It’s a new quarter and if you’re serious about your business, you are reflecting and preparing to make the second quarter that much stronger.
One of the recommendations I will be sharing with my clients this week is to complete a quarterly SWOT Analysis – You know, assessing your quarterly strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This is something that I personally do each quarter in my business. It helps me and my team position ourselves better and become better equipped to manage the new tasks we must complete to achieve our quarterly goals and objectives.
A friend and colleague, Franne McNeal (@frannem), also recommends that you complete a SOAR Analysis and when I heard it, I loved it immediately!!! SOAR – stands for strengths, opportunities, aspirations and results. And when I think about ending a quarter, quite honestly identifying both via analysis will ensure that the new quarter is more productive for you.
Speaking of being productive, this week, we have a question from Deborah and she writes:
“Dear Darnyelle, I am so grateful that you do these weekly videos. I think I have watched EVERY single one of them and I just keep learning so much from you. As we are approaching a new quarter, I want to get started on the right foot. You seem to get a lot done. Unfortunately, I am not at the point where I can hire a team to help me so can you share some practical strategies that I can implement right now in my business to maximize the next quarter and help me to be more productive?”
Check out my response to Deborah’s question here:
When you watch this week’s episode of Incredible Factor TV, you’ll hear just a few of my most effective strategies for getting more done and having balance in my life and business. After all, I believe that we become entrepreneurs to be of greater service, not to become workaholics. In addition to what I shared in the episode, here are a few other time management tips I strongly endorse and recommend:
1. Spend one day each week, called a business development day, focused on profit producing activities. In the episode, you heard me mention that each day, my “to-do” list includes one task that is profit producing, one that advances the business operationally and one thing for my own personal development. By designating an entire day toward business building activities each week, you will get closer to more clients and that will ultimately increase your revenue.
2. As a new idea “pops” into your head, write it down for a later review of how you will prioritize it. Where so many entrepreneurs go wrong is they get a new idea and drop everything to start trying to configure it. And that is chaotic and it throws your productivity a curve ball. Instead, stay the course on whatever you’re working on knowing that when you prioritize again the new idea will be on your master list.
3. Have a systematic way to “check” things of your master list. I love, love, love my Mac and iProducts, because they allow me to sync all that I am doing. And I’m a simplicity girl so I just use the reminders feature and I have a master list for each category for those bright ideas that pop in and other tasks that I know need to be completed (not necessarily by me) and I review it each evening before leaving my office to create my three items I will focus on during my next work day. This allows me to “hit the ground” fresh and focused instead of trying to figure out what I should be working on. The great thing about the syncing on Mac products is that I can see the lists on my iPhone, iPad and MacBookPro. So no matter where I am, if a brilliant idea “pops” in I can jot in down on my appropriate master list.
At the end of the day, you have to find a system for getting more done that works for you. Here’s mine. Choose what you like that will work for you and devise your own strategy. Just be sure that you create a plan that is simple and easy for you to follow consistently so that you get results.
What say you? What’s your two cents? What’s your daily routine to ensure that you get a daily win? Do you prioritize your tasks? How so? What do you recommend that Deborah try to get a jumpstart on the 2nd quarter of 2013? I can’t wait to read and respond to your comments. and more importantly I know others will benefit from your comments.
©2013 by Darnyelle A. Jervey. All Rights Reserved. Darnyelle A. Jervey, MBA, The Incredible Factor Speaker, Business Coach and Marketing Mentor, is the founder of Incredible One Enterprises.com, Incredible Factor University® the Leverage Your Incredible Factor System® a proven step-by-step program for more clients, more income and more leverage in your business. For more information and a FREE audio CD “7 Critical Mistakes Entrepreneurs Must Avoid When Unleashing Your Incredible Factor So You Attract More Clients, Make More Money and Gain More Leverage” just fill out the form below.
