How to tell (for yourself) what your business needs

I was talking to a client the other day, and she is really in a challenging time in her business.

She’s *really* needing to change her business model, she needs a website up, she needs clients, she needs to hire people, and handle administrative tasks, and, and, and…

All of these things are important. And it’s absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to get it all done in a short time frame. Just impossible.

No productivity tip or trick is going to do it. No magical thinking is going to do it. And I don’t know about you, but I’m pushing 50, and my client is no twenty-something either, anymore, and we’re just unwilling and unable to push through an 80 hour week to get it all done.

The only thing that will help?

Choosing. In particular, choosing what NOT to do. Which of these critical, all-important tasks are just going to lay there on the ground until she can get to them?

Okay, Mr. High Sufi Muckety-muck Smarty-Pants, how in the heck do you choose?

The only way I know how to choose… developmentally.

Developmental choosing

What I mean by “developmental choosing” has to do with developmental stages. Businesses go through developmental stages, and these stages have nothing, repeating NOTHING, to do with how old your business actually is.

Instead, they have to do with what your business has in place. A business can be around for years, and have very little in place developmentally. Or a newer business can have a LOT in place.

You don’t want to throw intuition and heart-guidance out the window, of course. But a huge part of what helps to focus that intuition is understanding the developmental phase of your business.

Intuition rarely arrives in easy-to-understand instructions. Instead, it usually comes in feelings, and metaphors, and flashes that are understandable in context.

Your business’ developmental phase is what determines your context.

Ready to learn your business’ developmental phase?

We have a free learning guide and self-assessment, which we call the Readiness Assessment. It helps you determine what your business is ready for, where you need to focus, and, even more importantly, what you can afford to ignore until later.

Best, this so-called “self” assessment actually comes with a personal response from us.

I beg of you, please find out where your business is developmentally, so you can finally focus in on the 3-4 things that you need to grow, rather than being distracted and overwhelmed with a to-do list 1000 items long.

And yes, it’s hard, but my client is focusing in on what’s really important. It’s bumpy, but she’s going to get there. 🙂

Click: Your Readiness Assessment

With love,

Mark

P.S. If you find yourself in the first stage of development, our Clients & Money program is what we’ve designed to help people like you through that stage.

The next program starts the first Monday of each month. We’d love to help you fly! Here it is: Clients and Money