Getting support to create a business plan

At the starting point of owning my jewelry business, I and 9 other makers started meeting monthly for focused* discussions.

We shared tips, sources, strategies, and dinners. Through this group, I started thinking differently about how I ran my business. Or maybe I should say, this group helped me think about how to run and plan for a business for the first time.

Strategy and planning are your “how” in running a business

The revelation that I could and should strategize and plan about my business was huge for me. I was tripping my way through everything. I was explorative and trying lots of new things but I wasn’t measuring anything and I wasn’t starting with anything more than a goal – no plan, no system, no strategy, just aimless work.

Strategy was nowhere to be found and there was very little reason or thought behind what I was doing and making. I was twirling and chaotic and freaking out constantly.

This group introduced me to the idea that even as an artist, I could apply research, resources, and systems to keep myself from getting burned out.

Having people on your side to check in on what you’re working on, why you do the work in the first place, and HOW you plan to meet your goals is an amazing way to start that step-by-step process of strategizing about your business.

Creating space for accountability in your business plan

Having that group keep my work in check, to focus on the day-to-day of running a business was what helped me understand how important strategy was to my jewelry making, my business, and my mental health. It took time to develop this as a skill, but once I learned to meet my business strategically, a lot of the noise and chaos fell away and I felt like I was on surer footing.

Now strategy drives almost everything that I do – pricing – it’s strategic! Marketing – also strategic! My website and Pinterest – extremely strategic.

Strategy is about HOW you’ll reach your goals.

Developing systems helps you with the planning needed to meet your strategy for your jewelry business:

• Having a standard formula to determine your prices will take most of the work of pricing out of your head and make it real.

• A standard and strategic format for your Instagram posts and stories makes the process of managing your social media easier.

• A system for tracking your custom work helps you meet your client deadlines, which in turn makes your clients happy, which in turn creates referrals for your work.

Formulas are strategic, formats are strategic (and should meet your brand strategy), meeting your deadlines is strategic. Choosing to view your business as a whole, and not just as fractured parts, is also strategic.

It helps your strategy if you hold yourself accountable

If it helps to hold yourself accountable, then it naturally follows that I can also hold myself accountable.

So here is my accountability to you – my current strategy to grow parts of my one-on-one consulting business involves identifying every possible process that could be automated.

The WHY is because I want to focus on delivering great services and experiences to my clients. The HOW will be to remove other work from my plate. To do that, I need to identify every step that doesn’t need me to be hands on – follow up emails, sending links, sending calendar invites, etc.

This strategy will take time to execute, but it will be at the service of having more time to take discovery calls and to provide even more services.

What would help you develop or execute a strategy for your business?

Drop your suggestions in the comments below!

*When I say focused, I mean that each meeting had a topic, a system for each of us checking in with the group, and a timeline. That focus helped keep all of us on track with our businesses.