The 5 foundation blocks for business founders
Post on social media 10 times a day.
Send emails to an email list.
Do you know your ideal client?
Whats your why?
Familiar? That's just the start right?
Well i'm winding right right back to basics! Before you do any of that, you must have some really simple basics in place in your business.. and here is a rundown of what they are! This is the bread and butter basics stuff that I go through with Founder clients early on in working with them to make sure we are starting with a solid base
1. You must have a clear digital calendar set up.
The first thing that we're going to have is to make sure that we have a calendar. If you want to, you can have a work calendar and a home calendar or you can have a single calendar that combines the two. I have two, but if you do this, consistency is key so that means there can be no confusion as to what goes in one and what goes in another. Everything has to go somewhere, but we just don't want any fuzziness to make sure that when something comes about we're putting it in the right place and we don't have to think about it because that's where mistakes happen and decision fatigue sets in. So it's got to be one place where appointments and reminders go because how are we supposed to know where we should be, or what we should be doing, if there isn't a single place to put it! If its not there then it's going to be in our head, which means mental clutter. We aren't robots so we need to use tools to help us - and this is the perfect starting place.
2. One place to capture everything
By this, I mean somewhere to jot down (digitally) everything that comes into your mind, everything you learn that you need to refer to at a later point. It should be digital and It should be accessible on your phone. A single place organised in a way that makes sense to you (and simply!). You could have one for work captures and one for home .You can even have a section for "books to read" or "netflix shows to watch" in addition to the more mundane stuff! You could use Microsoft ToDo (like me!) . Other options are Trello or your phone notes app. Can you plan in when you will research the best solution for you and get going with it? Or do you already do this?
3. A password locker
A password locker is software system to keep track of your passwords. I use LastPass but there are loads of different ones available. It means that all your passwords are secure and you don't have that stress of forgetting them. They autofill when you go on a site- dream! It's really invaluable and underrated and will save loads of hassle and stress .. you got this sorted already? #
4. A single digital notebook
So useful and an absolute time saver! One place on your lapop to add all your notes. Anything you might have historically had across phone notes and notebooks! Using something like OneNote works well. Save on there stuff like your brand colour pantones or the links you access a lot such as your Instagram profile or latest lead magnate.
5. SMART GOALS!
(Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time Bound) What are your goals for the week? month? quarter? Do you remind yourself of them regularly enough? Are the actions you are taking taking you closer to those goals? This is SO key and something i work with clients on - in fact some clients choose to have me help them define this in a one off session (details bottom of the linked page)