Designing your Business Around Your Vision for Your Family

Stacey Hylen

Published on: 06/12/2024

Yahoo’s new CEO, Marissa Meyer, is stirring up a lot of debate with her maternity leave plan. She has said that she plans to take a few weeks of maternity leave but to keep working throughout her maternity leave. This stirs up a lot of feelings for me and other moms. I am excited that she is the first Fortune 500 CEO to be hired while pregnant which means that women have broken through a new glass ceiling. I am also happy that this has placed the parental/ maternity leave in the headlines since the US ranks 20th out of 21 high income countries for their parental leave policies according to a study in 2009 by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CERP). This whole debate of childcare and how to balance parenting with earning a living is one of the reasons I started my own business. I wanted to be in control of how much time I spent with my kids and have the freedom to design my own schedule. Not to say that this has been easy, instead of getting a paid maternity leave with my first daughter like most employees, I promptly lost almost all of my clients when she was born when many of my coaching clients choose that time to complete their coaching assuming I would be taking time off with my daughter. So I was challenged to rebuild my business with a newborn! There were many weeks of getting up at 4am to nurse my daughter before heading off to an early morning BNI meeting and having my hubby and I meet at Tim Hortons for him to hand her over on his way to work. This was exhausting so I had to create a better way. I resolved that when my second daughter was born and would have a thriving business that was designed around the life I wanted for my family. Here are some of the steps I took to design my business around my vision for my family: Get clear on what you want. Take some time to figure out what would make you happy both for the growth of your business and your family time. I figured out what I wanted to be done with my day when my daughter got off the bus, take all school vacations off with my kids, have at least 4 weeks off in the summer and only work half days the rest of the summer. This adds up to 8-10 weeks per year that I take off per year. I was also very clear that although I was family centered I didn’t want a business that was just some part time income and set my goal for six figures per year short term with a long term goal of reaching a million dollar business. Get clear on your boundaries, aka, what you don’t want. I realized that I was willing to travel some for business but I set clear limits on how often and how long I was willing to be away. This is necessary so you can say NO when it doesn’t fit your life. Be creative and persistent! When my second daughter was born I was insistent that she stays with me instead of going to daycare, so I kept looking and asking until I found someone to care for her in my home so I could nurse her and play with her in between clients. This worked out even better than I could have imagined since the woman was amazing. She loved my daughter and she COOKED too! Set your business up for leverage. In order to make my plan come true I had to set up passive revenue streams so I was making money even when I wasn’t coaching my clients. We are so lucky now to have multiple ways to do this using the internet. Some examples are: memberships sites or programs, affiliate marketing, and offering info products. Maximize every opportunity. Look for ways to get more out of less in your business. How can you increase your average sale? Keep clients longer? Get more referrals? What can you do with prospects that say no? How can you make the most of every time you travel? Stay focused on creating more results and more revenue out of every opportunity. Stay flexible. Things will change, clients will ask you to make exceptions, great opportunities will come up be willing to stay flexible and bend while keeping your vision for your life and your business in mind. Hang out with like minded people. This journey balancing a business with a family centered life is not for sissies, the stay at home moms will say you aren’t doing it right, the people who work in regular jobs may be jealous, other business owners might not think you are serious enough so it is important to get support from others who have chosen this path and stay true to the vision you have for your family and business. Know that the time is short and before you know it your kids will be choosing to hang out with their friends instead of spending their time with you so enjoy every moment while you can.

Strategic Planning

Back to School Reading List for Business Owners

Stacey Hylen

Published on: 01/11/2024

Did you think when you were in school that you couldn’t wait to stop studying all the time? Well if you are a business owner the learning and studying should be a part of your daily routine. Here are some great books to help you grow yourself and your business.. The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield You may think from the title that this is just for artists but this book is a kick in the butt for anyone who struggles with Resistance. You know the little fearful voice that says, ” Do it tomorrow, it isn’t ready to release yet, why should anyone listen to me….. ” I keep this one on my desk and open it to a random page when I need a kick to get going. I am writing a book right now so this is a great tool to keep me motivated. Steven also just wrote a follow up book on this theme, Do the Work, that is very good too. Outrageous Advertising that’s Outrageously Successful by Bill Glazer I have been a big fan of Bill Glazer for a long time. He is a marketing genius and in this book he gives real examples of successful advertising campaigns. This book is FULL ads and how to use the concepts behind them for your own business. You cannot read this book and not come away with an idea to put into action for your business. Sticking Point Solution by Jay Abraham My mom almost killed my dad for spending over $10,000 to become a Jay Abraham protege in the 80’s. I was lucky enough to get all of the materials from that course and still have all of the cassette tapes which I can’t get myself to part with. This book gives practical solutions to grow your business for tough economic times. Truth is, it is possible to grow your business in this economy, he gives some great examples of how you can do it with actionable steps to take. Stop Saying You’re Fine; The No BS Guide to Getting What You Want by Mel Robbins I am a sucker for books that kick my butt or help me overcome my buts. This book is full of great tips to help you get out of your own way. Her chapter on stop hitting the snooze button is worth the whole price of the book. The E Myth by Michael Gerber: This is a MUST for every business owner. It will convince you why you need to work ON your business not IN it. Most business owners are spending the majority of their time working in their businesses DOING stuff instead of working ON the business to improve it. It will also help you see what kind of business you have created for yourself, a business or just a job with a crazy boss. Let me know how you like these selections and any others that you would suggest for the next list.

Strategic Planning

How to Use Your Personality to Make Your Business Stand Out

Stacey Hylen

Published on: 22/10/2024

I have done quite a few coaching calls on incorporating social media into my clients’ marketing plans lately. My clients realized that there must be something to this whole social media craze but they said they never “got it” or felt excited about it until after our call. The reason why it was unappealing is that they were not letting their personality and passion shine, they were doing dry, boring social media updates. For social media to be effective and make your business stand out it needs to be unique like you and your business. Look at how some of the most outstanding brands like Richard Branson’s Virgin, Gary Vaynerchuck with WineTV and Tony Robbins and how they have reflected their personality and passion into everything they do. Here are some steps to let your personality shine: 1. Get clear on what your mission is. This will help you figure out what to post. Let your posts reflect what you are passionate about. After over a decade of working with business owners I know that you are probably passionate about what you do and how you help people. I have seen everyone from printing companies to accountants light up when they talk about what they do and how it helps people. For example, an accountant I coached was absolutely passionate about how knowing the numbers in your business can help you sell your business for the highest valuation and he works with business owners who have a goal of selling their businesses as an exit strategy. 2. Determine what your goals are for your social media campaign. How do you want to be seen? What do you want to be known for? One of my clients determined he wanted to be more visible in his geographic area, leverage what he was doing by offering virtual programs and get speaking engagements. By knowing this he was able to target who he was engaging with and what kinds of content he shared. 3. Figure out what challenges your ideal clients have and how you can help them with that. Be a Google for your prospects and clients and share articles and links that would be of interest to them. Curate the best stuff for them it doesn’t all have to be about your business but should be relatable for your perfect clients. For example with a client who is a chiropractor we figured out who his ideal clients were and what their challenges and goals were and combined that with the topics that he is passionate about so he knows to share content on energy, health, running, healthy recipes, stress management and not just talk in chiropractic lingo. 4 Don’t be perfect! Although millions follow Martha Stewart I doubt many would invite her over to their house. Perfection is intimidating and isn’t real! On the other hand, I imagine many would feel comfortable inviting Rachel Ray over because she is real and down to earth, you could even have her give you a hand in the kitchen if you were too shy to cook! People are comparing their insides ( doubts, fears, insecurities) to your outside that you project ( confidence, happiness, prosperity, health,etc) so make sure you let them know that you are not perfect. This does not mean airing your dirty laundry or being a complainer! 5. Let them in. Don’t hide behind your business. Let your prospects and clients see you and the other people in the business. People do business with people that they know, like and trust so it is important. Post updates that let them get to know you and what your hobbies and passions are. One of my former coaches was into horses and since I am too I started following her and now I have tons of horsey passionate business women in my social media feeds. It may feel a little vulnerable at first to let your personality out but you will find that the more that you share from the heart the more engagement and connection you will build. You will start attracting your perfect clients who are an even better fit for you and your business.

MarketingStrategic Planning

Avoiding Entrepreneurial Burnout While Growing Your Business

Stacey Hylen

Published on: 18/10/2024

This has been a great summer – I have spent over a month at our family cottage at the lake, relaxing and recharging with my family. We went swimming, boating, hiking, and reading as much as possible. Many business owners struggle with the concept of taking time off and relaxing until they reach a point of burnout and can’t function. Your energy as a business owner is crucial as it affects everything in your business: your interaction with prospects and clients, your team, and even how high you set your goals. This week, I gave one of my coaching clients the assignment of taking Friday off for a spa day and planning out some time off for the rest of the year. This isn’t the first time I have done this, although other clients’ assignments were golfing or boating. My client has already doubled her sales this year and just completed a huge and very profitable project so it is a great time to reward herself and recharge. I usually suggest that you plan for your days off when you do your yearly goal setting and marketing plan. You also need to plan some downtime into each week and day so that you have time to think and be creative. You may be thinking I’m not creative but problem solving and marketing both take creative brain power that you need to allow time and space to concentrate. Here are some strategies I have used successfully for myself and my clients to avoid entrepreneurial burnout: 1. Take care of yourself physically. The most successful business owners I know – including Tony Robbins and Mark Victor Hansen – all work out daily and eat to fuel their body’s peak performance. Start your day with 20-60 minutes of exercise and a healthy breakfast and you will see a huge difference in your energy level. 2. Plan for peaks and valleys. Like a program on an exercise bike, create time for intense all-out effort and focus and time to coast. When planning your year, allow time to regroup between major launches and projects. 3. Create power rituals to recharge when you don’t have time for a break but need a boost. This could be stretching, listening to your favorite peak state song, a success mantra, looking at your goals, or even just jumping up and down. Taking these simple steps toward increasing your energy level and avoiding entrepreneurial burnout will make you feel better, help you grow your business faster, and improve your quality of life –so start today!

Strategic Planning