Creative entrepreneurs often have trouble staying focused and organized in their business. We (I include myself in this category) have creative minds that see all the possibilities and we like to explore. While seeing possibilities and exploring are positive traits, they can also deter us from growing our business. No more “bright, shiny object syndrome” if you want to grow your business and generate more profit – you will need to lock your sight on specific goals and move steadily forward.
These are the three most urgent action steps to take now if you want to grow your business:
- Take an inventory of what is currently generating the most growth (the most profit, the most client or customer leads, etc.) and write it down. For example, if you are noticing that most of your income is being generated by taking on a very specific kind of customer or client, then write down who this client/customer is and what value they are getting from your service or product. This will now become your main focus for the next 3 months.
- Research where the majority of these customers or clients have been finding you. What advertising, networking, online lead generation brought them to your business? If you don’t know, then you need to make sure you have a way to track this. Once you know the best sources of your leads, you can put more of your time, energy and resources into these sources.
- Set a goal and follow it with action. Now that you know the highest profit-generating product, service or client and where how they are finding your business – set a specific goal for each week to come. For example, week one you could set a goal of going to one networking event, posting one ad or talking to one referral source. Week two you could measure the results from week one and tweak or course-correct as needed. Week three you should check in with yourself again and see if you are still following through with your specific actions and checking your results. Be willing to constantly course-correct as lead-generation sources will change from time to time.