Blog Series: How I Reinvented My Business

Do you know what really stinks?  
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Being an organizer who has trouble with organizing her time.

I never wanted to be the like the cobbler (the shoe maker) whose children have no shoes. I even wrote a blog about it!  It was my desire to be able to practice the time management techniques that I taught my clients.

But in the midst of my business growth and transition, I found myself moving quickly from one task to another, grasping at straws, trying to use what had worked in the past and apply it in my new business model. I was scrambling and ...

It didn’t work.

There were a few things that I needed to correct in order to create an environment of success.

1. Even teachers have teachers. The most accomplished people on the planet, those that we look up to for guidance, have teachers, mentors, guides, and coaches to continue to support them at the highest level. Oprah Winfrey, Russell Brunson, Tony Robbins, and others all have someone that is one step above where they are that helps them on their path.
   
   I needed a coach who was one step above where I was to help guide me.
   
   
2. Block time for consistent forward action. I needed to utilize deep work (I talk about this on the podcast this week here, you can listen here: Are you going deep in your business?) You cannot make progress when you are only working here and there on the projects that are going to move you forward. Take out your calendar and block 20 minutes this week. Then look forward and put a two-hour non-negotiable block of time every week for focusing on projects that will move your business forward. (*Ninja trick: I also block 1 week a month that I work solely on business growth activities)
   
   
3. Cut the non-essentials. If you are growing or transitioning a business, you do not have time for extras. Be ruthless and focus your efforts on only the essential activities that will help you reach your goal. As you move forward, you will need to refocus again and again. Opportunities will arise and you will weigh them against putting dedicated, consistent energy and effort to just one focus to move you forward. (If you would like help with this, we teach exactly how in the One Focus 30 Day Program)
   
   

I am going to guess you are ready to stop messing around with your time and get real results. Going it alone is no longer an option. It’s time to reach the growth you know is possible.

It’s time to take that idea that is just swirling around in your mind and make it a reality so that you can make the changes to the world that you feel called to make.  

Frank was where you are. In fact, he believed that, having worked with a coach before, he already had everything that he needed. Hear what he shares about the Momentum Accountability Program:

“Nettie’s program helps you think about and restructure the things you think you have a handle on, but actually, don’t. I made the best decision in my entrepreneurial life by partnering up with Nettie and receiving the accountability I needed. She really grounds you and puts you into a state of focus that you will never know existed in your world. And... her program isn’t just about accountability, it’s about action and truly driving home the key elements of your business that need to be put into action. Working with her on this has been a true blessing for me and I can’t thank her enough for helping me along my journey of true entrepreneurial success.”

If you are ready for success, let’s talk. Just comment below and we will find a time. 

You can also join the Momentum Millionaire Network right now and gain instant access to colleagues who are also growing and transforming the world.  

I can’t wait to see you as a Momentum Millionaire.  
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Here’s to your success!

February 2004... I was 24 years old.  I had been married for 2.5 years and my husband I had just moved from California to Maryland. I stayed on consulting for the company I left in California while Jason started in his position as a government employee.  I was looking for work but didn't want a 'career' because I knew we would start a family soon. So... I started my own business.

Show of hands for those in the room that thought opening your own business would allow you to earn money in your pj's, while watching your favorite tv shows, and having lunch with your friends when they called.

Yep, that was me. 

When I started my company, it wasn't a big bang.  It was a slow build, one customer at a time.  I was providing services as a residential organizer and learning along the way how to do it well and how to grow my business. 

But, within a year I had enough business to bring on a contractor to help and I had set my sights on creating a business that eventually could run without me. 

My business was a Model T.  It was top of the line revolutionary for me, at the time. Organizing as a business was still fairly new and novel.  Not a lot of people had an organizer and it was easy to offer my services when people would call. I offered 1 thing, they needed 1 thing. Life was good.

 Fast forward fourteen years... I had become one of the top organizers in my area serving chronically disorganized people.  I had trained dozens of other organizers, created my own organizing system, written two books, appeared on tv, won awards in my industry and my Model T, which had worked so well to get me to this place was no longer working.  

I felt called to move into a new direction.  I was 'leveling up' to a Tesla.  More energy efficient and a new energy source, sleek, streamlined, more cutting edge. 

But now, more people in general, owned cars.  There were more varieties, more options, more choices.

My business and my life were still built on the Model T format.

How would I turn my Model T into a Telsa?  Could I reuse some of the same parts?  Can you make plastic from metal, I wondered?  It looks so sleek on the outside but it's complicated under that shiny hood.  At least with the Model T I could see everything I had and how it all worked together.   Now, I was yet again in uncharted territory only this time it was so much more complicated. I had to keep the Model T operational while at the same time turning it into a Tesla.  How in the heck was I going to pull this off?!?

After being in business for as long as you have, maybe you are also experienced a Model T to Tesla Conversion?  

Or you are in one right now.

Here are a few lessons I have learned:
1 - Spend time acknowledging what made your original business great and why.  It can be easy to get frustrated with your old model but you built a successful business on it so don't walk away without taking the parts that did work well for you.
2 - Recognize what you have that can be transformed.  It may be the case that you can't use the Model T body as it exists now but maybe you can melt it down and use the metal to form the framework of your Tesla.  Your client on boarding process, networking, etc are made of the same essence but may need to be transformed for your new model.
3 - Let go of the parts that just won't work any more.  This is the point where you recognize that Model T tires will not fit on a Telsa.  Period.  Sometimes you need to just let go.  That is ok.  Say thank you and move forward.

I would love to hear, what lessons have you learned?

Are you burned out, overwhelmed, and chasing too many ‘good ideas'? 

You've built the business, make it work for you, free your time, & create more impact.  

1. Join the Momentum Millionaire Network
2. Download the Roadmap to Freedom by texting FREEDOM to 411321
3. Schedule a 15 min CEO Connection Call to discover where you are and where you would like to go.

If we are being honest, there are times that I get stuck on 'putting out fires' mode. I bet you are familiar with the 'fire drill'. This is the time when you know you could work on the tasks that could bring in the highest return (time, money, impact) but instead you rush around like there is a fire to put out, dousing the flames with endless checklists, completing other people's tasks, and quick action.
I have absolutely been the fire fighter, even recently! It's a tough roll to shake off. The fires often seem so big and important!

• Clients to call back
• Issues with your building, store, space.
• Bills that are due (yesterday).
• Tasks that you assigned that were not completed properly.
• Other people's deadlines.
• [Insert your favorite 'fire' here]

Fires will always crop up and they will appear even MORE often if your work is 'flammable'.
What do I mean by 'flammable'?
Flammable businesses are ones where the Vision, Mission, Core Values, Time Management, Organization, Systems, Strengths, Connections and Focus are not in place. Every time you fortify one of these areas you make your business more fire proof.
I think the MOST critical piece though is having a clear vision. When you do, you immediately temper the flames because you can apply the vision to the emergency and determine if focusing your attention here will get you where you most desire to go.
It looks like turning away from the stuff that will give you immediate satisfaction (putting out flames) for the stuff that will prevent fires in the first place (business planning and development).

My fire suit
I am most susceptible to fires when I have not taken time to place and evaluate the tasks on my list to the vision I have created. The opposite is also true. If I want to move through my business 'fire proof' I take time every day to recenter around my vision and select the tasks that will get me there. It means saying 'no' to the tasks that may appear to be burning, when in fact they are just an optical illusion.
One of the best ways to do this is to select just one clear focus and take this to completion. Easier said than done (unless you check out the One Focus Program). 

I challenge you today to take 5 minutes to write your vision and then select the one task that will allow you to create a part of it, today.

Are you burned out, overwhelmed, and chasing too many ‘good ideas'? 

You've built the business, make it work for you, free your time, & create more impact.  

Get the Roadmap to Freedom Text FREEDOM to 411321