Do you often feel overwhelmed with all the things you need to do in your life? This is especially the case for busy people. And I would venture to say that it is always true for a business person running a small to medium sized operation.
The trouble is that there are just so many things to think about ALL THE TIME! Have you heard the analogies about juggling balls or spinning plates? Well they really do apply.
I have found a way of summarising all aspects of any business into 7 key areas.
They are (in no particular order):
- Marketing – All you constantly need to do to get your business known to your target market
- Sales – All you do to actually close sales on your products
- Finance – Monitoring and staying on top of your cash flow and all other finance related issues
- Administration – Yes, you do have to do some details or they will start to strangle you.
- Product Development/Innovation/Research – For your products or maybe new ways of doing your business
- Education – You need to be always giving time to learning about your products or business.
- Customer Service – Keeping existing customers is 5 time easier than getting new ones so make sure you look after them well. This can include key suppliers as well.
I find it incredibly helpful to keep these 7 areas in mind when I set weekly goals for my business. This enables me to stay focused so that by the end of the week all the main things are always done.
Setting weekly goals across these 7 areas does assume that you have some clarity around your overall vision (where you are headed and what kind of business you are becoming). And also that you have a good clear business plan. I also think it is wise to then have at least 90 day and larger annual goals which help you look forward. (More on setting motivating goals in an article soon)
I have included a link to a free Weekly Goal Setting Template. This is intended to enable a busy and sometimes overwhelmed business person to work on the bigger picture of their business each week.
On this template you will notice I have included 2 more important areas for weekly goals that will help you stay balanced and sane – Personal and Social. This way you are thinking about what is most important every week across all the important areas of your life and business
I’d love to know what you think of this article and template. Have I missed an area?
What a Fantastic tool – so user friendly, thanks for this John very much appreciated. I was looking for a way to make sure I touched all the elements of my business each week, now I can keep myself on track, and work on my whole life.
good reminder for all of us John, it is so easy to get side tracked – or overwhelmed for that matter. A structure to keep one self on track is so needed!
I like the template- clean and simple.
Thanks for providing this to leaders out there!
MJ