Organization & Structure = Success

Do you often wonder why it is so challenging to follow through with the thoughts in your mind? Why even when you write them out as clearly as you can, they don’t manifest in the way you are thinking? You are intelligent, educated, confident and have so many great ideas…in fact that is why you decided to go into business on your own in the first place! So why can’t you make it work just the way you have it figured out in your mind?

It actually isn’t that complicated and is a very common problem, especially with small business owners and independent contractors. The fact is that your passion and head filled with ideas is not enough on its own. While it helped to give you the courage to begin in the first place, it will not be enough for a sustainable and profitable business. As a matter of fact, the longer you try to ride on the fumes of your enthusiasm, the longer it will take you to create true financial success.

First, the ideas you have flowing through your mind day in and day out are meaningful, but you need to do more than think about them. If you have been thinking about them for weeks or months, grab a notebook now so you can write them down and organize them. Rather than creating a list, though, give each page in your notebook a different topic. Here are some examples:

• Expenses
• Profit
• Time
• Marketing
• Daily routines
• Weekly, monthly, yearly goals

Once you have done that, you will already begin to see the larger picture, but it is just the beginning. Next you will need to be as detailed as you can on each topic as you add timelines and deadlines. This is the most critical piece in order to create financial success.

The truth is that while many of us begin a business because it is something we are passionate about, often too, we want the freedom that goes along with being our own boss. Unfortunately, though, within that space of freedom, also a great deal of spinning aimlessly, unless we are capable of holding ourselves accountable.

True success will come when you spend more time on task creating money, rather than writing lists, creating ideas and thinking about what you want to do next. True success will come when you are able to design clear details about your daily routines and how each one of them will make money. True success will come when you not only know what each day will look like, but also have clear details of how the work today, will meet the goals you’ve set for the month and the year as well. Each task needs to be connected to the bigger goal, which needs to be connected to your financial bottom line.

Once you are organized in your thoughts, and have designed the structure of your business, you will be able to get into action. If you feel yourself perseverating on the end goal, and doing more thinking than doing, visualize your business as an actual building. Notice how an actual building has the base being the largest part of the structure, to create stability. It wouldn’t work any other way, right? I mean, if you flipped your building or business upside down, with the largest part at the top, eventually your building will topple over! In the same way, if you fill your days with grand ideas about the future of your business without the base to stabilize it, your business will topple over as well.

Design real organization and structure and get busy in the doing part! That is what will lead you to success.