Dreams

When you finished high school or graduated from college, did you have these big dreams that seemed to push you forward as you entered into the real world?  Where are those dreams today?  Are you living them?  Have you forgotten about them?

In March, after signing up with the health supplements company,  I decided to follow what the other distributors were saying and doing.  I was so energized.  My first task was to create my dream board.

During this activity, I realized that I had forgotten of my dream to tour the castles of Europe.  So I put it on my board.  These are the things that will help motivate me to keep going.

What are your dreams?  Make a dream board and go after your dreams!

This week I have been thinking about all those dreams I have had of starting my own business or company that was to be the heart of my dream board. 

Do you have a dream to set off on your own doing something specific?  Write them down!

One website I found to be a great resource is myownbusiness.org.  It takes you through the entire process of determining if you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur, how to determine what you should do, and how to get there.

There is a section that takes you through the process of determining what you should do.  I started a journal to keep track of all of my ideas and activities from this website.  I found it hard to do the pros and cons that will help me pick.

This is my list:
1.  Custom children's clothing shop
2.  Custom made wedding dress shop/bridal rental shop
3. Custom fit lingerie and  undergarment shop
4. Small business consultant
5. Wedding reception location and rentals
6. Sewing teacher
7. Wedding planner
8.  Invitations
9.  One stop wedding shop


I am looking forward to my appointment with Lisa Woodruff from Organize365.com.  I can't wait to have some light shed of my dilemma. 


 

Using the Tools and Taking the Next Step

Fast forward 3 months from the time I went through the goals and objectives exercise.

I was at a party for a healthy supplements company and was immediately drawn to the products and thought it was a great fit with the food company I was representing.  So I signed up then and there acquiring 4 customers with me.  I was excited and energized with what I had seen from this company.  The support and online presence is nothing like I have experienced with a direct selling company before.

As energized as I was, I was fearful to tell my spouse.  Now that I look back on it, I realize it was because I failed to analyze the decision and to see how it fit with my why and why criteria.  I also did not consult with my spouse first.  The whole purpose of doing the exercise was to give me a guideline and help me stay focused and at the first chance, I threw it out the window.

If you learn anything from me, learn that in order to be successful, you must use the tools, not just buy them or compile them.

At this point, I realize that in my effort to make my life more balanced and free up my time for my family, I may have pushed it over the edge.  I believe I am in a transition as I define what truly matters to me and focusing on what's important.

Through my direct sales company, I got to meet Lisa Woodruff of Organize365.com.  Lisa is a professional organizer and helps women organize their busy lives.  That is exactly what I need!  I was drawn to Lisa and knew that she was someone I could learn from.  I have been to 3 of Lisa's speaking engagement and picked up great tips with each one.  I decided to hire her to help me focus all of my activities taking me on my next step.  My appointment is set and I look forward to seeing how Lisa can help me.

Objectives and Measurements

When deciding on objectives, think of those things you can do that will fulfill your desire to have that thing in your life or to help you improve to better that thing.
Next, assessed each objective.  How will you measure your performance?  What are your specific results to be achieved?  This is the actions to get you to your goals/objectives.  Without these specific steps, you still just have 5 dreams.

Here are my measurements:
1. Be consistent with my business.
     a. Map out my schedule for family time, me time, and office ours/business time.
     b. Create a weekly schedule at the beginning of each week.
     c. Create a call schedule each week.
     d. Be an active participant in my networking group.
2. Stay in contact with customers on a regular basis.
     a. Make 5 calls every other day to follow up with my food company customers.
     b. Post at least 5 times a week on my food company Facebook page.
     c. Post at least 3 times a week on my wedding invitation Facebook page.
3. Get in front of more people.
     a. Network with a health and wellness company and have first meeting by end of Jan.
     b. Network with a second health and wellness company and have first meeting by end of January.
     c. Network with a wedding planner for invitations and make initial call by end of January.
     d. Attend 1-2 vendor fairs with food company by end of 2013.
4. Make an average $$$ a month to go towards our honeymoon and a new to us car.
     a. Have 1-2 food company events each month with an average of $$$ in sales.
     b. Do 4-6 initiation jobs with an average profit of $$$ in 2013.
     c. Teach 2-3 sewing classes in 2013 with 5-10 students in each.

The final step is to determine what are potential obstacles.  What are those things that may come up and pose a threat to your goals?  By identifying them now, you will be able to plan for them in order to reach your goals.

I  determined my obstacles were:
1.  I can easily be distracted by what has to be done at home and being tired or overwhelmed.
2. We do not have internet and the phone line needs to be replaced before we can get the internet again.

Defining My Why

From analyzing the list, I defined my why.  Why Am I doing all of these things?

My Why:  To spend time doing what I love.  To share my passion and gifts with others.  To teach and educate others to better themselves and their families.  To support my creativity and entrepreneurial mind.

I thought a lot about this.  Even though they were the things I loved to do, my activities seemed like an almost constant   source of frustration or strain on my family.  So I decided to develop criteria in which I would accept a new activity into my life.

Next I determined what criteria I would use to determine if I would take something on or not.  What is important to you and your family?

My Acceptance Criteria:
1.  Does this activity support my why?
2.  Does this activity bring me joy?
3.  Does this activity support my family and our goals?

Analyzing the List

One step I took to cutting out things was to analyze each thing on my list.  I thought about what each thing meant to me and the purpose it had in my life.

I had been hanging on to my representative status with the paper crafting company because I thought I needed it to support my wedding invitation business.  I realized that hanging on to this was only hurting me.  Not only did it narrow my options for what I could offer my customers but I wasn't enjoying it like I used to.  I was finding myself going outside of this company more and more to find what my customers wanted.  I also realized that I could no longer continue to support my sales minimums myself especially since I was not actively crafting except when I had an invitation job.  This realization was hard to come to but it was a moment of growth for me.

So I decided that representing the paper crafting company was no longer a goal or desire of mine.
At this point I did not do a lot of deep analyzing of the other things on my list.  They were things I enjoyed or wanted to do more with so they stayed. 

I encourage you to go through each item and dig deep.  I will explain why I think this is so important in an upcoming post.

Making the List

In order to figure out what I wanted to accomplish, I needed to list everything out. I included those things I get paid for and those things I enjoy doing. I did not include the occasional favor or the friend’s birthday cake I tend to make. Though maybe I should go back at some point and add those types of things.

My side job consisted of:
1. Representative of a paper crafting company
2. Making custom wedding invitations
3. Representative of a food company
4. Sewing

If you are following along with me, maybe your things are not as clear as mine.

Maybe you want to just figure out how to be less busy. Are your kids involved in extra curricular activities? Are you? Do you coupon, volunteer at school, etc. What are all of those things that take up your time? List them all out.

Next we will talk about how to find ways to cut out those things that are less important to you.

My Light Bulb Moment

I have always struggled to find balance between those things I want to do and the things I have to do. I enjoy creating whether it is sewing, paper crafts, or food. I have always been driven by personal growth and success and finding a way to forge my own career path. However, I now have a family I love spending time with and caring for.

How do you fit it all in and make it work?

At the beginning of 2013, I had a what I thought was a "light bulb" moment. You know, that moment when something clicks and you finally get it? I realized that my struggle to find my 1 focus outside of my day job just wasn't going to happen at this time. My side jobs didn't have to constantly compete with each other if I treated them as 1 business venture. I decided to map out my goals combining my side jobs and hobbies and treat them like 1 job.

Over the next few days, I will explain how I attempted to get a grasp on all of these things.