Are You Prepared for Success?

by Joan Friedlander

A couple of my clients have reached an exciting point in their respective businesses: a steady flow of clients and consistent cash flow. To these creative, professional people, success means their docket is full and they're confident that the work will continue to come as long as they serve clients well and continue to spend some time on marketing.

Both now face a new challenge. They've run out of capacity to add more work to their plate without seriously compromising their quality of life and longer-term goals. As a matter of fact, they're already experiencing stress associated with competing deadlines and postponed projects. In both cases, their postponed projects are central to their creative self-expression and passive income opportunities.

Meet Ron*

Ron is a professional photographer in the Los Angeles area. He's successfully built up his portrait photography business so that he's consistently working with portrait clients 3-4 days a week. He's got a staff of two, a full-time administrative assistant and production coordinator. If you didn't know Ron, you'd assume he's doing great. Instead, he's feeling listless and frustrated. Why? No matter how much he's determined to honor his intention to spend one full day each week doing creative work that feeds his soul, he can't seem to do it. Other projects related to generating income take precedence.

I recommended Ron review his long-term business plan mix in order to get back in touch with his purpose and vision. He was astonished when he realized that the business he's built up, while providing a strong financial foundation, does not reflect his long-term goals. As a matter of fact, the time consumed by his portrait business was meant to constitute a relatively small percentage of his revenue. He's still sorting out what it will take to have that day to do the creative work, but I'm confident that his reacquaintance with his purpose will make that possible.

Meet Nancy*

Nancy is a freelance writer focusing on business writing. She's making a transition from freelance journalism, specializing in finance and business, to corporate writing specializing in the same. Just two months ago she was worried about paying her bills. We used the Get Clients Now!™ program to develop a 28-day marketing action plan and developed her Master Calendar to help her organize her high priority activities every week. Things were going well. Nancy started to secure a few new clients and sensed that success was around the corner.

Then bam! Nancy blew past her marketing program goal by over 200% and found herself putting off business activities that required reflection and creativity. At first, she put those things off because she was focused on growing; then she put them off because she was too busy with client work. Though delighted with the results, she was worried that she'd continually put off other priorities, those that had to do with her long-term goals.

What do Ron and Nancy have in common?

They're both professional people, and have a solid body of work and skill and marketable talent. They have a strong drive to succeed. They both have plans to develop passive sources of income by creating products from their intellectual, creative property. They also value their personal time and say that part of their success includes regular time to be creative, to relax and have fun.

I wonder, though, if either one of them actually expected success. They did a lot of planning and organizing to achieve success, but less thought was given to the actual impact of that success. Ron lost sight of the longer term objectives and let the portrait aspect of his business extend beyond the boundaries of his original intention. Nancy was taken by surprise and thus hadn't set up people and systems to automate or delegate business tasks in anticipation of a full client load, something she might have done if she'd spent the time she'd originally designated for Business Development. Now, she's playing catch up.

*Client names are changed to maintain confidentiality promised to all clients.

Are You Prepared for Success?

I find that most people wait far too long to put the people and systems in place to handle a full docket of clients. Assuming you are in business to make a profit and your business goals are realistic, then it follows that doing some initial planning for the day you reach those goals would be beneficial. Following are my suggestions for things you can do today to prepare for success. (If it's already too late…well, it never really is.)

7 Things You Can Do to Prepare for Success

1. Assume it will happen!

2. To the best of your ability, make sure you've got your success ladder propped up against the right building at the right angle and intended height. (You could say Ron's portrait ladder extended up one of his income buildings beyond his actual goal.)

3. Develop a strategic plan that includes stop points, checks and balances, systems and resources you'll need so that you can keep up with your growth without losing your creative edge.

4. Write short job descriptions for the people you will add to your team when the time is right.

5. Put a skeleton crew in place earlier than later.

6. Develop a Master Calendar plan that helps you set boundaries around how you use your time, making sure that you make time for your highest business and personal priorities.
7. Eliminate activities, projects and commitments that drain your energy and don't contribute to your goals.

I invite you to assume success!

 

by Joan Friedlander, © 2005. All rights reserved.