Traditionally, business planning focuses on finances and milestone achievements. And why shouldn't it, if the goal is to grow your business?
But, for soul-centered entrepreneurs, solely business focused planning can leave us feeling successful, but also empty.
I found myself in that place last year and realized that my priorities and the way I was planning for them were way off. While I was hitting the marks I wanted, I wasn't feeling fulfilled. I didn't want to abandon business based goals, but I wanted to incorporate the values that I work so hard to keep in my life.
So with that mission in mind, I worked out this exercise to create goals that were based on values and lifestyles that I wanted, not solely financial.
Here is how I set my value based goals (and download the worksheet below to do your own!)
Step 1: I listed the value I wanted to achieve.
Example: “I don't want to feel like I'm always working and be present with my family. Don't be rushed at kid focused activities and don't be stressed to get through a family activity because I have too much work to do.”
I also had one that focused on finances, but not a dollar amount yet. I focused on what I wanted money to add to my life and what I didn't want it to take away.
Step 2: I described what that value would actually look like in my life.
Example: I want to have a balance of Saturday's that I don't work. I never want to work Sundays and always have that be a day devoted to my family. I don't want to do late evening jobs during the week. I don't want to book shoots on the days the girls have activities so I don't need to schedule alternative rides and add that arrest.
So I got clear and specific on what that would look like. For my financial value goals, I itemized how much money it would take to realistically achieve the goal so I could see actuals numbers.
Step 3: What profit level do I need to be at to make those goals happen?
Example: My business is made up of different services that have various times and costs associated with them. So I created various combinations of monthly combinations that would work best to make sure I meet my financial desires but don't lose track of my values.
Step 4: Market to the best/preferred combination
Example: After going through my scenarios I decided that my preferred combination would be ‘X’ amount of Brand Builder clients/month, “X' Quarterly Content Club client and ‘X’ online brand strategy clients. Knowing that's what I want to book, I market for those services and don't take any clients beyond that so I can stick to my values.
Doing this activity has made everything click for me. I feel freedom again and that my values are aligned while I still grow my business.
Download the worksheet and share with me if you do the activity!