Pinterest, Esty…all the magical thinking
You spend hours browsing Pinterest, Etsy, Instagram, and all the other social media platforms. Looking at the pretty pictures, imagining yourself starting your own business. You have a brilliant idea or a beautiful product, people will love it! You make lists on random note pads, but don’t actually move forward. You need a plan, something that creates strategy for you to be successful.
It’s easy…but not so easy
Where do you even start putting your business together? You have the product or service and you’re ready to go. Just start selling…post on your social media pages about your amazing thing. Not so fast!
What you need is strategic plan. That’s fancy for a plan that you can follow that helps you meet your goals. A strategy makes things go smoother, it helps you anticipate kinks in the chain of your business and how to straighten them out.
The “unfun” stuff
Taxes, licenses, employees, insurance, contracts, legal requirements…It’s all so overwhelming. Slow down and give yourself a timeline. Focus on one thing at a time. Get the “unfun” stuff done first. All the administrative and legal things that make your business legitimate. Then you get to focus on your product or service…the fun stuff!
The fun stuff
Your product or service is the fun stuff. It’s the thing you love doing and has the potential to bring in money. If you have a great product to sell, think about your packaging and delivery options. If you are selling a service, you too need packaging. You need to package your service through storytelling. What is your service and how does it make people’s lives better?
It’s all about focus
Get a fun calendar. One that is easy to carry with you. Make sure it has large enough spaces on the dates to make some notes. If you love working digitally then you can find a calendar app for your phone. Now open it and pick a date. On that date write the words “Start strategizing for my business” now pick a date 3 to 6 months later. Write the words “Officially launch my business” and begin filling in all of the dates in between with things that need to get done and how they will get done. Allocate a certain amount of time each day to focus on your business. Even if it’s only 30 minutes. You may still be working another job or taking care of your family. But you can start building your business a little at a time. You now have your strategic plan.