Working on your business, while working in your business (soundbite)

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Business is hard, like really fkn hard. As an owner, you have an always increasing tower of plates that you need to juggle to keep the lights on + work flowing out the door. That’s why for this week’s episode of Marketing + Margaritas, I break down my strategies for working on your business if you’re still involved in the day-to-day operations.

I feel pretty strongly about this stuff. So, I thought this week I’d take control of the poddy blog to break down how I work on the business, while working in the business.

First up, big shout out to people in this position – those who are on the tools in the business. This is something I struggle with constantly – I feel your pain! But if you want your business to keep growing, you need to do more than just focus on the here + now. Working on your business plan + pushing those internal projects out the door aren’t going to just magically happen. That’s why it’s so important that you set aside time to work on this stuff for your business!

Which is all well + good, but how do I keep Rebel’s big picture stuff moving forward with the 100 other things demanding my attention?

Time blocking

This! Time blocking is easily the biggest thing keeping me on track. My internal calendar would give most epileptics a seizure, but by creating a series of colour coded recurring appointments I free up time to do what I need to without meetings derailing my day. Monday, that’s accounts day so I try to make sure I have no client meetings in the PM. Tuesday, I dedicate the morning to working on any internal projects we have going. So on + so forth. The specific days don’t matter. It’s the fact I set aside time each week to do the things I NEED to do to push Rebel forward.

Recurring appointments

This overlaps a little with my previous point but set recurring appointments for stuff. If you’re anything like me, it’s easy to forget about what’s not immediately in front of you. I have monthly reminders for stuff like podcast recording, strategy reviews, checking our analytics on our socials/website etc. This helps me remember to do the important stuff when I’ve got a bunch on.

Monthly ‘Rebel’ days

Okay, so you’re setting aside time for yourself weekly/monthly to work on your projects. Now implement a day for your staff to do that as well. This doesn’t necessarily mean working on your marketing either, it could be a day of PD, maybe some team bonding or whatever else needs doing. The big thing about this is that it demonstrates that working on the business is important to your crew too. We don’t just care about our clients – we care about ourselves too! Plus, it’s a good excuse to shout the team lunch + help build that awesome team vibe that makes Rebel a fun place to work!

Consistent PD

If you’re not constantly improving your skills, you’re falling behind those that do. I’ve recently implemented Friday arvo as my PD time. That could be reading newsletters I’m subscribed to, working on a course I bought, or touching up my accreditations (thanks Google academy!). Learning makes me feel good + by Friday, I'm pretty useless for client work anyway. I'm tired + not as sparky as usual so I may as well use the time to dial it down a notch + soak up some knowledge instead.

Lastly, implement an ‘ideal week’ template

This one’s nothing new. People online have been raving about ideal week templates for years. I always shrugged it off as I was always “too busy” to stick to one. After trialling it though it’s made such a difference. It makes sticking to all of the above things way easier + doesn’t have to be this 100% etched in stone thing. It can be flexible when needed, just try to get in the habit of not booking appointments for your PD time – it’s important!

I also want to end all this by saying I’m far from perfect. I’ve got a system that works for me (most of the time) but there are times it gets thrown out the window. Life is unpredictable at the best of times, let alone once you throw a business into the mix. Just give it a go, I reckon you’ll be surprised with the results.

Gosh, this was a long write up for a soundbite! Don’t worry, next week I’ll put the blog writing back with the team + get off my soapbox 😉