Well, its official, I’m about to take off! After spending an hour or so nodding furiously (in agreement!) during Linda Hailey’s keynote presentation at the Working Women’s Network Event last Tuesday night there was nothing for it but to buy Linda’s book, Your Business, Your Future, and head home for some serious research.
I have been feeling a growing sense of excitement, mixed with trepidation, for at least six months (and possibly more without realising it) thanks to the growing success of my business. Hearing Linda speak last week confirmed my assessment, following her business timeline survey, that my business had reached take-off mode. Excellent news! But, for those of you who were either at the event, or have read Linda’s book, you will not be surprised to know that I should really be making moves to head off to sleep right now instead of blogging about my business!
For the uninitiated, especially the start-ups out there, Take-Off time is a period of frantic activity that produces more clients than you can seem to shake a stick at, not that you would really want to do that obviously, combined with the fact that you can’t seem to stop having ‘brilliant ideas’ to take your business forward.
Having now read Linda’s assessment of MY business, because obviously she has had a fly on the wall in my office to see exactly how I am operating, I am now ready to take the business forward. But, although it seems to be champing at the bit and prepared to run away with me, I now feel prepared to put the brakes on a little and make some time to seriously consider my options for the coming months.
As I mentioned in last week’s blog, I am currently going through a rebranding process to incorporate the expansion of what I offer to my clients (yes, she even knew about that too!) and I am starting to rely on the expertise of other professionals for several aspects of my business, which allows me to do what I am good at. This also means I can take a step back, breathe in deeply and consider planning some solid systems, procedures and philosophies that will shape my business for the future in terms of ideal clients and personnel that will help me get there.
So, the coming months will see me spending a considerable amount of time researching, learning, listening and planning so that I can maintain my momentum without getting lost in the maze of mountains of new work that my recent efforts have produced.
Once again, my networking philosophy has paid dividends. I chose Linda’s event because I knew I needed some guidance to steer my business through the turbulent times I am currently experiencing and, once again, I ended up with more than I had planned for. Linda’s insights, both during her presentation, and from her book, have not only helped me with my own business planning, but, during a lightbulb moment on the night, provided me with an idea of how to refine my services towards my clients’ needs.
So, no matter what stage of business you find yourself in. I highly recommend you check out the Working Women’s Network website for the PowerPoint presentation from the evening, as well as visiting Linda’s website to grab yourself a copy of Your Business, your Future, and prepare yourself for the bumpy ride ahead. Buckle-up, it’s going to be fun!
Until next time.
Karen
Karen Morris is the Working Womens Network media officer. She runs Inscriptions, a copywriting and PR Consultancy, is a contributor to Flying Solo and is a wife and mother to three active boys. She loves life and work and has an insatiable appetite to learn all things new, especially all things 2.0.
