Archive for May, 2010
How to Create Your Weekly Map
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My life gets very busy A LOT. This leads me to have a very scheduled weekly schedule most of the time. And while I may have a full schedule I still have the freedom and flexibility to create that schedule, which is my favorite part of being my own boss.
I am busy moving & shaking most hours of the day, 7 days a week.
It may be a work day, a child’s field trip, a volunteer meeting, a day full of coffee appointments or a weekend full of chores and hanging with the family, I am moving and making things happen. Some of my friends wonder how I do it all and how I continue to be like the Energizer Bunny and I often wonder myself.
Yes, I do get overwhelmed. Yes, I do get tired. Yes, I sometimes wonder why I do this to myself. And when I analyze why, then I remember MY WHY and my motivation for being a multi-tasking entrepreneur.
I was talking with my Coach Kevin a while ago and we were talking about how to “get it all done” when the days seem short and the hours pass quickly.
He gave me a tip that was “worth the price of admission” that day.
(And the price of admission is not cheap!)
He told me about how he plans his weekly schedule and then keeps it as consistent as possible from week to week so that he and his team know what to expect. I loved his concept and am going to share it all with you here today.
He creates a Weekly Map
I want you to think about creating your own Weekly Map that you stick to as much as possible. This may look familiar as some of this is Sales and Marketing 101 and has cause to be remembered.
Here’s what a sample Weekly Map looks like:
Monday – Marketing Day
Tuesday – Training Day
Wednesday – Meeting Day
Thursday – Meeting Day
Friday – Marketing Day
Saturday – Training Day
Sunday – Miscellaneous Day/Family Day/ Whatever Day
Now, you can set this up to fit your business structure allows. For example if the weekly networking meeting you attend is on Monday – you can fit that in as Part of your marketing day or you can make Monday – meeting day if that is better for you.
The goal is to be consistent especially when it comes to marketing. If you are not marketing and working on connecting with prospects the funnel will dry up. And while it would be great to do marketing everyday, as an entrepreneur other work needs to be done too – like meeting with folks in the sales process.
The goal is to structure your time into focused chunks which helps reduce chaos and overwhelm. It is challenging to work on operations issues, then run to a meeting, then come back to the office to do some marketing or prospect calling all in the same day or within a few hours.
Creating a daily focus with goals to accomplish can help reduce your stress level. Now, I am not saying spend the full 8 hours on Monday only doing marketing – that is unrealistic. What I am saying is that you know you’re setting aside X number of hours on Monday and Friday to do marketing before you move to something else. Or you know your best meeting days are Wednesday and Thursday between 9-12 so you block that on your calendar.
That said, if a prospect wants to meet you on Tuesday and you have the time – of course you go. Or if on Tuesday you have this great idea for a newspaper ad, then write the newspaper ad.
The whole idea of a weekly map is to help reduce a little stress whenever possible in a way that fits your life/business and is consistent. This helps when that To-Do list gets way to long and rears its ugly head. (I’ll save the to-do list for another post!)
Now – go spend 5-10 minutes thinking about your week and come up with your weekly map. IF YOU DO THIS and stick to it week after week, you’ll help yourself and your business.
P.S. I appreciate your feedback and look forward to your comments. For more information about my services or to find out how we can partner together call me at 503-780-3203 or email me at vanessa@vanessaduplessie.com.
Motherhood & Entrepreneurship – 9 Reasons Kids are Similar to Business
Posted by: | CommentsHey everyone,
I hope you are enjoying yourselves today. It is early here is my part of the USA as I write this post. And today is my son’s 6th birthday. My firstborn baby is growing up and maturing right before my eyes. I cannot believe 6 years of my life have passed in the blink of an eye. My precious one is learning how to be a man. As I reflected on how far I’ve come as a parent and he as a child my thoughts turned to business. I wouldn’t be me if they didn’t.
From the thought of conceiving a child through birth and then the nurturing of the last 6 years my son has grown into a fine young man. While he’s not always on his best behavior with mommy, when he is with others he behaves well, uses his manners and is a joy to be around. I know this because other parents tell me this is the case and they wouldn’t invite him back if he wasn’t! Therefore, we must be doing something right as parents.
This led me to think about what my husband and I have done to bring us to this point. Well, what came to mind were things that transferred over to how we run our businesses, which are our other children.
So many of us treat our businesses like babies and if we’re not maybe we should start. Here’s my thoughts on how they relate.
1. You get this brilliant idea that it’s time to have a child and then you start your planning. (Hmmm, sounds businesslike to me.)
2. Once pregnant and having committed to this child more planning goes into effect – setting up the nursery, making sure to take care of yourself so you can keep your energy up while you continue your planning and preparation for launching your baby to the world in 9 months. (I’ve never worked crazy hours in business or needed extra energy during my planning phases )
3. Once baby is launched those first few months are shocking. You don’t sleep much and you’re all consumed by this new, sometimes overwhelming situation in your life. (Never happened to me, you?)
4. You don’t always know what to do next and you seek the advice of other more seasoned people. People who have done this before, and while they may not have always done it right, they’ve made it through. (This is why I have my own coach)
5. By the time year 1 hits – you’re proud of yourself that you didn’t give up and now things seem to be easier and you have a flow. You take the ups and downs and the good and the bad in stride.
6. You spend your time nurturing and tending to your precious child, working with the child every day to help him or her grow.
7. About year 3 you think you’ve got everything under control. But in reality, the child has you wrapped around your finger and there isn’t much you wouldn’t do for him/her because you see so much of yourself in him/her. Your blood sweat and tears are thankful you’ve made it this far.
8. You continue to persevere, you know giving up is not an option. This child needs you and you will succeed. You don’t know what everyday will bring but you are committed to yourself and to the child to never give up.
9. More years pass and you realize that the decision and making a choice to have a child was the best thing you could have ever done and you wouldn’t trade parenthood for anything in the world.
See any signs or traits of business in there? My businesses are like my babies from idea through implementation.
While this was fun and lighthearted in honor of my son, I want you to think about how you are treating your business.
Is it just another J-O-B to you or are you passionate about your role as an entrepreneur?
Think about it.
Have a great weekend and Happy Birthday to my baby boy!
P.S. For more information or to find out how we can work together call me at 503-780-3203 or email me at vanessa@vanessaduplessie.com. View the video www.15toprofit.com/vanessa to learn more about creating freedom and flexibility in your life.
Money is NOT bad – Listen to Your Inner Voice
Posted by: | CommentsI like and enjoy success and money, in more ways than one. There, I said it. The cat is out of the bag. I like nice things like my boat and my house. I like my vacations and most of all, I love my life.
A very successful friend made the comment the other day to me that, “The best way to help the poor, is to not be one of them”. That may sound bad at first but the reality is that he is right. And the more I thought about that statement the more I felt compelled to write this post and shoot this video. I had to get this off my chest.
I like success and money because they allow me to be and do what I really want in the world without the worry and frustration that goes along with the lack mentality.What I really am passionate about in the world is help others and spend my time giving.
Fact: The more money I have the more time and money I can give. I’m willing to work hard to make this happen so I can be in my true purpose of Creative Service, Joyful Kindness and Faithful Freedom. Money helps people.
By now if you’re a regular reader you know I am a positive person who cares about inspiring others. I love my family and I love my freedom and flexibility of self employment/network marketing and entrepreneurship. I spend a lot of time giving in my community and I spend a lot of time on business and with my family. You also know it wasn’t always easy for me. There have been ups and downs and good and bad times.
I’ve persevered because I am driven, focused and sometimes told I am intense. Well, I am who I am and I am this way because I care deeply about people and helping others lead better lives and I am not going to quit while I have the opportunity to do that.
I have a couple of questions for you:
If money wasn’t an obstacle who would you want to be in the world? (I just told you part of who I am and what I do in the world)
If you had the opportunity toremove money as an obstacle, would you do the work and take it? (I absolutely did and would).
I’ve told you I LIKE Money. Now I’m going to tell you why I choose to SELL Money. Selling something everyone wants more of is a no-brainer to me. And let’s face it, we all sell good and services in one way shape or form. I’m choosing Money. The more money I attract to me the more money I can give.
I always have my nose in the air for opportunity but when I wasn’t even looking things happened and I started paying attention to signals.
On the radio and on the news, people were talking about Money, and Gold and Silver and “the new economy”.
There I was going about my business, when I stumbled across a message from an industry leader which went straight to my gut. My intuition told me I had to find out more. Over the course of a few days I did my due diligence and investigation. I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears that this opportunity fell in my lap. My gut was saying, “This is a tremendous opportunity that God/The Universe has placed in front of you. What are you gonna do now?” Every ounce of my being was called to Numis. I’d ignored my gut before and gotten burned, there was no way I wanted that to happen again.
I take leaps of faith. After all, part of my purpose is to live in Faithful Freedom.
What are you willing to do to be, do and have in the World? Are you willing to work a few extra hours a day or a week? Are you willing to work a lot of extra hours to get there faster? I can help you and show you how. You just have to want it.
Remember the saying: Good things come to those who wait, but only things left by those who hustle. Call me if you want to work with leaders who will mentor and teach you. Don’t sit on the sidelines of your life anymore. It’s time to get in the game.
P.S. For more information or to find out how we can work together call me at 503-780-3203 or email me at vanessa@vanessaduplessie.com. View the video www.15toprofit.com/vanessa to learn more about creating freedom and flexibility in your life.
