You know statistics about your market place but do you have stats on your own business? Do you know your average price point? How much time do you spend with your average consumer? What’s your hourly rate? How much is your business worth? How much are you worth to your business? Is it a hobby or is it your business? You should have all of these answers and more.
It’s my opinion that one of the biggest mistakes self employed people make is not treating their business like a business. Did your parents ever warn, “You get what you ask for.” What if you ask for nothing? Not having a plan is like asking for nothing. Every solid, successful business has a mission, a plan and a budget. Does yours?
If you don’t know where to start, there are lots of resources for you. There are coaches (like myself). There are webinars. Business classes at your local college. Books upon books upon books about business planning. Seminars that roll through major cities regularly. There are even community groups in most areas that offer free assistance to entrepreneurs.
I’ll give it to you in 4 basic steps: 
First is your mission statement. What are you trying to accomplish? What is the goal? In fact, make it a big, hairy, audacious goal. Go big or go home. You won’t get there overnight but you’ll get there. Your mission statement isn’t a paragraph. It’s one or two succinct sentences that remind you of why you’re doing this. Write it down.
Next, plan the business. What will you do first? What are the steps to get where you are going? Line them up. In order. What, very specifically, must you do to accomplish the goal? Organize it. Write it down.
Next to last, design a budget. What can you invest to start this business? How long can you go without income from this business? What will you have to have in order to get this business going? To keep it going? Where is the most return on investment in the budget? Is that where you’re making the investment? Do you have to have an assistant now? That can probably wait. Or can it? Write it down and stick to it.
Lastly, get to work. Every morning when you wake up…get up and go to work. When you run out of work to do think about what else you can do to grow the business. Plan to work. Work the plan.
Treat it like a business and become a successful business. You can do this!
leighyork 