4 | 5 Ways to save time and money in your business

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Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone): Welcome to episode four on Five [00:00:30] Ways to Save Time and Money in Your Business. I'm so glad you are here because in your coaching business, you probably find yourself overwhelmed by how much there is to do and how you are going to fit it all in. Suddenly when you become a coach, you are also a social media manager, accountant, website designer, IT person, admin person, all in and amongst actually fitting in your family and other caring commitments.

if that's you, I really get [: 00:01:00

In this episode of Women in the Coaching Arena, I'll share the five main problems that I see coming up time and time again for my coaching clients and ways of overcoming these problems.

you are at with the lack of [: 00:01:30

So let's start with how do we find more time and energy to achieve those amazing things that you want to in your coaching business? And what are the problems that come up and what might be the solutions?

1. So the first problem I see for many of my clients is shiny object syndrome.

to want to do everything at [: 00:02:00

So I think we end up having so many ideas that it's really, really hard to focus.

And before you know it, you are overwhelmed and nothing happens at all.

exciting, shiny objects out [: 00:02:30

So you can get dragged away, designing a website, putting out general social media posts, or learning the latest craze without really having a focus of that end result. Like what are you selling? That's what you're here for in business.

And if you are [: 00:03:00

Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone)-1: So once you have decided what you're selling, the second step is to map out the services that you're gonna be selling across the year.

ate so many services. So you [: 00:04:00

So for example, in January to March, I'm going to be selling my career change package. In April, I'm going to be selling. To [00:05:00] organizations, for example. So if you do want to sell more than one thing, it's still advisable to sell one thing at one time so you can fully focus and know what you're doing in your business.

t. So now you have an annual [: 00:05:30

-The second step is to add in any bigger projects. So for example, if you are launching a website, then put this onto your annual plan.

ou launch your website. It's [: 00:06:00

So I would highly recommend setting a deadline and telling as many people as possible that you will do this thing by this particular date.

siness. So break it down now [: 00:06:30

Then time block it. Put this stuff in your calendar. There's a great phrase. What gets scheduled gets done so it's so, so true. So really do now think about those things and actually put them in really chunky blocks into your calendar, and you'll be way more likely to achieve it and build those strong boundaries around it so everything gets done as it should.

n't have those rollercoaster [: 00:07:00

Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone)-6: and then you stop the marketing.

Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone)-1: And all of those things can really, really happen if you let things slip because there will be continuous things that need to happen in your business all year round.

So take a moment now to think about those things and put them in your calendar.

I work with is being overly [: 00:07:30

I definitely experience this myself. We can think that we can just whip up a social media post in five minutes before we head out for the school run. And before you know it, the whole day has gone and you probably still haven't got that post out. I am with you. So for example, I was in a group program once and a copywriter was going to run a webinar on how to get your email out to your list in just two hours a [00:08:00] week. And I said, that's absolutely crazy. I would never join that webinar because it only takes me half an hour to write to my email list. Why would it take two hours? And then she suggested I use the app Toggl.

its to make it actually work.[: 00:08:30

So we can often underestimate the time it takes to do tasks. So I would highly recommend tracking those tasks using an app like Toggl,. And really knowing, okay, this is a genuine, realistic example of what these things are gonna take me and put those in your calendar. So like we discussed in the last point, make sure that you have, for example, three hours blocked out on a Monday to plan and schedule your content if it usually takes you three hours to plan that week's content.[00:09:00] and then you'll start to see, no wonder why you're not achieving all this stuff, because it's actually not possible given the hours that you have in the day.

a wash on, you tidy up your [: 00:09:30

All of those things can end up eating into your time, especially when there are more challenging tasks like sales generation tasks that you could be doing. And obviously you don't wanna do those things because they're scary and it brings up so much anxiety. So think about how you can do that thing that you really, really don't want to do first thing in the morning before you use all of your energy [00:10:00] cleaning the house and all of those things that end up eating into time.

Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone)-2: 3. So the third problem I often see is not utilizing technology that's available to us. So for example, Calendly is a great scheduling tool that can really save the number of never ending email chains back and forth, searching for a date with your clients.

aking the world by storm. So [: 00:10:30

It can write blog posts for you, social media posts, proposals. It can write your weekly shopping list. It's insane the stuff it can do. I have found the best way [00:11:00] is to start by telling Chat G P T. Who you are and what you do.

So you might want to type in, I'm a business coach and I help qualified coaches to build their business and get clients, for example, is what I would type in. Then I might share a little bit about my approach being honesty, not hype, and also share my business values of honesty, authenticity, and integrity.

to understand how I like to [: 00:11:30

Then once it's hopefully told me that it understands who I am and what I do, then I could say, write me a blog post on how to save money and time in your business. Within one minute, you will have this blog post written for you. And I'm not saying that it will be [00:12:00] completely in line with your style and you will need to add your personal stories to make it more.

You and I do take quite a lot of time to do that after chat G P T drafts something for me, but it really is helpful to just give me something to work with and it just helps you to overcome any of that blank page syndrome.

So the idea generation is something that can really help you to have something to build upon.

Do [: 00:12:30

So the next thing that can help you to utilize technology available is to automate. So this may be using a scheduler to schedule your content out across the month. It might be using email marketing, which is something I teach in my business of coaching program because email marketing has a return on investment of 4030% versus social media, which is just [00:13:00] 26%.

So it does take some time to learn. To do the upfront building, but then it is an asset in your business that works for you genuinely while you are sleeping. So automation might also include things like ads. Maybe if you want to use Facebook ads, for example, you will need to be super clear on what you are selling to who before investing money in ads.

So the fourth problem I see [: 00:13:30

So what I see is lots of things not being done or taking so much longer than they need to take because there is no deadline or accountability in [00:14:00] place. So if this is you, you are not alone. Studies have shown that having accountability in place increases your likelihood of success by 95%. So if you are procrastinating right now, don't worry. It's not just you.

have accountability partners [: 00:14:30

And then they have a very quick catch up on a Friday to say, here's how I got on. So it really, really does make a huge difference. So have a think about what accountability you can put in place so you actually achieve those huge, amazing goals that you have set for yourself.

literally just by sitting on [: 00:15:00

I know lots of my clients co-work like all day long together, so it's not so lonely, and so they actually stay at their desk and keep away from that biscuit tin.

ing at the sort of time that [: 00:15:30

But all you do is you go on at the beginning of that session and you say, what are you intending to work on? They say what they're intending to work on. You do the same. You both go on mute for 50 minutes, and at the end of that session you tell the person how you got on. So it's just that accountability that can really help you to achieve more than you ever could achieve [00:16:30] on your own.

5. So the fifth problem is you don't know what you don't know. So I was astounded when I saw the image of all possible knowledge and the tiny slither 5% of what we actually know. Then the next slice is 15% stuff that we already know that we don't know.

't really know how to do it. [: 00:17:00

There is so much that I don't know and I really need your help. So I do think the more you know and the longer you've been in business, the more you know that there is so much that you don't know. So asking others who have done what you want to do is a huge time saver in your business. I am super grateful that I invested in a mentor when I first started my business, and I'm always working with a coach or mentor on my business and in my [00:18:00] personal life. So I remember someone questioning me when I first signed up to that amazing mentor. Thank you Fay if you are listening. Saying, why would you do that? She's only a few steps ahead of you. And I said, yes, exactly! Recent enough to remember what it's like to be where I am now, but ahead enough to help me to get to where she currently is quickly.

o's done what you want to do [: 00:18:30

Okay, so let me summarize today's episode.

jects that you have going on [: 00:19:00

The second problem we talked about was being overly ambitious with your time. So track your time. You can use a app like Toggl to do so, so you know exactly how long things take you, and then time block it all out in your calendar.

uch as Calendly, Chat G P T, [: 00:19:30

The fourth thing often in the way is no deadlines or accountability in place. Think about Parkinson's law. The time expands for the time that you allow for that particular task.

So deadlines and accountability really, really do help. So how can you put those things in place so you achieve more in your business?

't know what you don't know. [: 00:20:00

So find a mentor who's already done what you want to do to shorten that learning curve.

m today's episode. So do use [: 00:20:30

Here's to your success, and like I always say -Trust yourself. Believe in yourself and be the wise gardener who keeps on watering the seed.

and say hi to me on LinkedIn [: 00:21:00

Let me know if you found this episode useful. Share it with a friend and leave me a review, and I will personally thank you for that. Thank you so much for listening. Speak soon.

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