How many times have you listened to a podcast, sat through a webinar, or attended a conference, learned some amazing bits of information that you couldn't wait to start doing, only to then go about your merry-hectic way and never get around to implementing a new strategy into your business? All that knowledge isn't going to do you any good if you don't actually implement the strategy. So in this episode, I'm going to tell you how to do just that.
[powerpress]
Hello!! And welcome to Episode IV of the Geeky Mompreneur, the podcast especially for work at home mothers. My name is Naomi Nakashima. I am a blogger over at helpmenaomi.com. And, it's actually fitting that this is the fourth episode because if you know your Star Wars references, Episode IV is “A New Hope.” And that's exactly what today's topic is: A New Hope for your business.
Kinda!!
To be more specific, today we are going to talk about implementing new strategies. Because that's the feeling we get whenever we learn something new: we get hopeful.
And it doesn't matter where we learned it from or how much we paid for it. Whether it was a small tidbit we picked up off someone's newsletter or a huge truth-bomb gold nugget that fell on our head from a course you purchased. The minute we learn something new that can have an effect on our business, our minds start racing with all the possibilities — all the ways that this new piece of information is going to positively change our businesses – change our lives.
As entrepreneurs, we are always on the lookout for systems, tools, and strategies that are going to give us some sort of advantage, right? Some sort of benefit that is going to make our lives easier, or streamline our workflows, help us save time, or even help us make more money. But then what ends up happening is almost the opposite.
It's like we end up near the end of The Empire Strikes Back: because we're swamped working our business, we never get a chance to actually implement the new strategy.
So before we know it, weeks or even months have gone by, Boba Fett is on our tail looking to cash in and our business is frozen in carbonite because we can't seem to get into hyperdrive.
And it's not that you're a bad entrepreneur by doing this… I'm not saying that at all. We've all done this – we've all attended webinars or listened to podcasts or read a blog post that sparked a lightbulb to go off…and then did nothing about it.
“Next chance I have, I'm going to do that!!”
That's what we tell ourselves: “The next chance I get.”
“When I have time.”
But of course, we don't have time!! We never have time! Once you head down the road of entrepreneurship, there's no such thing as spare time. That concept is gone. You have to learn on the go. And because of that, that course ends up sitting in limbo just waiting to see who is going to come thaw it out.
So today, we're going to talk a bit about these strategies, start thawing them out, and telling Jabba the Hutt to go stuff it. We're going to cover tips to get these strategies implemented sooner so you can benefit from them faster.
And we're going to start by asking yourself one very important question: What are your goals?
What is your strategy?
Okay, that's two questions — but they're still very important. I'm not saying you have to have a complete roadmap and know everything. Strategy should never, ever be set in stone. But, you need to have at least some concept of what your strategy is before you'll know how to fit something new into it.
And it's okay for you to say “I have no strategy, and that's one of the things I am trying to implement with this thing I just learned.”
The point of this question is to figure out just that: how does what you've learned fit into your strategy? What will your strategy look like once you've implemented this new tidbit?
Based on your answers to these questions, decide on a priority level for implementing that strategy, and then schedule it.
I don't care if you use a fountain pen in a planner, Google Calendar, or a project management tool like Asana…get in there, set a deadline for implementing this new strategy, and do it now. Smaller nuggets need less time – maybe give yourself a couple weeks. Larger strategies might need a couple months. But set a deadline.
Then, do what we always do when we set a new goal: break it down into smaller steps so it doesn't feel so overwhelming and out of reach. And then schedule those, too, and give each step a deadline.
Scheduling it this way, when your light bulb is still shining and you're filled with inspiration, will help make sure you take the time to implement this new strategy — because your business sure isn't going to just give you the time. You're not going to wake up one day, look around, and realize you have nothing to do so you might as well go ahead and work on that thing you learned last week.
Entrepreneurship just doesn't work that way.
Once you have a plan to get your new strategy implemented, it's time to sign up for some accountability. And that means telling someone. Find an accountability group or an accountability partner, someone with whom you feel comfortable sharing your strategies. Make sure it is someone who likes you (because that's always important) and wants to see you succeed, but also isn't afraid to hurt your feelings.
That's really a key quality in an accountability partner — they need to be able to give you hard advice without the sugarcoating. They need to be able to look you in the eye (or, in the chat, as the case may be) and say “hey, you said you wanted to get this done – why aren't you doing it? Stop putting it off. Stop making excuses. Get. It. Done.”
And hey, you know what, if you don't have an accountability partner, I love telling people to get to work. Head on over to my page on Facebook — facebook.com/helpmenaomi — and send me a message. I'll get you signed up on my Accountability Bot to help give you a push.
But if it's not me, then definitely find someone to help give you that little push to help you get things done. Because without the implementation, the strategy never gets a chance to actually do anything. It never grows into a Jedi. And it never comes back to save your business. It just stays frozen.
And that brings this episode of The Geeky Mompreneur to a close!! Thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, I hope you will let me know by heading into iTunes and subscribing, reviewing, and rating. And, of course, you're invited to come hang out with me over on my blog, helpmenaomi.com. Until next time!! Bye!
