With the start of a new year, there’s no shortage of inspiration to set fresh goals/intentions. But for many fitness and wellbeing business owners, the issue isn’t motivation; it’s time. They know where they want their business to go, but fitting structured planning into their packed schedule feels overwhelming if not impossible. As a result, many of them fall into the trap of a scattergun approach, doing anything and everything, hoping something will work.
However, a well-defined, step-by-step plan can be a game-changer. When you break your goals/intentions down into clear steps, each action becomes more purposeful and manageable, giving you a roadmap to stay on track and measure your success.
So why do so many small business owners resist structured planning?
- Lack of time – as mentioned above there simply isn’t the break in the routine/hamster wheel to do this planning – or at least that’s what a part of them is telling them.
- Habit – they’ve got this far without one and things aren’t that bad so why change?
- Fear – this can relate to fear and failure and fear of success. It’s also the ego’s fear about moving out of their comfort zone – even if that comfort zone isn’t actually a very comfortable place.
- No idea where to start – learning something new is the last thing they have head space and/or time for so it’s easier to stay the same.
- Lack of accountability – this may seem like an odd one but if no one holds you accountable to the structured plan it can be very hard to keep it in place. Also many business owners will have tried a structured plan and found it ok for a while but then may have hit a bump in the road or their motivation started to wane so it was easier to forget the plan and go back to the old ways of doing things
Without a structured plan, it’s easy to spend your time on “busy” tasks that don’t contribute to your ultimate goals/intentions. You end up a busy fool rushing around, being reactive, giving everything a go but not sticking with anything. This leads to inconsistent results. When you’re trying everything, it’s difficult to identify what’s actually working. This lack of clarity makes it hard to build consistent results that you can repeat time and time again. You end up wasting time and money which are so valuable. Without a plan, you may end up pouring both into efforts that don’t bring the best returns.
With a step by step plan you get to have:
- More time because you have clarity and therefore focus. No second guessing or wondering what to do. You stick to the plan and simply don’t do irrelevant tasks.
- More consistency in terms of results because by following a set plan, you can measure what’s working and replicate what’s successful.
- Less stress as a step-by-step approach brings predictability to your day-to-day work, so you can be proactive and less reactive.
You don’t have to know every single step to get you to your overall intention but you do need to break it down into a series of checkpoints over a fixed time period. You can then break down the path to the check point into a series of steps – one step at a time.
If this is something you have never done before or never done with success, it will require a shift in your mindset to ensure you see the plan through as well as making sure you start at step 1 rather than step 10.
If creating a detailed plan feels overwhelming, consider reaching out to a coach who can guide you through the process. With a structured plan and the right support, you can make your next year your most impactful yet.
A coach can provide unbiased feedback, helping you spot blind spots and strengthen your plan. With someone to check in on your progress, you’re less likely to drift off track.
Remember this is something I do with my clients on a regular basis so if you are curious feel free to reach out via email philippa@holdmyhandcoaching.com
Until next time,
Best wishes
Philippa x