How to Grow Your Business and Stay Sane... at the Same Time!

We’ve all been there: wanting to grow our business but not knowing what to do or how to do it. There are so many options and tasks to do each day; it can feel like you’re going crazy (I’m not the only one, am I?!)

Instead of being pulled in ten different directions, there are a few simple steps to not only grow your business, but also feel calm and confident while doing it.

Decide What You Want

What are your short and longer term business objectives? Defining these is critical, because your answers will help determine the next steps.

When deciding the objectives of growing your business, be as specific as possible. Some examples may be:

• Increasing your monthly income by $X
• Signing up two new clients
• Increasing your mailing list by 100 people

Why bother? Because with clear and specific goals, it will be much easier to achieve them.

Make a Plan

Now take the goal you’ve decided on and brainstorm ways to get there. To increase your income perhaps you could create a product or revamp an old one; to enroll new clients you might call former clients asking them for referrals or to offer them a refresher program; and to increase your list maybe you’ll do that a teleseminar or webinar you’ve been putting off.

Bottom line: Choose one thing from your list to do – and do it!

Take Action

Now break down that item (your “one thing”) into small steps and assign target dates for each one. Let’s use a teleseminar for an example.

• Select the date, time and topic.
• Sign up for a teleseminar service if you don’t have one.
• Create a place on your website where people can sign up.
• Prepare promotional material such as a couple of blog posts (which can also be used in your newsletter), social media updates, etc.
• Create follow-up reminders in your auto-responder service for the people who sign up.
• Recruit friends and colleagues to help promote and provide them with the marketing material you already created (remind them to edit the content slightly so it’s not exactly the same as yours).
• Prepare a worksheet and/or checklist for your teleseminar attendees if you wish. This creates added value and you can provide it as a bonus.
• If you plan to offer a product or program at the end of the teleseminar, be sure to get that ready too.

Get Help

Review your plan and identify the areas you need help with. And yes, there will be areas you need help with. We all do.

Maybe you need help at the beginning so that you can decide on your objectives or help with making a plan? Consider hiring a coach or joining a mastermind to help you with these steps.

Do you stumble when it comes to the taking action part? Perhaps you aren’t sure which teleseminar service to use or you don’t know how to create a page where people sign up? If this is the case, a virtual assistant is your best friend for she or he will be able to help you and, in many cases, do most of it for you!

So the steps are simple: decide what you want, make a plan and get help where needed. No longer will you be stuck, floundering around, unsure of your direction or of what to do to grow your business. 

With a clear plan you’ll feel less stress and more confident.

You’ll be growing your business without feeling like you’re losing your mind at the same time!

Bonus Tip

Once you’ve accomplished one item on your list, it may help you get started on another item. For example, if you did a teleseminar to grow you list, you can then package up the recording, worksheet and checklist (and you may even want to include a transcript of the recording). Ta da! You now have a product you can sell to increase your income!

Have fun with this – follow the steps outlined here – so you can build your business and keep your sanity. That’s what I most want for you.