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Use the untraditional Thanksgiving 2020 to simplify!
A post from the archives…hopefully you simplified your Thanksgiving 2020 plans to stay safe & healthy. This change in tradition is a good time to think about the same reset in your business. Can you slow down & stop overloading your plate of TO-DOs? This strange year has upended so much in people’s lives & businesses. I try to look at the bright side and use negative circumstances to reexamine what my daily patterns are.
This isn’t to downplay how absolutely devastating this year has been for so many people. I get it from a very deep level. Since 2016, I had a lot of loss and personal upheaval in my life. Four family members died, along with a close friend and multiple other friends. It was wave after wave of grief. I also had other big changes, including moving and health challenges.
It was during all of that time when I really started making the shift into a more gentle approach. I simply did not have the time, money or energy to do everything. This blog post was originally written during that time.
The idea of not doing everything was foreign to most entrepreneurs. The big-name business coaches would shame people for not doing MORE MORE MORE. It never felt right to me. I saw what that sort of pressure was doing to people. My clients were overwhelmed and then felt guilty for not doing more.
ENOUGH.
See if you relate to what I’m saying here. If so, let’s talk about how I can help you with my realistic approach to working on your business. I will be the first person to tell you to do less so you can deal with the other things in your life. I’ll also be the person to give you strategic insight into what you can focus on that will have the biggest impact to get past the tough times. Let’s talk!
Are you finished eating all of your Thanksgiving dinner leftovers yet?
If you are outside the U.S., insert any holiday meal that involves a massive amount of casseroles, calories, and courses.
I have been thinking about turkey and pumpkin pie since early Fall when every single product that could be pumpkin-flavored hit the market. This also relates to how to do your marketing without it immobilizing you like you ate too much food.
A few years ago, I traveled out to San Francisco to celebrate Thanksgiving and my friend’s birthday with a feast for 75 people. Delicious dinner that I didn’t have to cook! Whoo hoo!
The anticipation of Thanksgiving Dinner rose as I was given a piece of FREE PUMPKIN PIE as I got off the plane. Go Southwest Airlines– FREE PIE is the best marketing idea I can think of, I mean who doesn’t love FREE PIE?
But imagine that FREE PUMPKIN PIE the day AFTER Thanksgiving. No thanks. No more.
If you’re like me, you probably ate waaaaayy too much food, even though you looked forward to it all year long. One plate was more than enough, but you got seconds, or thirds or even more. You loosened your belt, went into turkey coma and woke up with a sugar hangover.
But next year we’ll do it again, because all of this food is so tasty and it’s the only day you make it.
Of course, it would make much more sense to cook a normal sized dinner or make those dishes that you love another time in the year. But many people suffer from eyes bigger than their stomachs.
The Thanksgiving Dinner behavior the same thing I see with many Entrepreneurs when creating their business and marketing plans.
It’s easy to get excited about the many ideas you have for marketing tactics or potential revenue streams for your business. Think about them like your Thanksgiving Dinner buffet – all so tempting…and it seems like you have to do them all at one time.
So you load your plate up with too many things:
- Working with your current clients
- Launching 3 new products
- Facebook – both your personal profile & Page
- Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and more
- Working on multiple coaching programs
- Writing a book
- Planning a video introduction for your homepage
- Creating a free report opt-in offer
- Don’t forget a follow-up autoresponder message
- Sending a regular eNewsletter now that you have a list
- And life – family, friends and yourself.
Most likely, you can’t fit all of that into your actual schedule, so you wind up feeling exhausted and as terrible as eating too much on Thanksgiving.
Just pause for a moment and think about how crazy this is making you.
There’s a better way. Building your business isn’t something that you have to do all at once. The buffet of ideas won’t disappear tomorrow. Add one thing to your plate at a time.
If you find yourself starting on new business and marketing ideas before you’ve finished what’s already on your plate, it’s a great time to simplify. I understand what it’s like to be creative and excited by your Entrepreneurial ideas. Sometimes it’s difficult to be realistic about what you can actually handle or what’s going to be the healthiest option for your business growth.
The end of the year is a great time for business planning. Treat your ideas like a Thanksgiving buffet. You can always go back for seconds and thirds — if you have room and have finished your first plate.
Are you hungry for more business lessons today?
Aaron Cargas found 6 more hidden business lessons you can extract from the strategy, planning, execution, and enjoyment of a good Thanksgiving dinner. I couldn’t have said it better myself, so check it out here »
TAKE ACTION: Pay attention to how full your plate is this week. Now is a great time to shift into a simplified strategy for the new year!
Hello Service-Based Entrepreneur,
I know it’s easy to get overwhelmed by reading blog posts full of ideas, tactics & tools. Be honest...
- How frustrated will you be trying to implement this on your own?
- How much time will you waste if it's not your next best step?
- Did you just take the time to read this but you won't make any changes?
- Or are you ready to take a small next step to build your brand?
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To your success,
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