I’m back!
I must say that as hard as it was to take my 18 year old son to NYC and leave him there, I do feel some sense of accomplishment. With that, I have a new energy to dedicate taking my business to the next level. To do that, as promised, I will share with you my approach to creating and organizing a Daily Method of Operation (DMO).
First off, what exactly is a DMO? For our purposes, a daily method of operation is calendar an activities schedule that helps your business grow. Working from home can be a challenge with all the household distractions. Keeping “the main thing, the main thing” during business hours is imperative to a solopreneur’s success. Start treating your business like a business and implement a daily method of operation with a daily activities schedule. That is how you can get your business moving forward or grow it to the next level.
In doing this, one must start by evaluating your current calendar. Review your schedule and habits. What nooks and crannies do you have in your day that could become opportunities to squeeze in income building activity? Even a tiny amount like 15-30 minutes shifted consistently can add up!
Make a priorities list of activities that will help your business either save money, make money or systemize your business. One thing I will be implementing more going forward is to mix-in more phone meeting blocks of time to save lots of time and money… avoiding travel time and my Starbucks expense.
Don’t get me wrong, I am a Gold card-carrying member of Starbucks loyalty program and I consider it my second office. However, I am re-evaluating which meetings need to be face-to-face and which can be completed over the phone.
There are many ways to systemize your business to free up your calendar. Here are a few examples:
Sales: CRM - The definition of CRM is customer relationship management. In a nutshell, CRM lets you store and manage prospect and customer information, like contact info, accounts, leads, and sales opportunities, in one central location. It’s not just a fancy contact list. Ultimately, a CRM solution is a game-changing piece of technology for almost any business.
Delegate! Any business (or household) task that doesn’t require YOU and would cost you less than your hourly rate should be delegated or contracted out.
Saving money – I market a membership that can significantly cut business and household expenses where you are already shopping and spending money already. Message me for more information. brenda.b.ridgley@gmail.com
Calendar tools like youcanbook.me (FREE) or calendly.com, and many more… can systemize your appointment setting and avoid the back-and-forth emails and texts to nail down an appointment time.
Now that you have systemized to create more time and saved money on travel and coffee dates it is time to make your plan. Every week’s schedule can be a moving target, but I recommend documenting a “typical” week as an outline to represent your go-to plan to tweak each week.
Once you have this template, take 30 minutes on Sunday and 5 minutes per weekday to plan your week. What gets on the calendar gets done! Do not
omit the step of putting your DMO on your calendar. This activity will not only make time for your income activity, but it will also make you more productive overall.
Make a list! Highlight the top 2-3 things you need to get done to make progress on your goals. My friend Nancy Gaines of Gain Advantages, Inc. suggests using the 3-3-3 rule when making your daily list. There should never be more than 9 things on your “To-Do” list. Three items you should delete right out of the gate, three items you should delegate and the BIG 3 that are left you should do.
Create your DMO – block your day. Find the blocks of time that can be reworked and tasks that you can delegate to open up for income activity. Remember, even 15-30 minutes per day shifted consistently can create big things for your business. Work your plan and protect those blocks of time. Each day, each week… rinse and repeat. You will be amazed at the results over time of reorganizing, delegating and focusing on growth habits.
Brenda Ridgley www.brendaridgley.com
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