This past Saturday, there I am in the middle of the Big Shift Workshop and Bill Baren is presenting at the front of the room about money goals.
Well, this is nothing new to me.
I had already set my financial goal for the year. My intention was to generate $400K in new business, about the same as I did last year. After all, I'm doing fine on that (and I don't want to get obsessed and work too hard to make more.)
But then Bill drops the bombshell.
"OK, now that you have your big financial goal for the year, double it!"
Hmmm. OK, that means $800K. Well, that's a lot. I'm just a one-person business after all, and I'm not interested in hiring people or working twice as hard. And my real focus is on making a contribution, not chasing after money.
So, nice idea Bill, but I'll pass. Not a problem.
But then I ask myself, the question, "What if I actually did a budget for $800,000? Why not?"
My basic household and business expenses would stay about the same, but I could double up on my mortgage payments and pay off my house in three years, not seven. OK, that's not bad.
And I could also double up on my retirement savings. Nothing wrong with that. I made a few more rough calculations and figured out that I'd still have about $7,500 left over every month.
I thought, "I'm not sure what I'd do with that (but I think my wife would find a few ways)! I still don't want employees or need a new computer, but some new furniture, a little more travel and bigger donations to charity would be nice."
"And of course if I made more money it would mean I'd be offering more programs and services and making a difference in the lives of more Independent Professionals."
After a few minutes I started thinking, "How on earth can I live without making $800,000 per year!"
Well, of course I can, quite well. But this exercise had opened me up to thinking a little bigger and I noticed that where I didn't think I was limited, I really was.
Interestingly, since that exercise, I can't stop thinking of new ideas and programs that I could offer that could ultimately generate even more than $800K!
I try to resist acting impulsively these days (it's gotten me into a lot of trouble in the past) but I'm writing down those ideas and plans, letting them ferment for awhile and see where they go.
Next week I'm having lunch with Bill Baren.
We'll kick over some of these ideas and see where they take us. Whenever I talk to Bill, I see new possibilities and get inspired. I'll keep you posted!
The More Clients Bottom Line: Are your goals too small, your vision too limited? Sure, money might not be the most important thing to you (I hope it's not) but when you make more money, you're serving more people. That in turn enables them to help more people, and so on. Perhaps this is exactly the economic stimulus package we need right now!
What's your financial goal this year? And if you reach that goal what difference would it make? Please share on the More Clients Blog by clicking on the Comments link below.
As I planned the growth of my business in the early days, one of the things that I was wrong about was that I could grow the business massively and maintain the same expense and staffing levels. Not so!
I think one has to be realistic about staffing levels. If one is going to double or triple the business, adding staff may be necessary.
I originally had the same mindset - I don't want to add staff. But after having done it, I feel great about it.
At one point, I had done all of the jobs done by every one of my employees. Today, I can look at my team and say that each one of them does a job I did better than I did it. And that makes me want to hire more people - bringing the right talent on board has made me more successful.
You may want to consider it, Robert!
Posted by: Charles Dominick, SPSM | February 09, 2010 at 08:21 AM
Hey you read my mind!
Yours is the ONLY ezine I read religously ...
and you always make me think!
I chuckled when I read about how you get into trouble when you jump on ideas quickly .. tell me about it!
Thanks again for the provocation.
LL
The Unsticking Coach
"Break Free and Write!"
http://www.TheUnstickingCoach.com
Posted by: Lyle T. Lachmuth - The Unsticking Coach | February 09, 2010 at 03:58 AM