77: Using Milestones To Create Strategy Results Whether You Are Starting A Business
77: Using Milestones To Create Strategy Results Whether You Are Starting A Business, You Are Self-Employed, A Solopreneur, Entrepreneur, Mompreneur, Business Owner, Side Hustler, Freelancer, Bookkeeper, Virtual Assistant Or VA
Having a clear business plan and strategy in place so that you know the direction you want your business to go is one step in the process of reaching your goals as a business owner. When you take these strategies and develop milestones for each of them, you will be crystal clear on your next steps to success. Creating your business milestones will help you deepen your understanding of the process to reach and take action on each of the strategies in your business plan. Every milestone you complete brings you forward to accomplishing your overall progress of implementing your strategies in your business. Knowing the exact path and actions you need to take to reach and move on to the next milestone helps you stay the course of your overall business strategies. By reviewing and monitoring your business strategies and milestones, you’ll know if changes need to be made or additional milestones are needed. Your milestones, like many other areas of your business, are not set in stone and may need to be altered throughout your business which allows you to quickly see any changes that may need to be done in your business and create the flexibility to pivot whenever necessary while keeping your overall strategy in place. In today’s podcast episode, I’m helping you with processes to create these milestones and decide when you should be reviewing them as well as how to make changes so that your business can reach success in the most efficient and fastest way possible. It doesn’t matter if you are a self-employed individual, a solopreneur, entrepreneur, mompreneur, freelancer, small business owner, a remote, virtual, online, or in-house bookkeeper, or a virtual assistant or VA, listen in to today’s podcast episode so that you know exactly where you should be adding milestones in your business. These tips are essential whether you are using a computerized software system like QuickBooks, Xero, Wave, or FreshBooks for your business finances; or doing your bookkeeping manually with an Excel spreadsheet or even a Google Document…
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Show Notes:
Having a clear business plan and strategy in place so that you know the direction you want your business to go is one step in the process of reaching your goals as a business owner. When you take these strategies and develop milestones for each of them, you will be crystal clear on your next steps to success. Creating your business milestones will help you deepen your understanding of the process to reach and take action on each of the strategies in your business plan. Every milestone you complete brings you forward to accomplishing your overall progress of implementing your strategies in your business. Knowing the exact path and actions you need to take to reach and move on to the next milestone helps you stay the course of your overall business strategies. By reviewing and monitoring your business strategies and milestones, you’ll know if changes need to be made or additional milestones are needed. Your milestones, like many other areas of your business, are not set in stone and may need to be altered throughout your business which allows you to quickly see any changes that may need to be done in your business and create the flexibility to pivot whenever necessary while keeping your overall strategy in place. In today’s podcast episode, I’m helping you with processes to create these milestones and decide when you should be reviewing them as well as how to make changes so that your business can reach success in the most efficient and fastest way possible. It doesn’t matter if you are a self-employed individual, a solopreneur, entrepreneur, mompreneur, freelancer, small business owner, a remote, virtual, online, or in-house bookkeeper, or a virtual assistant or VA, listen in to today’s podcast episode so that you know exactly where you should be adding milestones in your business. These tips are essential whether you are using a computerized software system like QuickBooks, Xero, Wave, or FreshBooks for your business finances; or doing your bookkeeping manually with an Excel spreadsheet or even a Google Document…
Welcome Back…Do you have a strategic plan for your business but lack the follow-through to reach your end goals? Most often, when you put your thoughts down on paper, whether in your business plan or a strategy plan, you lack the specifics you need to know when and how you can work through these strategies. This is why having milestones in your business is such an important detail that many business owners miss. By taking your plan and setting it in motion, you will see the details and the exact next steps you need to take to reach each individual milestone. This is where you can start measuring and seeing your progress.
For each strategy you have, you will want to make sure you have your milestones set in place as well. When you are creating your milestones, make sure that you set clear expectations so that you know when you have completed a milestone, as well as how much effort, resources, and money it will take to complete each milestone. This means that for each milestone, you will need to have a clear description of what needs to be done when it is scheduled to be completed and how much it will cost to achieve the milestone.
Each milestone should be assigned to a responsible party who can monitor the process, and milestones should be reviewed periodically. During this review, it is essential to see where you may need to focus more of your efforts on so that you can stay on track. You may also find that you need to change your milestones if you find any problems or new opportunities that may come up in your business.
Let’s take, for example, you are currently running your business on your own and doing all the work. You may have a milestone in your business to hire and train a staff member. For this milestone, you would want to create a solid description of this milestone, being as specific as possible as to the staff member you will hire and train first in your business. List which responsibilities this person would have in your business when you would like to hire this person and how much you are willing to pay for this new employee. You also want to include any training that is necessary for this individual so that they are fully trained and ready to fully execute this position. You will also need to add a due date for when you would like to hire this individual and any due dates revolving around the training you want them to take so that they can completely take over these duties as of a specific date. By setting a budget amount, you will also know exactly how much this milestone will cost you when it is fully executed. Having all this information in place prior to even getting close to reaching the milestone will allow you to plan successfully so that you can reach the milestone without any surprises. As your business moves forward and changes, you could easily change the details in this milestone. For example, suppose you originally decided that you want to hire someone to do marketing for your business, but after a few months into your business, you decide your first employee should be someone to help you with office and bookkeeping tasks. In that case, you can easily change the details, and you still have the milestone which will help you reach your overall business strategy.
Keep your milestones fluid. This means that you allow for changes whenever necessary. One of the biggest reasons I see business owners hold back on creating any of their business plans or strategies is that they are afraid that they are no longer able to make changes to them once they write them down. Most businesses are able to pivot on their original plans, which brings them much more success. This success often looks different from the original plans, so don’t be afraid to change your plans; just make sure that you are also changing your milestones to consistently reflect what you want your outcome to be.
By breaking down your overall business plan and strategies, you may find risks and roadblocks that may not have been easily identifiable before setting each milestone. You want to make sure that each milestone is measurable and achievable. Much like a SMART goal, you want to make sure you are setting up your milestones so that you know when you have accomplished each one. Map out your milestones so that you can clearly see the path you need to take to achieve your results. If you need help with your business strategies and milestones, I’m here to help. As a Certified Public Accountant, Business Strategist, and Business Coach, I help clients reach their next level of success. I work with business owners who feel overwhelmed, and we create simple processes so that they know exactly what their milestones are, the clear path they need to take to get there, and hold them accountable so that they can reach their milestones by the dates they intended. I’m inviting you to schedule a free consultation session where we can go over any questions you have regarding your business strategies and milestones. You can go to www.FinancialAdventure.com/Contact-Us and schedule a time that works well for you. During your consultation session, we’ll also dig deep into where you currently are in your business and where you’d like to see yourself and your business in the future. We’ll also go over my MASTER Your Business Foundation Diagnostic Assessment so that you can fully understand your strengths in the foundation your business is built on. I only offer a few of these one-hour consultation sessions each week due to the time commitment, and I am looking forward to talking with you soon. I’ll post links to these and other valuable resources for business owners and bookkeepers where you are listening to this podcast and in the show notes.
And, you know I’m going to ask…what’s at least one thing you will take away from this episode that will help your business succeed and grow your bottom line? If you need some accountability, join our PRIVATE Facebook community and post your action item, we’d love to support you.
