Posts from the Beach: How to Design Your Business to Support Your Lifestyle Goals

Today’s Momentum Monday comes to you from the beach. Well, truth be told, I am enjoying the beach with my husband and daughter while it’s business as usual at the virtual headquarters of MOMeo Magazine.

This post and all the others during our 2 week break were prewritten and scheduled before taking off on said family holiday because what’s the point of having the freedom of being your own boss if the job you design for yourself follows you everywhere?

Often entrepreneurs, especially solopreneurs, create businesses that quickly turn into a personal trap. Instead of getting freedom and flexibility, you get a boss who doesn’t even give you weekends off, and instead of personal satisfaction, you end up with 24/7 stress.

Probably not what you signed up for.

How to Design Your Business to Support Your Lifestyle Goals

Begin With the End – Decide exactly what you want your life to look like. Include your family in the decision-making process and get very specific about the details.

Characterize the Constraints – Translate that end goal into a list of constraints. Do your lifestyle goals mean no weekend office hours? How many hours are available for business per week? What about holidays?

Do a Reality Check – Take your business goals and your lifestyle constraints, and do a quick reality check. Is it possible to achieve your business goals working within the lifestyle constraints as is?

Tap into Technology – Figure out timing saving possibilities using technology tools. Automate your marketing activities, task technology with your invoicing, and take advantage of blogging and social media scheduling tools.

Simplify the Systems – Examine all your internal systems and processes starting with your sales funnel right up to billing and payments and find ways to make them simpler and faster. Every minute you save is a minute you put back into your lifestyle!

Always Stay Ahead – Never let yourself get behind thinking you will somehow find the time later. It will never happen! Always stay ahead so you don’t end up sacrificing your lifestyle goals to play catch-up!

Optimize for Efficiency – Focus on the most profitable activities. That may mean cutting out the unprofitable aspects of your business or cutting lose the clients or customers who cost you more time and money than you make!

Never Compromise – Don’t start making exceptions because we both know that once they start, they never stop. Instead of working that one Saturday morning, try booking a few less meetings for the next 2 weeks to get caught up.