Imagine your business serving you, instead of you serving your business!

You plan for your business concept, plan your cash flow needs, your marketing needs, your staffing needs, licensing, insurance, location, inventory, equipment, and a myriad of other logistics that may apply to your specific business or industry.

As Entrepreneurs this is not only our nature, but it is how we are taught. It cannot be understated how important it is to plan in a business for your future or there may be no future! There is one thing the majority of Entrepreneurs miss in the planning of a new business or improving an existing business, themselves. How do the dreams and goals of what the owner coincide with the goals of the business? Do they match? How will the business serve your personal goals, dreams and desires?

This is, in my humble opinion, the most overlooked aspect of planning for a business. This is akin to getting ready for a cross country road trip. You wash your car, change the oil, rotate your tires, pack your bags, plan your trip on a map, and then leaving with only a gallon of fuel in the car. You will make some progress, but without a Vision (fuel), your business may not be as appealing or fulfilling as you originally had hoped.

I have been an Entrepreneur since 1989. I have had huge successes and miserable failures. When I was successful the business served me and my personal life I desired. When I have failed my personal life was not being served by my business and so there was no sustainability for the life of the business. If you try to succeed without aligning your Vision with the business, then your personal life will have to adapt to the business. There is, in the beginning of any business, a certain amount of misalignment between the business direction and Vision. This should be temporary! There should be a point when the business comes into alignment with your overall Vision that provides what I call Holistic Happiness. This is the place where your business vision and your personal vision intersect. This is the place of joyous, calm, confidence that makes going into your business, not like working at all.

I discovered this for me quite by accident. I have been very systems oriented in my businesses over the years. People would ask me how I managed so many people so well, had such high customer retention, or was able to market and grow my business so quickly. I, believing there are really no secrets in running a business, would happily share what I was doing in my business thus helping others. Little did I realize at the time that the act of helping others as humans first and other roles second was my true calling.

A few businesses later, I wrote what I really wanted for my life. I spent as much time planning and thinking that through as I would a well thought out marketing plan or financial plan for my business that I would own a business that was on purpose. My concept would bring me and my customers’ fulfillment and value every day.

Coaching/Consulting was the obvious answer for me. I recognized my other businesses had been just a front for doing what I really was drawn to do, helping other business people. So I started working as an Adjunct Faculty member as a business advisor and instructor for the Small Business Development Center at the local community college, and a short time later started Sadler Business Coaching. There has not been one day I have not been excited to go to work at either place. I feel exhausted at the end of everyday but it is a really fulfilling kind of tired. My personal life is more fulfilling as well. I am able to do the things I want to do when I want to do them through working the systems I have implemented, but it all starts with the Vision.

There are four components to get you working on your own Holistic system for your life and business. Vision, Mission, Goals, and Time Management.
For the Vision, write down how your life would look if you had no concerns about relationships, time, or money. Just write, don’t over think! Than pare it down to a two or three sentence statement that reflects what you want from life. Will your business get your there? When? What will you have to do to make that happen in your business?

Next write your Mission for your business. The Mission is how your business serves your customers. What would you ideally like for your customers say about your product or service? This should support your Vision. Most of us get these backward and that leads to burnout and disillusion in your business. You cannot serve your customer and put your own needs second. It simply is not sustainable to do so.

Following this is a goal system that supports your Mission and Vision. These should be very specific, measurable, timely, and list who will be responsible. The key is if the goal does not serve your Vision and Mission it is not a worthy goal and should be replaced.
The foundation for all of this is time management. There are a many systems to choose from. Be sure to schedule days away from all business activities on a weekly basis to be at your best while in your business.

Your days should be structured in a way to ensure you are working on the important tasks that support your Mission and Vision. This may require delegating some things you had done in the past or restructuring your organization as a whole. Remember the old adage: It takes 21 days to become a habit. Changing daily task/time management habits will be important to propel you toward your ideal life.

If I can do this so can you. You can have it all! It requires asking what you really want out of life. Talk to somebody you trust and respect and ask their opinion. Don’t isolate yourself in this process. It is important to be supported. It can be sometimes lonely as and Entrepreneur, but it does not have to be that way. If you always work toward your ultimate Joy, everything else will fall into place. It comes down to focusing on, Personal Growth, Business Management, and Holistic Happiness. Just imagine, your business serving you, instead of you serving your business.

Contact me for more information about having me speak to your organization, or one on one coaching for your purpose, goals, and balance. http://www.scottsadlercoach.com/