Structured For Profits

We all love the relaxed vibe of summer. We don’t have to rush everywhere. There’s no homework to get done, no carpooling to coordinate. Our schedules are less strict and life is easy-breezy. As much as we love the laid-back feel of summer, however, we still need structure in our business.

A lot of us bristle at the idea of structure and organization because it feels rigid and constraining, but structure actually allows for massive creativity and improvisation. We often think of great artists as being spontaneous, riffing on sparks of inspiration. The truth is, talent must be cultivated first, brush strokes perfected, scales mastered before true freedom of expression is possible. You must learn the alphabet before you can write poetry.

Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist.–Pablo Picasso

Think of a dam, it is put in place to harness the power of the water. It captures and leverages the flow of the current. Your personal energy needs to have direction as well. As entrepreneurs we have so many ideas, ideas for products, programs, partnerships, but what we don’t have is a PROCESS. You can have the greatest idea in the world, but without execution there are no profits. You have to have a way to organize your thoughts so others can understand and implement them. This is structure.

Structure is not a cage, it is a vessel for your genius. @HeatherPoduska (tweet this)

When I work with clients on creating signature products and programs, the first thing I ask is, “What is your process?” The answer is often, “I don’t know, I just work on whatever my clients needs at the time. We play it by ear.” That answer is fine if you have a one-on-one coaching client, but if you want to create leveraged income, you need to have a repeatable system. You can’t sell a product or program to thousands of people that is customized to one person. When you do that, you are not following your process, you are following the needs of one that client.

If you don’t have repeatable systems in your business, [Read more…]

What to do when you don’t see results.

Here is a picture of my front yard. Today is the first day of spring in Boston. You’d never know it by the looks of things. There are still piles of 2-foot snow drifts sprinkled around my neighborhood. Gross.

Last year at this time there were 2-inch crocus buds popping up by my walk-way. Yesterday, I actually got down on my hands and knees in the mud to see if I could find even the tiniest beginnings of a sprout….nothing, absolutely nothing. What the heck is going on? Where is the warm weather?

Waiting for flowers to bloom is one thing, waiting for your business to bloom is quite another.

Whether you are just starting out or you have been in business a while, we all have periods where we wish our progress was faster. In the beginning, you are just trying to get clients in the door, but even as we move forward [Read more…]