What works for you in your business?

As a busy mum running my own business AND wanting my children to grow up with happy childhood memories, I realise the importance more and more that you have to do what works for you in your business.

At first, you might not know what works for you. You might be tempted to follow what all the other business owners do. Depending on who you follow, you’ve probably learned that you need:

• a free product also known as a lead magnet which could be a useful report, 7 day free trial, a menu planner
• an entry or introduction level product perhaps a book, or maybe a video ecourse, or an ebook
• the next step might be a membership site or a monthly subscription
• your signature programme
• your VIP programme: mentoring or maybe a mastermind or one-to-one work of some sort

Different marketing experts describe and illustrate these in various ways: marketing funnel, the business model ladder or staircase, and Lucy Whittington uses a star. I love the way Lucy describes the entry points by the results that the client gets. What is REALLY REALLY important is that YOU do what works for YOU.

JUST because …

… marketing experts, online digital marketers tell you about these different levels, it doesn’t mean that YOU have to provide all these options in your business. You need to identify what works for you in your business.

And when I say “works for you”, do take into account the five elements that you need to balance to create that feeling of confidence: work, wellness, contribution, family and the feminine. If you are working 12 hour days, 5 days a week, trying to service clients at every level, you WILL burn out. You will feel frustrated, overwhelmed, resentful and you will lose the joy and the passion. Every business is unique. What works for one mum running a photography business might not work for the next. If you are a personal fitness trainer, don’t assume that you have follow the same approach as other fitness trainers.

Identify how you enjoy working

It’s essential to identify HOW you enjoy working so that your business works for you, not you working for your business. For example, I just LOVE working with groups and I love to do that work in person. However, as an introvert, working with groups all day every day would leave me completely drained.

I love my one-to-one coaching. Interestingly, I get more powerful results when I do this work over the telephone or Skype. When I have already spent time face-to-face with the individual, the results are even more amazing. The additional value that I get from Skype coaching is that it gives me the flexibility to walk my daughter to and from school. I know of some coaches who hate to coach over the telephone. It feels alien to them and they are not comfortable with it – which means they don’t get good results for their clients. Equally some clients prefer to be coached over the telephone whereas others might insist on face-to-face sessions.

You might be a copywriter or web designer prefers to sit in the hubbub of a lively coffee shop. For me that would be hellish. I prefer to work in peace and quiet surrounded by the sounds of nature. A tractor in the distance; cows mooing; crows arguing.

I choose to mix and match how I work because that is what works for me. I am also very specific about where I work. It’s important that you choose what works for you too.

Understand what else works for you

For me the wellness element of The Confident Mother, looking after my body and mind, is absolutely essential. I dedicate time every week to fitness and meditation.  I block out that time in my diary in advance (as well as all the school activities). That’s not to say that the time is immoveable however because it’s in my diary, clients or potential clients can’t book that directly. I choose if I want to reschedule or move a run for a client. And that’s what I will do, I move it, not cancel it.

It’s not always been like this for me

I happily admit that I have not always worked like this. It’s not always been like this for me. I didn’t always understand my preferred way of working. It’s taken me time to realise that I don’t have to offer everything; I don’t need to be all things to all clients. Less is more. In fact, if you offer your potential clients too many options, that can be overwhelming and can make it harder for potential clients to decide to work with you.

If you like me and the way I work, if what I share resonates with you, that’s fantastic. If it doesn’t, and you’d prefer to work in another way, even better. Because it’s so important to identify what works for you.

My biggest lesson

This has been my biggest lesson over the past 3 years: less is more so you need to do what works for you. What about you – what have you identified that works for you in your business?