Let’s get right to it.
If there was a singular piece of advice I could offer a small business owner — whether they’re brand spankin’ new to business, or a seasoned pro — it’s to get clear on their strategic priorities and construct their workflow, activities and commitments around those priorities. Anything that doesn’t support them, gets cut or put to the back burner.
Because there are always 86 quadrillion things you could be doing, but likely only a few you really should be doing in service of your business. When you honour those priorities, your business just works better and you stay out of the weeds.
And that’s exactly what Heidi did after taking My PRO Plan with me. Heidi and her husband run Rock Canyon Coffee (one of the MANY reasons I like Heidi so much- wink wink), and they’re looking to really scale up this year. She needed a plan.
Here’s her story:
“Rock Canyon Coffee is me, Heidi, and my husband Craig. He makes a great product, I make a great business. We’re a micro-roastery focused on the art and craft of roasting coffee – creating rich, deep, flavorful brews without bitterness and bite. We believe in bringing our community together, one cup at a time.
My roles focus on creating systems to streamline all the nitty gritty details of running a business. I love connecting with both our wholesale clients and our retail customers by writing articles for our blog, posting to social media and creating old fashioned face to face events.
Before I started working with Stephanie and her programs I wasn’t owning my leadership potential or committing to my business.
I was in a constant state of flux, jumping from project to project without any specific plan, without any idea of where I wanted my business to go, or grow.
Always being in constant flux was draining, mentally and physically, because I was always worrying about what I might be missing. I was trying to do too many things for too many projects and my attention was spread thin.
Instead of doing 1-2 projects really well, I was bumbling through 6-10 projects poorly.
Not attending to my business or owning my leadership potential made me feel never good enough but I still thought the next Shiny Object would be “the one” to make it all work. Exhausting.
Working with Stephanie I learned three very important elements:
1. To ease the overwhelmed feeling I get from having to create 12 month plan, I had to start with a 90 day plan. By breaking it down and starting at the quarter level, I was able to upscale our goals, milestones, and revenues into a comprehensive yearlong plan.
2. I benefit from identifying the tasks that consist of my CEO time and then blocking out my CEO time on the calendar. Being vigilant about honoring that time has helped keep me focused and attentive to the small, and big, details of Rock Canyon Coffee.
3. Identifying my 3 Strategic Priorities for the year and sticking to them. I use these as the filter for the Shiny Object Syndrome by asking myself the question “Does this align with one of our strategic priorities?” If it doesn’t, it gets put on the back burner.
Because of Stephanie’s support, to the point questions, and comprehensive planning guides, I was able to quit my side jobs, stop hovering around my potential, and step into the leadership role Rock Canyon Coffee so desperately needed.
I’m excited to work on my potential and grow our company.
I’ve always been a behind-the-scenes kind of person and now I’m stepping into the spotlight, leading our company towards our strategic priorities. We have a lot of momentum right now and I know being vulnerable, embracing my fears, and stretching myself will only benefit the company.
We started in half of a two car garage and this summer we’re moving into a warehouse space and hiring seasonal help!
I’m really looking forward to being part of our local economy and learning what it means to run, and be a leader, of a small business.”
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