Your business will not be able to grow and prosper without regularly scheduled business development time. My business development day is sacred and I guard it like a diamond of hope. Only in extreme emergencies do I let other things interrupt my Business Development Day.
The most compelling reason why Business Development Days are vital to your existence is because without it, you don’t have any days of the third kind, Profit Days.
What’s left of the week are Profit Days, or the time you’re actually working on your business, doing the work of the business. These are the days when you are working with clients, solving their problems and concerns, or doing other activities where you are directly generating income. In some companies, this time may be called “billable hours.”
So, my current schedule is as follows:
Saturday and Sunday: Rest days
Monday and Tuesday: profit generating days
Wednesday: Business Development Day
Thursday and Friday: profit generating days
I started this type of long-term planning several years ago and have found it to be incredibly empowering. I guess I slipped back into the MF, 9-5 rut without realizing it, and spent all that time working with clients instead of spending time on business development and poring over what I really wanted. of my business What helped me was realizing that I am not always going to be 100% faithful to this system, as opportunities arise that I cannot control. However, I know that if I commit to being 80-90% faithful to the system, I will do well.
Start planning your business development time today. Purchase your calendar, set aside some time to plan your year, and begin to experience the power of truly being in the driver’s seat of your business.
Copyright 2006 Donna Gunter