How to make the shift in business growth from Start Up to Leverage

As your small business grows beyond the start up phase, you become very busy. You calendar is close to being full or is jammed. This may lead to thoughts like, “How long can I keep doing this?” You look into the future and realize you probably won’t be able to grow beyond the hours in a day, feeling stretched into the next three to five years. Yet, you still want to grow your business and work on client attraction. How do you make a shift in business growth like this? Having these thoughts is how you know you are ready to begin the leverage phase. It’s time to think about how you can shift to the next level of business to help and work with more people than you can on an individual basis. Your one-on-one model will start to hinder your business potential. It’s time to put on your leverage hat. You are ready to discover the answers for getting to the next level of client attraction. Here’s how you do that. You actually make time to figure this out. When you are looking for change and growth in your business, yet are mired in the daily details, you cannot figure anything out. You need to carve time out to be quiet. What is required is to sit and think, journal and plan out what your evolution is going to look like. The number one step I recommend is to set up at least one day per quarter (if not once a month) where you don’t go to the office at all. You need a separate place to foster your creativity and problem solving abilities. Then, get out a white board or flip chart and start to brainstorm so you map out how you want your business to evolve. You have to create this essential time in your life to download and get divine inspiration. This is the only way to flush out the ideas you already have and to allow new ones to come to mind. The process requires empty space set aside specifically for this purpose without the day-to-day business and interruptions that will prevent your creative flow. I do this with Derek on a regular basis. It can help to have another person to bounce ideas around with (but you can also do this alone, so not to worry). It’s always an expansive day where we explore all sorts of crazy possibilities. Let yourself go and don’t worry about being totally realistic at the start. That’s where amazing ideas can come to life. Later, bring things back down to earth. Your next step is to see which ideas you could actually use and execute. Think about how you could put the concepts to work in your business now and plan for the roll-out. Your Assignment: Right now, take out your calendar and plan your first brainstorming day. Then mark down other dates for the balance of the year. Set this time aside today and stick with your plan for future client attraction ideas. This is how you honor the possibilities of what your business can grow into and become.