Choosing the Right Path: Know Where You Are Going!

It is only logical that before you set out to go somewhere, you need to know how to get there. You are probably thinking: “That’s a no-brainer. How can I get somewhere if I don’t know where I am going?”

Yet, many entrepreneurs do just that – they don’t have a clear direction of where they are going. At the end of the day they may realize that they probably went in circles many times over without reaching their destination. How frustrating is that?

As the saying goes, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any path will get you there.”
Clearly, we are not talking here about physically going to a particular destination. Rather, we are driving home a very important point – that making a decision about what you want to achieve in your business and how you can efficiently reach that objective is a crucial aspect of running your own company.

Let’s say you would like to launch a new program, product or a marketing campaign. That’s a great objective for a web entrepreneur because this move will likely take your business up a notch and generate more income.

But such a launch is a big step, which requires a lot of thought process, communication with your team members, and mapping out the plan of action. It is only when you know exactly where you are going and how to get there that you can reach the destination without time-wasting detours.
It is possible that you already know what you want to achieve but not sure how to go about it. Putting your ideas into practice takes, well, practice.

Instead of going around in circles, ask for help. Call someone to flush out ideas, get a second opinion, feedback, brainstorming. Even just talking so someone else about it can do wonders.

Isn’t it far better than going around in circles?

Avoid Planning Pitfalls!

A written plan can help you move forward faster. How?

Remember a time when you had a great idea, but every detail was only planned out in your head? You have team members helping you with the technological, online and admin issues, but other than that you are pretty much doing everything yourself. Launch date is approaching and at the 11th hour you have to deal with an urgent matter that takes up most of your day. Your head is spinning from an overload of work …your launch is the next day… you have a teleseminar scheduled with 100 people signed up to attend…what can you do? Panic? Crumble under pressure? Postpone the planned launch and / or the teleclass?

There is a better way!

The scenario could look quite different if you had a written plan:

• You call your VA and tell her you are unable to personally do the teleclass
• Your team could still launch the program or service and monitor the emails, answer questions, maybe do the calls or postpone the teleclass

And here are two more tips about planning a project:

1. Make sure all your contractors are aware and committed to executing their individual tasks according to the pre-arranged schedule.
2. No matter how tempted you are to multi-task or stray off course, stay focused on your plan. Being distracted is going to put you in a hole. And that is one place you do not want to find yourself.

Knowing what to do then communicating the plan to your team is crucial. Make sure that everyone knows their role in executing the plan so that if something does come up, you are able to step away temporarily, delegate to your team, and ensure that the launch is successful.

Whether you remain actively involved in the entire process or not, it is important to keep your team in the loop. As cash flow allows, have them become more involved in the process so that they can comfortably implement the plan with minimal oversight provided by you. Need help managing your team? Stay tuned...we'll talk more about the team next time.

There is a better way to run your business and it's easier than you might think

Anyone who runs a multi-faceted business probably has his or her hands in several different pies. Handling multiple projects in a timely and efficient manner while making sure your company is running smoothly – and generating income – is not always easy.

You might have asked yourself many times in the past – or may even be wondering right now -what is the best way to juggle multiple projects at the same time without losing your sanity?

Impossible, you say? Not if you know what to do. The answer lies in these two strategies:

Planning and prioritizing

It may sound obvious, but do you actually apply these strategies to your business or are you working in a disorganized and haphazard manner, handling whatever project just happens to come across your desk without giving a thought to what your priorities are?

You are not alone. Many busy online entrepreneurs operate that way. More often than not, at the end of the day (or week) they realize that they haven’t accomplished what they had set out to do, or achieved any of their goals.

There is a better, more efficient way, to run your business.

How?

• Before you start your day (or week), look at all your projects and decide which ones have to be done first. Is one project more pressing than another because the clients are getting impatient, or maybe because you have to launch a product, program, or a marketing campaign by a certain date?

• Once you narrow down which project has the priority over the others, map out a deadline and a schedule. That will give you an idea how much time you have and get you ready for the next step.

• Write down exactly what you need to do yourself and what tasks your team (or sub-contractors) should be doing in order to complete the project in a timely manner.

Once you prioritize your projects, make a detailed plan for each one (as outlined above), and have a clear idea on what task should be done when (and by whom). You will find that staying focused and implementing your projects in a timely manner will bring the desired effect – be it client satisfaction, new customers or (the most important perk of all), a hefty profit. When planning your next project, be sure to keep these tips in mind:

• Prioritize before you start working so will you know what to get done first and why

• Knowing the order makes it easier to get things done

• Wondering why you haven’t reached your goal? Did you make a point of setting a due date?

• Knowing what to do first doesn’t always come naturally when working on projects, often times, there are many things that need to be done first. Remember your priorities when making your plan.

• Knowing what to do first will help you get a head start on your next big project

Do you have any tips you'd like to add to this list? What do you find works well when planning a project? We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.