Hobbyist to business owner: 5 tasks to develop a CEO mindset
Are you running your business like a hobbyist or like a business owner?
In this post I’m sharing 5 tasks you should be doing every single day in your business that will elevate you from being a hobby business owner to becoming the CEO of your professional interior design firm.
1: Plan your week
CEOs carve out time to work 'on' their business not just 'in' their business.
For you this means moving from not just doing design or grunt work but really stepping up and rising above the day to day work to think strategically about what you are doing and where your business is headed.
Do you have clear goals set for what you are trying to achieve?
How much money you are trying to make?
How many clients you need to work with each month to reach your revenue goals?
If you don't know your numbers then how do you know what you're working towards?
Clear goals are how you will grow and track your progress.
CEOs also plan their week before they get to Monday.
On Sunday afternoon sit down and go through a planning session for your week ahead. I go through a three part process of Review, Clear and Plan. It takes me around 10-20 minutes and it sets me up for a successful week ahead.
Here’s what I do on a Sunday afternoon:
REVIEW: review my big picture goals and vision board (there is evidence that constantly reviewing and writing down your goals will help you achieve them)
CLEAR: clear my physical and digital spaces.
Physical Space:
Clear desktop
Clear wallet/handbag
Upload physical receipts to Xero
Clear desk tray
Digital Space:
Reconcile accounts in Xero (accounting software) - this is much easier to do this on a weekly basis than to have to do it all at the end of the quarter)
Clear email inboxes
Clear social media inboxes
File quick capture tasks from during the week
Clear phone messages and text messages
Empty computer trash
PLAN: the final part of the process is to plan for the week ahead. Here’s what I do:
Review my appointments calendar and check what is on (usually not much due to the nature of the work I do these days!)
Review my ideal week calendar (how I run each of my days)
Book my exercise sessions
Decide on my Top 3 for the week (the three major projects I will get done that week)
Plan my working sprints for the week (the 90 minute working sprint sessions that I use to get the ‘top 3’ projects completed in).
If you are going to run a successful business then you need to be strategic about how you spend your time. Don’t just react to other people’s priorities. Make sure you proactively plan how you want to spend your time.
2: Manage your energy
Successful CEOs are very careful about how they manage their personal health and energy.
Many of them have consistent exercise habits, daily meditation practices, they journal, they get enough sleep and a lot of them don't drink or drink very little alcohol.
Why?
Because they know that in order to show up as their best selves they have to manage their energy levels.
If you aren’t taking care of your health and energy then how can you expect to show up as the best version of yourself?
Think about where you need to make changes to improve your health and energy. Start slowly and build this up habit by habit.
3: Work on high value tasks
CEOs work on high value tasks that grow their brand, bring in revenue and move the business forward.
These tasks include;
tracking and analysing analytics and metrics
strategically planning marketing initiatives in advance
setting a vision for the business
backing the vision up with measurable goals
having a way of systematising any process that is likely to be done more than once
mapping out their client journey and onboarding processes (and improving these where needed)
outsourcing tasks that are beyond their skill set and bringing in experts to help where needed
always having a focus on revenue generation and lead generation.
4: Always be learning
CEOs and people with a CEO mindset are lifelong learners.
They are always hungry for new ideas, new knowledge and new ways of doing things. If you aren't incorporating learning in to your day then you need to start doing that now.
This can take many forms - but some examples include;
reading books
listening to podcasts or audiobooks
taking online courses
watching webinars or training videos
working with a business coach
Build your professional learning time in to your ideal week calendar to make sure you allocate time for it in your week.
Also make sure to use all your in between times productively. For example listen to audio books or podcasts while you are:
driving
folding washing
cooking dinner
walking the dog
exercising
CEOs make the most of every precious minute they have in their day. Think about where you can add learning to other routines, tasks or habits that you already have in place.
5: Focus on new business development
Very few businesses, especially early stage businesses, grow without some hard work and hustle.
Yet many early stage designers I meet set up a website or start an Instagram page then post a few times a week and wonder why nothing happens. To grow a successful business you have to get out in the community and start seeking out new business.
If you’re a designer then think about how you can contact and set up meetings with potential strategic partners - for example:
cabinet makers
builders/contractors
architects
real estate agents
other designers
local tradespeople etc.
You will need to meet with a lot of people and try and work out ways of collaborating with them. You also need to expect a lot of nos and be happy and ready to not get disappointed by hearing no.
It takes a lot of hard work to find new business, especially when you are getting started and I'm afraid that just posting a couple of instagram posts a week to your audience of a few hundred people is not going to be the way you find a steady stream of clients.
Also take any opportunity you can get to talk about your brand and business as you never know where clients might come from - tell parents that your kids are friends with, seek out speaking opportunities at local schools or community events, offer raffle prizes, seek out podcast interviews, offer to write for blogs.
You need to be extremely proactive and work really hard to get your brand and name out in the local community.
If you are just reacting to work that comes your way and have no idea about your numbers of goals then you have a hobby, not a business. Think about what you need to change in order to move your business to the next level.
Courses and Templates for Designers and Architects
DO YOU WANT TO….
Improve your professionalism?
Find more clients?
Bring in more revenue?
Create better systems and processes?
Then check out my business courses and templates for designers and architects.
These courses and templates leave you with work done - not just a long list of things you need to do next. We have a really strong focus on taking action and getting things created that improve your business.
Enjoy the rest of your day!
Clare x
Dr Clare Le Roy
