If you take your business growth seriously and you also like having a life and having margin very intentionally built into your life, then you are actually going to be a big fan of this episode. Today I’m sharing intentional growth practices for a sustainable business.
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Search for episode 115 of Called to Both on your favorite podcast player!
3 Essential Practices for Creating Sustainable Growth
On a scale of 1-10 in terms of how sustainable your business is long-term, what number would you give yourself?
I see a lot of successful creatives who have built successful businesses that are frankly being held together by blood sweat and tears and Would not fall into the category of a sustainable business in the long run. Do you fall into this category?
Each time I’ve had a baby, there have been big shifts in my business—ultimately becoming the best impact for the long-term of my business. Scaling from 40 to 20 hours per week, learning what I need to do in business, and establishing systems and schedules.
How long can you sustain the pace of business and the hours that you are working right now?
1. Radical honesty and accountability
The first practice that I believe is essential is radical honesty and accountability. Be honest with yourself about two main factors:
- How are you spending your time?
- What does the money coming in and out of our business look like?
We can’t refine or change what you don’t know or fully understand in our business. This will get you out of the creative space and get into the objective data in your business. I encourage you to look at these two things once a month
The more transparent that you are with yourself, the more aligned and objective your decisions will be in business. If you need a little more accountability, get a coach or mentor.
2. Establish the schedule you want now
If sustainability means working less for you, make sure you establish the schedule you want now—don’t wait for it to happen on it’s own. It won’t.
Your business has to fit around your life—which is an intentional decision. I often refer back to Parkinson’s law, where work expands to fit the allotted time you’ve given it for it’s completion. When you know you have more time to work on things, you’ll find yourself taking that long to work on it. When you cut your hours back, you’ll find that it actually takes you less time than you think.
Cutting your work hours feel intimidating—I’ve personally experienced the panic of how will I get everything done? Will I make less money? Your brain will do the work for you and problem-solve to determine what’s essential, what can wait, where you can delegate, and what tools you can utilize.
By drawing a boundary around your schedule, you’ll force yourself to step into the most essential roles and activities. You’re doing things you don’t need to be doing—plain and simple.
3. Create systems and use software
The third element in a sustainable business is creating systems and using softwares in your business. While there are so many tools to consider, start with client experience and your most time-consuming tasks. Build a series of steps you (and eventually someone else) can follow for your business tasks.
Jasmine Star explains this process really well—she says, “It’s going to feel like you’re slowing down and wasting time when you build these systems and processes for yourself or someone else to follow, but it is essential for you to grow it.”
When I did this in HoneyBook, it took a while, yet now I can spend 1 minute on a proposal when they inquire with me. In one flow, they can chose their service, sign the contract, pay the invoice, and get on my calendar.
The other part of building systems is hiring a team—it’s a natural next step as you build your business.
How do you know what to implement next? Go back to your honesty and accountability and look at your time spent. Simply put, log your time. Nothing is going to paint a clearer picture of something that needs to be addressed in your business than your time log.
If building a more sustainable business, without sacrificing profit is your goal, I’d love to talk. This is what I do for my students inside Accelerator Coaching—my private 1:1 coaching for creatives. To get information about coaching together and to see if it might be a good fit for you – You can grab a free discovery call with me below.
If you’re enjoying the content we’re creating on the podcast and want to connect with others who are called to both, make sure you come join us in the PhotoBoss Facebook Group!
Mentioned in this Episode:
Episode 10: The Softwares, Tools, and Apps I Use to Run My Business
Episode 102: Ask Joy: Team Building, Delegation, & Running Multiple Brands
Connect with Joy:
Instagram: instagram.com/joyymichelle
Youtube: youtube.com/channel/UC-Ou6jRKxcjMrVMxWxLO_fQ
Facebook: facebook.com/joymichellephotography
Coach with Joy: joymichelle.co/coaching
If you decide to use any of the links above and buy through them, I’ll receive a small commission back. All of those affiliate income commissions really add up over time and help generate revenue to help support this podcast.
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