When I started my business I worked on everyone else’s terms. This was a trend in my life I had yet to identify, but it was about to hit me between my teeth. I am so passionate about helping people earn money on their terms because in 2017 I missed saying goodbye to my Aunt because of work.
You will know I am from South Africa but live in the UK. So seeing family isn’t that easy, its a long and expensive flight. One that I would take happily for any reason. But the way I set up my business originally meant I was restricted. Having to be on clients sites to get paid, having to be in person with small groups or one to one, it all meant I had no flexibility (or life).
Losing my Aunt was the first of 5 deaths in my immediate family in the last 3 years. And each one drove home more and more why earning money on my own terms was important. And while it wasn’t an instant switch, I had a plan and it delivered what I needed.
So here are the 6 key things I did to earn money on my own terms. Also, you can come and join my live webinar to get more actionable steps to move your business forward now – click here to sign up
Say No more
Well this has be to top on the list. All the time you say Yes to other people, you are really saying No to your own dreams, desires and path. Being able to say no is key to running a successful business that you love.
So think about your business: What are you tolerating? What do you hate but do anyway? What would you LOVE to say hell no too? Any why aren’t you saying it?
Most of my clients have difficult conversations or decisions that they need to make while growing their businesses in the 12 week group coaching Blueprint to Business Course. And most of them know they need to make them, however they are scared. Because when we follow our own path, it means we will cause distributions with other people. This could be colleagues, clients, your family or friends.
Set up a Passive Income
This is a key, even if it is slow burner to start with. But having a passive income will help you on your way to success. It will help you create something that is sustainable. So what does a passive income look like? Ideally you will have people paying you a set amount on a regular basis for something that adds immense value to them, but doesn’t take loads of your time to deliver. Some ideas on these could be things like a membership or subscription box.
Most of my clients end up with as passive income idea while on the program. This is really important for me as it is the true key to freedom in your life and business.
Do what you love
It is weekly that I have this conversation with clients and people in my network. The work that you choose to do needs to suit your passion, way of working and lifestyle. If it doesn’t, then you are building a business that you will grow tired of. This key to success here is to think about the life you want to create first. Is it scheduled in certain hours (school time) or is it completely flexible and free, are you working from an office or do you want to work anywhere in the world. Do you want to work 8 hours a day, 5 hours a day, 2 hours a day? Do you love working with people in groups, ones to one or indirectly. Would you love to change peoples lives through products, services, programs, community, or something else entirely?
Right now is you moment to choose, and then we craft a business around that life. It would take effect immediately but with a solid plan and direction of travel, you are likely to achieve it in as little as 2 years! Now isn’t that a better idea than just aimlessly living the life that shows up!
I have helped clients build businesses that mean they can start writing their dream book. Or one that now has a passive income that means she doesn’t need to travel, which will help her live a better quality of life an illness she has gets worse. I have helped clients pick up the pieces after business partners have left the business. And helped people move from corporate to CEO of their own lives and businesses. But the first step is choosing what you want to create.
With people you enjoy
Once you know exactly what your life you want to create. I then want you to think about the type of people you want to serve. Are they the people you already work with? Are they someone completely different? Either answer is absolutely fine!
In the Blueprint to Business course we focus on getting to know the customers we want to serve as well as possible. By thinking about the person and aligning their pain points with our services we are able to find a product that will sell.
What we need to think about it is not only who we want to work with, but also who we don’t. This is really important if you are going to be doing longer term coaching programs, or group sessions. If you are selling a direct product or an indirect program it doesn’t matter as much.
So why is it important to know who we don’t want to work with? The key here is energy, you need to protect your energy and focus on what moves you forward. If you are surrounding yourself with people that slow you down, shift your energy or causing negative thoughts, it will cause a knock on effect in your business. So think carefully about who you attract to work with you.
Automate as much as you can
I love this! As an solo business owner, you are the Head of Everything. Head of Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Operations, Website, IT, Events, Logistics…. and the list goes on. So how is it possible for one person to do all the things. Well the best way is to automate some of it. Once you have done that, you can then look at what you need to outsource. And finally once you are outsourcing a certain amount you might look at who you can hire! (Scary I know, but needed if you want to grow your business)
So what can you automate to start with? Things like social media posting are easy to load into an auto-scheduler, just make sure you are still jumping on the platforms to comment and engage with others. You can automate lead generation through a marketing funnel. By creating a lead magnet that pulls all the right customers to the front of the room, you are able to spend time only on the ones that will add values rather than loads of dead-leads. Appointment scheduling is an easy win, when you need to book in a meeting you can just send people a link to pick a suitable time. Removing the need for back and forth on emails. You can bulk create graphics for social media posts, once in the flow, it is so much quicker than creating them on the go, and you will get much better consistency in your posts.
These are just a few quick wins to start freeing up some more time for deep thinking and income generation work.
Build-in time for fun now
This is definitely my favourite! If you want to create a business that suits your life, don’t want until you reach some silly made up goal. Start enjoying your life right now! I always build in time for things I love. Which regularly involved exercise, food and music! So some of the things I build in are 10 minutes of yoga every morning to start my day. A run while listening to a development audio book, or an exercise class with a friend or my husband. I always plan a good lunch time in my day, I will listen to some music while I prepare and eat my lunch.
On a large scale I have built a business that means I can have flexibility. So if I want to go work on the beach in summer I can, if I want to take off a 2 days to have a long week away (normally involving hiking, camping and wine by a open fire) it is possible. If I want to fly home to South Africa and stay for 3 months – you guessed it – I can!
So I want you to think about how much time have you built into your week were you honestly do things that you love. Where you heart and soul are truly happy. And how could you build more of it in.
Wrapping it all up!
So I know that building a business is hard, I know it can feel lonely at times. I get it. But I want you to know that actually, you are able to do it. You are able to smash it out of the park. But if you want a little help to do it faster, I would love to share my secrets to success with you. I am running a live webinar and would love to see you there! Click here to sign up and I will make sure you can get involved!