“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist”
Pablo Picasso
There are many types of strategies to help you run your business.
A growth strategy,
a marketing strategy,
a PR strategy,
an affiliate strategy.
I personally can’t get enough of geeking out over strategy, learning the rules and discovering what has worked for other businesses.
But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my time on the backend of online businesses, it’s that (thankfully) there is no “one strategy fits all” approach that works for everyone.
Not to mention that if you are always following other people’s advice and the newest strategy without taking into account your business and your personality, you’ll always be following the pack and not leading it. And, in Alaska we have a saying that comes from sled dog racing – if you are not the lead dog the view never changes.
Working with creative business owners, I’ve found that the formula for coming up with a successful strategy lies in tapping into what makes the business and the business owner unique. Building business systems, a weekly schedule, a team, new programs, and a marketing strategy around the strengths of the entrepreneur creates ease, and therefore growth, in a business that’s sustainable.
My clients and I block out time each quarter to go over their business goals and map out monthly, weekly and daily plans of how to go there. Knowing where you want to go and taking the time to plan how to get there are key in hitting your business goals.
How do you know if a strategy isn’t working for you and your business?
If you feel resistance every time you go to write a blog post, go to a live event, show up live in your course group – those are clues! The beauty of building your own business is that you can (and should) tailor it to fit your personality – not to fit inside someone else’s box of success.
Not that this is easy or that you can do this one time and never have to think about it again. The process of course-correcting and working ON your business, not just IN your business is where real growth happens.
Besides, if the same strategy and the same plan worked for everyone how boring would that be? The magic happens when you show up and offer your unique gifts and personality to the world.
