I was recently on twitter and saw a tweet that kinda got my blood boiling, a little.
The tweet said, “I have a hobby that is making as much money as a business. Let me teach you how to do the same.”
I really hope that NO ONE sent a RT or DM to that person.
When I saw that, I really just got a little upset. See, this is how people get the impression that having a business is synonymous with making money from your hobby. But the truth is, if you are REALLY building a business, there is nothing “hobby” about it. You see, a hobbyist has a mindset that is entirely different from that of a business owner. That’s why when I got Brianne’s question, I was ready to jump in with my two cents:
“Hi Darnyelle. I have a confession to make. Last year in my business, I really had a hobby. What I mean is that I wasn’t focused, I didn’t set goals, I just kinda let anything happen to my business. As we prepare for 2014, I really want to do things different. Can you share a few tips on how I can set goals and work into them to see traction in my business?”
To see my response to Brianne’s question in this week’s episode of Incredible Factor TV, watch it here:
1. Get clear about your goals for next year. Make sure that your goals are SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and have a time specification. Doing this will help to get you on the right track. You can’t call it a business if you are acting happenstance, but when you get clear about what you want, you can begin to gain some serious traction in your business.
2. Validate what you have to offer against your goals. If you say you want to earn $250,000 but only have one offering, that will present a challenge. You want to check your bandwidth and make sure that your goals align to it for easier achievability. If you only have your one hour session or one widget, get clear about how many you’d have to sell to achieve your goal. It may be way more than you want to work and you need to know that so you can adjust your goal or offerings accordingly.
3. Back into a plan to hit your goal. Ask yourself things like, “in order for me to make $250,000 next year, what is the first thing I will need to do?” And ask yourself that until you have a full-blown plan laid out. You’ll want to make sure that you’re clear on who you serve, how you serve them and why they will choose you. You also want to make sure that you have identified the right marketing mix to reach your ideal clients in your business.
4. Create your marketing calendar to show what you’re going to do when next year to achieve your goals. Having your ENTIRE marketing plan activities spelled out in ADVANCE will help you to not be a hobbyist and position you to grow your business.
5. Give your business the same respect you gave your job. This is huge. You have to be disciplined to build your business. Often, that is why people get stuck in hobby mode. It’s easier to just work your business when it feels good. But true business owners are always thinking about how to grow the business. It’s a mindset shift for sure, and when you make the shift, you will be elated at what happens in your business.
Now I want to hear from you, what’s your two cents?: How do you set your goals? What steps do you follow consistently that yield results in your business? When you made the shift from hobbyist to business owner, what was your biggest adjustment and how can you help Brianne experience something similar?
©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® and 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.
