Last week we took a look back at the year so far and I shared my Quarterly Review worksheet.
Now it's time to look forward: What do you want to do in the third quarter of the year? What do you want with the last half of 2015?
In the Starship and Lift Off, we're Map Making this week – picking a destination, mapping out the steps, and distilling it all down to the actual actions we need to take.
I don't just lead others in Quarterly Reviewing and Map Making, I do it myself!
In fact, today I added something new to my quarterly review after reading this: I wrote a Quarterly Report and shared it with my team!*
It took me just about an hour, in a day full of other things. So why'd I spend the time? Because you can't learn from your business unless you pay attention to it. And you can't keep going, without stopping to celebrate what you've got done and the goals you met (more about the importance of celebration in my conversations with Claudine + Sasha).
Learning from your business.
There are a million decisions you have to (get to!) make in your business every day. From how you'll spend your time, to what social network you'll use, to how you'll reply to the customer making an unreasonable request.
And then there are thousands examples of what others have done. There are hundreds of classes and books (I even sell a few!). There are dozens of people who are willing to tell you EXACTLY what you SHOULD do.
But none of it works. Not unless it fits you, your business, your goals, and your personality. Not unless it helps you make a business you're going to love.
So how do you know what to do? How do you make those decisions?
You experiment. You try things.
And then you pay attention to what works. What worked for YOU.
You learn from your own business.
You do something. And then you review: Did that work? Is that getting me closer to my business? or not?
(This is why my classes and book are question-heavy – I'm all about helping you find your own answers)
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to build exactly the business you want AND to become an expert in you and your business.
Because, sure, you can learn a lot about what worked for other people, but you won't be able to answer your own questions and lead a life you love, until you become an expert in what works for you, your customers, and your products.
So that’s why I took an hour to write up a report on what went well, what I learned, and what I’m aiming to do in the next quarter. Why don’t you try it?
*In case you don't know, my team = Jess, my Number One + Jay, my husband and producer. Jess edited this email so it's free of typos and Tara-isms (where I write/say one word, but mean an entirely different word). She's the one you get when you fill out the Contact form (however, if you hit reply to this email, you talk directly to me!). Jay makes the podcast transcripts all pretty (and is re-designing every worksheet for every class) and edits every audio and video lesson and interview, so it's not as rambly as I actually am.
Also on my team: Beauregard, Head of Security (that bark!) and Raylan, Vice President of Snackage.
Oh, and me, CCEO – Chief Creatrix + Exploring Obsessive.