Creating Balance as an Entrepreneur: How to Shift Your Business Direction and Create New Goals to Better Fit Your Life

Everyone likes to think of a new year as a new start- and if you're ending off this year feeling like you need to make some big changes you might be tempted to just scrap everything and start from scratch.

Often though, it's the smaller, deliberate shifts in the work you take on, the hours you set for yourself, the way you schedule your time and how you prioritise your goals that makes the biggest difference.

Rather than resetting everything completely- what if you took some time to reflect on how you feel about the way you work, identified some changes you could make to find a better balance between work and life, and came up with an action plan to set you off in this new direction?

Creating balance as an entrepreneur is no easy feat- especially if you're also juggling the roles of mother/parent/carer, but there are some straightforward steps you can take to get you headed into the right direction. Here is my step by step guide for reshaping your business to better fit your life:

Reflect on Your Current Position (where are things at now?)

Before deciding where to go next, you need to take a clear look at where your business stands today- and what things are and aren't working for you. This reflection will help to identify what strengths and positives you can build on and what negatives need to change to help you move forward.

Identifying the positives will probably be easier than finding the clear challenges, so when you're answering the following questions start with the good stuff.

• Review past performance: Look at sales data (if you have a CRM, this is usually pretty straightforward), customer and client feedback, and income from the previous year. What worked well (and what didn't)? Are you happy with the type of work that came in and the amount of bookings or sales? Were there months that were too quiet or months that were too busy? Were your customers and clients happy?

• Assess your audience and market: Has your ideal client and/or target audience changed? Are you attracting the people you thought you were? Are you happy with who you are working with? Reading through client feedback can really help you to answer this question.

• Evaluate your time and energy: This is the tricky part- it's not easy to do this objectively (or maybe even to remember how you felt at the start of the year vs now). Use your date from the past performance review to help you where: did you manage okay in the quiet months? Were the busy months too busy? Did you feel overwhelmed/overworked during the peak times? And did your workload fit within your working hours or did you find yourself dipping into family time/personal time/etc?

  
  

Trying to answer the above questions as honestly as you can will help you to identify where changes need to be made- an important first step!

Define Your Business Vision for the Year

A clear vision acts as a compass, guiding you in every decision and action you take. It answers the question: Where do you want your business to be by the end of the year? I like to think of vision more as direction: where do I want to go, and what decisions do I need to make to get there? In simple terms? You are setting goals. I like to come up with 3-5 big picture goals for my business for the year: thinking about things like income and growth, learning and development, building expertise and brand awareness, those kinds of things. I also like to put at least goal in around how much I'm working (always trying to cut it back a bit) or how I'm balancing my work hours between client work and the behind the scenes work on my own business.

Top tips and advice for setting achievable goals:

• Be specific: Instead of vague ideas like “grow the business,” aim for measurable outcomes such as “increase revenue by 10%” or “launch two new products.” Goals don't always have to be numbers based, but it does help to give yourself something specific to work towards. If that elusive work/life balance is a struggle for you, make sure to include something along the lines of scheduling or work time or workload in your big picture goals.

• Align goals with values: Your goals should reflect not only the direction you're heading in, but also what matters most to you as a person and a business- and to your customers. This alignment keeps motivation high and builds trust amongst your audience.

• Consider long-term impact: Think beyond immediate gains- as the bigger the goal, the longer it will likely to take to get there. How will your goals contribute to the sustainability of your business? How will they help you get to where you want to be in the longer term- say five to ten years down the line? If you, like me, struggle to think that far ahead? Think about longer terms ideas or goals you have in mind, like becoming a thought leader and go to expert in a specific space, or being a well known published author. If one of your current goals is to build expertise and awareness by being on podcasts and speaking at local events- that aligns perfectly with those bigger picture dreams in your head!

  
  

Writing down your specific goals makes them tangible- and gives you some accountability too. If you're finding it hard to clarify your goals and really pinpoint your direction, it can help to have someone impartial (less close to your business than you!) to talk you through it. Click here for more information on mentorship or here to book in for a discovery call).

Break Down Goals into Manageable Steps

Big goals can feel overwhelming. Breaking them into smaller, actionable steps helps maintain momentum and track progress- plus you can celebrate each one as you tick it off the list!

• Set milestones: Divide your main goal into smaller tasks, and then plot them into quarterly or monthly targets. For example, if your goal is to write that book you've been saying you'll write for years (*cough, cough*- need to take my own advice here) you might want to break that down into creating an outline, writing each chapter, finding an editor, choosing an illustrator for the cover design, researching agents, look at publishing options, etc. Asign a "due date" for each task- or decide which things you'll do in the first quarter, second quarter, etc.

• Assign boundaries: What boundaries do you need to put in place to keep you on track? If your big picture vision is to reshape your work schedule to have Friday mornings off, you need to set a boundary that Friday morning is your time and you don't accept any meetings or bookings for that time. If you have a VA or an assistant, make sure you share your new boundary with them and they can help hold you to it. Setting boundaries is easier than keeping them- sometimes you need support to hold you to them.

• Be accountable to timelines: Deadlines create urgency and help prioritise tasks. Be realistic but firm about when each step should be completed. If you're struggling to hold yourself accountable, you can ask a friend or fellow small biz owner to be your accountability buddy or you can consider hiring a mentor who will help keep you on track. (If you think mentorship might be for you, more on that here).

  
  

This structured approach turns ambitious plans into achievable actions- whether you do it on your own or with some support, keep referring back to this master plan and you're sure to stay on the right path.

Monitor Progress and Adjust as Needed

Setting goals is only the start. Regularly reviewing your progress allows you to stay on track and adapt to changes. Allow yourself some flexibility here: life is unpredictable (especially if you're juggling parenthood along with entrepreneurship) so if you need to adjust a goal or a deadline? Give yourself the space to do it, without any guilt or negative self talk.

• Schedule check-ins: Whether that's with yourself, your friend or your mentor, make it a regular thing! It's easy to let your big picture goals fall by the wayside, especially when you get caught up in client work and the day to day grind. I like to set time aside monthly to review my progress and check in on my upcoming deadlines. I also have a coach I meet with bi-weekly to help keep me accountable (even mentors need a mentor- I practice what I preach!)

• Use data: I am not a numbers oriented person, so this does not come naturally for me. But looking at the actual data really helps to see if you're on track and still headed in the right direction. You can't argue with numbers- so if you see that email list growing month by month, you'll know you're doing something right.

• Be flexible: I said it above, and I'll say it again. If something isn't quite working- for you or for your goals, don’t hesitate to pivot. Adjusting your plan is a sign of being a smart, aware and adaptable business owner- not a sign of failure.

  
  

Consistent monitoring keeps you on track and headed in the right direction: while still allowing that flexibility to make changes as needed.

Stay Motivated and Celebrate Wins

Maintaining enthusiasm throughout the year can be challenging- especially at times where things don't seem to be going to plan or working as well as expected. Recognising achievements along the way helps to fuel motivation and builds confidence. You deserve a pat on the back when you tick things off your list!

• Celebrate milestones: when you complete one of those milestones or smaller goals- acknowledge it! No matter how small. Any progress is progress, it doesn't need to be a big picture goal to be worth celebrating.

• Share success stories: Share your achievements with your audience, your clients and the other people around you. You are allowed to big yourself up on social media- if anything we need more positive content there! Let other people see you working hard and celebrate your goals alongside you.

• Encourage learning: Treat setbacks as opportunities to improve rather than reasons to give up. After a decade of self employment, I've learned that growth is rarely linear. Some goals never get ticked off the list, some change, and others you achieve more quickly than you thought possible. You can learn something from every experience you have, and as long as you apply that knowledge back into your future planning? I'm calling it a win.

  
  

Make a big deal when you achieve something- big or small! It will go a long way in helping you stay motivated, on track and building up confidence in what you're doing.

Final Thoughts on Creating Balance as an Entrepreneur

Change is always tough- but remember, you are making these changes for a reason. It's about progress, not perfection: don't beat yourself up if a goal takes longer than planned to achieve, or if you need to amend your action steps or your deadlines in the weeks and months to come. When you're self employed, flexibility is key- and even more so if you're also jugglign the role of parent or carer.

Now is a great time to start- whether you're reading this in December, early into the new year or well into the later months, whatever has pulled you towards making big changes will have timed it just right.

And if you need a helping hand to guide you through any stage of the process: from identifying your challenges and what needs to change, to creating goals and an action plan, to accountability and actually implementing your plan? You're in the right place. I am an experienced mentor and entrepreneur, who is also juggling the role of mother and carer to two young children (the youngest of whom has complex needs) and I take a very "out of the box" approach to mentorship and accountability.

I offer Troubleshooting Sessions (a power hour over Zoom to work through whatever is it is that's making you feel stuck) Mentoring Support (fully customisable to suit your needs and budget, from a one off Mastermind Session with follow up to a long term, monthly mentorship program) and I'm happy to offer you an obligation-free Discovery Call to chat through where things are at and see if we'd be a good fit to work together.

Get in touch now at hello@rhiannonlouden.co.uk and let's make the changes you need to keep moving forward with your business and better balance your life.

Custom illustration designed for Rhiannon Louden by Emmelie Coulson Design