Time and time again I'm asked “How do you find time to run your business with a little on running around” Sometimes I just have to sit back and laugh because there are days I literally have zero idea how I do it. I’d love to say I sit down and knock out 8 hours of work in one sitting each day but that thought makes me laugh even more these days. I’m a stay at home mom I have an hour here, an hour there, sometimes I have twenty minutes here, twenty minutes there where I can get my to-do list done. That’s I usually answer the famous recurring question. I run my business in twenty minute to an hour chunks of time. Each morning before the baby wakes I'm up and working a bit, during nap times Im working a bit, and after the kiddo goes to bed I am working a bit. I try to dedicate certain times to my wonderful other half and one on one attention to my kiddo. During those times I focus solely on them and not on my business so that I can be true to my purpose for running my online business- them. Being able to find time is just that, it’s about finding time in your day. It’s about making adjustment to how you currently go about your day in order to make your dreams a reality. You must find moments of unused time during your day and dedicate them to your business if you want to further yourself. I’ve been to a number of seminars in my time and the biggest take away I ever got that I apply to my business still today is what Roger Love called the 80/20 rule. At the worlds greatest speaker trainer Roger Love explained how 80% of your results came from 20% of the work you put in. Being a mom means you have your head going in a million places at once throughout the day. Whatever time you have during the day counts for something important. What I can say is that not everything you do throughout your day is productive. I know right now it seems that everything you’re doing matters but I promise that when you really look at your day I can say with certainty that you have time throughout your day that can be reallocated. If you're anything like me, which Im almost positive you are, you have insane amounts of dishes to do, you have toys to pick up, you have mounds and mounds and mounds of laundry to do, you chase your kids from here to there, maybe you run them to and from events, chat with friends, sneak time in for your other half and maybe, just maybe you get 20 seconds of quiet time for yourself. Sound familiar? WANT MORE TIME TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS? SNAG YOUR FREE WORKSHEET >>>> HERE <<<< Just reading all that you’re probably thinking “sooo how am I supposed to get to the 80/20 rule in my business”. When I attended the conference I didn’t have aforementioned kiddo so it was SUPER simple. But NOW…. lets just say it takes adjusting too but when you find the balance it’s truly smooth sailing as my Mr. always says. You must learn to cut down on the things that don't matter throughout your day. You learn to put the priority things first and leave all the fluff for later. For me… in mom life… I had to learn to cut down on the dishes throughout the day (I simply didn't need to do them after every meal, once a day was fine), I didn’t need to pick up the toys after every single play session (once after the kiddo has gone to bed was enough), I stopped getting on the ooo so glorious Facebook 100 times a day, I set specific laundry days (and my family sticks to those days for the most part). I do laundry on Tuesday and Fridays, I do a deep clean of the house on Tuesdays (bathrooms, floors, sheet changes, etc), on Sundays I lay out my week of To-Do’s and get organized for the week ahead (work and personal life). All the things that are necessary for a well balanced day get scheduled before I start adding anything extra to our days. Plus, by scheduling your day you tend to free up more time throughout your day when can lead to more time to build your business. At first you may not find extra “hours” here or there. You might start out with simply twenty extra minutes here or there. But you must remember that every little step counts towards the bigger picture. START FINDING YOUR EXTRA TIME WITH THIS WORKSHEET >>> HERE <<< I HIGHLY encourage you to take a good long look at your week, then break it down to your individual days, I want you to start to identify areas where you can eliminate unnecessary activities in order to refocus on the bigger picture. I want you to be able to take that BIG idea that you have been stewing on and turn it into something even BIGGER. BUT—You MUST remember. We all have the exact same amount of hours in our days. You are no more busy than any other over exhausted mom on this planet. It’s simply a matter of how you choose to spend the time you have each day. Rather than saying “I just don’t have time” or “I’m just so busy” I want you to try to find just twenty minutes in your day where you can begin to cultivate some of your dreams. I’ve created a worksheet for you to help you figure out what you're really doing with your time throughout the day! >>>>> HERE <<<< xoxo,
Lauren P.S. If you found this helpful I encourage you to share it with another mommy you know who could use some extra time during her day! P.P.S. If you’re looking for more tips and trips on how to get organized come join our community —> #MommiesOnAMission
0 Comments
Hey mom, you're BUSY. Like not the 20 year old version of you who thought going to class and having a part time job and a social life busy. Like REALLY have no idea what you did or how you managed to get anything done today busy. Our little tiny love bugs who are so precious to look at while their sleeping, holding our hands, and cuddling cause quite a time crunch to our daily schedules. So HOW do you start a business when you already have ZERO time during your day. Well the answer isn't one you're going to like. You have to MAKE time I know you must hear that all the time and its SOOOOO annoying. Almost as annoying as “sleep when the baby sleeps” uhhhh RIIIIGGGHTT.
Now let me first say I am NOT a morning person. My ideal wake up time is around 9 am and honestly if I got my day going around 11 I’d be pleased as punch. However I am a stay at home mom who runs a business, that simply isn't an option for me. But there are days where I have to sacrifice my desire to sleep in for some focused work time. At the beginning of each day I know exactly what I need to accomplish in my time frame so that when I sit down to work Im not spending half the time figuring out what I should be doing. Each night before I go to bed I take 5-10 minutes to write out my to-do’s for the next day. I also star those items that are the absolute priorities. Since I am a mom there are realistic situations where I might not get to my entire to-do list. Maybe the baby didn't take a full morning nap, maybe he refused his afternoon nap, maybe we had to take an unplanned trip somewhere. You name it, it has happened. But when I star the items on my to-do list I know that those are non-negotiable for the day; even if that means I need to stay up and get a little work done after little man goes to bed. Another thing I do that helps keep me focused is, once a month, I sit down and I write out my entire social media needs for the entire month. I plan what days I will post in what groups, pages, run promotions, promote my group/biz page, what content I will be sharing, etc. I also plan out my blog topics for the month so I’m not staring at a blank page when its time to write. I take that social media calendar and every week I write out my “must-do’s” on my to-do list so that when I add in my other tasks before bed I know what to expect for the day. One final thing I do to help make my business happen and not lose my sanity as an already over stretched thin mom is that I use auto posting programs. For me, and most people I know, if we get on social media even if for a split second we can get SUCKED IN! Totally a thing and you know it ;-) So I know I need to be present on social media, since my business is online, but I simply cant be on social media everyday… Im a busy mom. What I do once a week is I create the content I want to share with my groups, page, and in other groups and then I schedule it to be posted on whatever platform I am using. This way I am present without having to spend an excessive amount of unproductive scrolling. Mom life is a busy life BUT we CAN have the mom life and the life of a mompreneur it just takes some scheduling. I know you're already a pro at that ;-) xoxo, Lauren P.S. I’ve got some GREAT stuff coming out this week in our mommy business community and I know you WONT want to miss it! I have been getting a LOT of questions recently on how I stay organized and on task. Well my dears its super simple, I schedule my day and my to-do lists so that I know what needs done. Each month I sit down and I organize my planner. I add cleaning days, meal prep days, laundry days, any outside appointments, my other half’s work schedule, and mommy & me group days. Once my family life is 100% scheduled I go back through and I add in my work schedule. Based on the best days for social media usage I schedule days to share my products. I schedule days to make live videos. I schedule days to share tips and tricks on how to successfully run a business. I schedule 1:1 with clients I’m working with. I schedule specific days to build programs, free items, or page creations. I like to know whats coming up, what projects I need to work on, what appointments I have, all because I like to know what days I can just claim as a DAY OFF to spend with my kiddo doing whatever we choose to do that day! My WHY for owning my own business has always been to be able to spend as much time with my kiddo while earning a living as I can. My drive for my business comes from looking at my kiddos precious face and knowing that he is watching my every move. I ALWAYS want him to know that he can do anything he puts his mind too with a little hard work and dedication. Alright, back to planning ;-) now that you know my super dooper secret to my organization lol lets talk about how you can get organized too! A planner is a NECESSITY for success. You MUST be able to see into the somewhat distant future to know what you have coming up. Flying by the seat of your pants simply doesn't work now that we are big kids, TRUST ME… IVE TRIED ;-) My Current planner obsession is my Erin Condrens Life Planner. You can get super cute cover for them - I filled mine with pictures of my little goose <3 I also LOVE all the features it comes with. There is a dry erase page (I leave myself year round notes on the front dry erase page and notes on the back page). There are pockets to keep your important items (like my kiddos hospital foot print and my stickers for organization purposes. Each life planner comes with appointment & blank sticker to be used for your important things. I also LOVE that at the beginning of each month there is a fun and inspirational quote. I have had a number of bound planners through the years but nothing kept me as organized as this planner has the past 3 years!
Now lets chat about non bound organization. While I have a hard copy of all my to-do’s, upcoming projects, set in stone appointments, etc. I have a planner that I print out where I can write out my 90 day goals, projected goals, new ideas, and there are sheets for daily to-do’s where I can write in things as they come up and cross off what I've completed. Snag your Free —> 90 Day Success Planner. Guys, organization and success don't have to be hard. They go hand in hand with the proper focus and tools. Find yourself YOUR perfect organization system and see how much simply your life can be. I literally have soooooo much more free time when I write things down and schedule them. That way i’m not waking up and spending the entire day trying to figure out what I was supposed to be doing only to have to spend the rest of the day re-scheduling things I missed lol. KISS - Keep It Simple Silly! Check out the Erin Condren planners (she has a TON). They aren't free but they are great. If you're looking for a FREE place to start your journey on the organization train check out the FREE 90 Success Planner. What have you got to lose? It’s FREE! I hope this answers a couple of your questions my dears ;-) Until Next Time xoxo, Lauren P.S. If you’re looking for more tips and trips on how to get organized come join our community —> #MommiesOnAMission Building your brand is WAY different than building a business. When you build a business you plan to grow, write a business plan, strategies on growth, you design and create a product, and plan for financial growth. Branding, on the other hand, are a completely different ball game. Creating loyalty behind your brand is only a sliver of what must be established to lock in your perfect customer. Trust is the key to snagging your dream customer for your customer journey. Trust and loyalty are what leads to recognition, builds trust, and in the long run leads to sales. How do you create loyalty and trust? How do you get someone to buy into you and your company? Step one is to really make sure you have aligned the image you are projecting with the one it is giving back. In other words- If you are attracting the wrong kind of customers, getting little traction online or not seeing the results you were expecting, chances are there is something that needs to shift. Take a look at your brand “look” – This includes not only your logo, but the kind of imagery you use on your products, on your website and in your social media. Depending on your business this could even be how you personally dress and how you portray yourself online. Take a look at your brand “voice” – the written or spoken word. What do you say about yourself online? What do your reviews say? What does the tone convey? Are you upbeat and casual or formal and precise? If you are constantly a debbie downer you will most likely not attract the right type of people to your brand. Take a look at your brand “story” –Do you make yourself out to be the mom and pop shop down the street or are you a large company who portrays yourself as such? Perhaps your story reflects one thing, but you are actually another which is causing confusion for your perfect customer and any potential customer down the line. Once these pieces all line up you need to look at ways to grow loyalty. Many times the more transparent your brand becomes towards your business loyalty happens on its own. You can, however, take some of the following opportunities to fast track your customers coming back for more. Define Purpose – Show your perfect customer your ultimate purpose and be open and honest about it. If you are in it to make a difference, don’t hide it. Tell people your mission, don't just list some mission statement you leave on your website. Make sure your brand lives by this statement. Want to work on this some more? -> Build Your Online Business NOW Be Superior and 100% Humble – Now i’m not saying go out and brag about how fabulous you are but you do have to let it be known that you are the expert in your industry. Talk about what makes your business better than all the rest (Is it quality? Service? Maybe materials?). But always follow it up with a gracious acceptance. Make Customer Service Your #1 Priority – Sometimes a copy and paste script or a quick email seem like the simple way to solve problems, But 9 times out of 10 if you just listen to your customer and offer solution/resolution, customers will be HAPPY all over again. Think for a moment about the companies you know and love who have superior customer service (chick-fil-a). Pay attention to aspects of great customer service that you like and try implementing it in your own business. Deliver as Promised – Things can be out of your control at times, but when at all possible deliver exactly what was promised, on time, without fail. Being a reliable resource keeps people around and it also makes them way more likely to share your company as a referral to someone else. Show Your True Colors – Don’t pretend to be anyone else and do NOT mimic others tactics, games or style. You started your own business for a reason! Now put a little more of you back into it. There’s no reason to build a business where you force yourself to be someone you’re not. Time Will Tell – Sometimes the only thing left to do is wait. All businesses and brands have a lifecycle and you have to listen them. Put in the hustle, make strategic decisions, tweak and repeat. You’ve got this! NEVER FORGET you can ALWAYS ask for Help It is perfectly fine to ask for help when you need help. I’v got a growing tribe of Mompreneurs waiting to lend you a hand over in our private community. What are you waiting for? Come JOIN US! —> #MommiesOnAMission
|
Hey, I'm LaurenWho am I? I am a SAHM to a beautiful baby boy, a furmom to 2 doggies and 1 kittycat, a girlfriend, a fitness enthusiast, a beach lover, a dreamer, a world traveler, a business coach, a planner, and an advocate for the SAHM's with BIG dreams! Archives
November 2017
Categories |