If your business is a solo gig that involves services that help people, you may have skipped doing a business plan and have focused all your energy on getting more clients, bringing in more money and trying to figure out how to do marketing that works.

You haven’t bought a franchise with a built in plan and system.

You aren’t starting a big manufacturing plant and getting a bank loan. You’re using a home office, maybe renting another small space somewhere to meet clients and possibly still have a part time job.

No one is asking for your business plan, and although you know it’s a good idea you just can’t get your head around how to do it or why it is so important.

A plan is built from a vision. A plan is simply steps toward manifesting your vision.

I regularly ask my new clients to share their business vision and plan.  Most people respond these ways:

•  A description of the lifestyle they want for themselves ultimately.
•  How many clients they want.
•  The kind of work they want to be doing.
•  The creative projects they want to develop.
•  To be able to pay the bills and stay afloat.

All of these things are good and important to think about but they are all about, what you want to be doing and how you want to be living. Your business actually has it’s own life and spirit.

When you begin a business it is similar to giving birth to a child. You need to have a vision of your child growing up to become a fully developed adult. Once you have that picture, you take steps to help your child develop in ways that assure that outcome.

Your business vision needs to include a picture of what it will be when it is fully developed.

• How much money it will generate per year.
• Where they money will come from.
• All the income streams.
• Steps to develop each of those streams.
• A fully developed marketing plan and strategy.
• Systems and organization to support the growth.

Answering those questions can be hard if you are only focused on what you want to do and how to pay your mortgage. In order to come up with these answers it requires strategic planning and visioning.

It’s really hard to do this visioning on your own, and way easier to have the support of someone who is not emotionally involved. Your own self-doubt and fears will make it hard to create a healthy vision that you can use as a template for setting goals and planning.

Chapter 5 in “Clear Your Focus Grow Your Business” is called  ”Your Money Map,”  and can help you begin this process, however when your self-doubts emerge, ask for support. Have you done a vision and plan for your business? If not what has stopped you? I would love to hear from you.

How to take an idea and turn it into a business is exciting and also overwhelming.

Having a service that you love and you know helps people, is just a tiny piece of the puzzle. In fact, it is even smaller than tiny.

A strong business requires good products and services but that alone won’t create a lucrative business.

Do these three things and watch what happens!

1. Plant seeds. Make sure you have seeds that are healthy, perfect for your climate and will grow easily in abundance. Do you want to have a bigger, more lucrative business?. Make sure you plant seeds that are the best ones, perfect for your garden and will grow easily in abundance.

Plant a variety of seeds so you have many beautiful plants that work together to grow a large, prosperous garden. Some may not work out, but others will take off. Your seeds are your products and services and fulfill a burning need for your customers.Your seeds are also your business systems that once are in place will have strong roots and provide stability.

2. Weed your garden. Let go of plants that are using up all the energy and nutrients but not providing the garden you want. Pull them out by the roots and let go of your attachment to them. Throw them in the compost and allow them to transform and leave your garden space open for the seeds you really want to grow.

Weeds will strangle your business if you don’t keep them pulled out. They can  be clutter, poor money management, attachment to services that don’t work, and poor habits.

3. Fertilize and water. Nurture your garden with loving help and focused decisions. Use the best fertilizers and remember to water them as needed. If you don’t have time, hire a gardener to help.

In your business this can involved investing in support services, a bookkeeper, coach, assistant or mastermind group. It can mean taking the time to do the tasks that are important but not urgent, like creating your marketing plan and following it, doing strategic planning and keeping things in order.

If you do all three of these things, your garden will grow abundantly and you will have prosperity plants and provide beautiful help to many, many people.

One of the hardest things about owning a business is making the heart-wrenching decision to invest money into your business. You probably started your business on a shoestring and are counting the dollars that come in. It is hard to see them going out!

My story is that I have a money anxiety thermometer and there is a certain level of cash I need to see in my account for me to have a feeling of safety. This is an emotional thing really, because that level has changed over the years.  When I began it  was $500 and then $1000 and then $3000.

Looking back I can see it is a good barometer of how my business has grown. However, recently I made the decision to re-build my website, re-do my branding, hire someone to help me, re-print my books and more. This is all good stuff and in theory will help my business in the long run. The problem is in watching the money level go down, down, down and my anxiety go up, up, up.

Money management has never been my favorite thing but seeing the affect the stress has had on my health has forced me to confront this issue.

The only solution is to be able to predict my return on investment. This is a question my new clients ask me all the time so I get it. They want to know that by shelling out money to  hire me, their business will improve. They need to see the benefits in dollars and cents. Regardless of what you invest in, you need to be able to perceive the benefits.

Just spending the money and having my work done, is not enough to show the return. I already have a lot of people visiting my website, however I want to see that the new site will engage people more, offer even more value and build relationships. All those things will bring in more money as long as my programs are high quality and I give what I say I will give. So, there is a lot more to it.

My Whole Business Circle in my book and the questions accompanying were created for myself, as was everything in the book. It provides a way to evaluate each part of your businesses strength and shows where you need help.

Your business is a wholistic creature and the parts are not really separate. They affect each other and overlap. Money is related to marketing which is related to your products and services which is related to your systems and follow-through.

So, in order to accurately predict your return on investment you need to outline a whole plan. In my case, I need to use the new website as an opportunity to up my marketing, present some new tools and products and re-do my whole business vision.  When I do all those things, I will ensure the roi and I will see that money level go up to a new comfort level.   I guess my goal is to eliminate any anxiety forever!

ps. New website will be live in about 10 days!

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Like most small business owners who are selling a valuable service, I have gone through the painful process of  thinking if my prices were too high people wouldn’t buy from me and I would starve.

Based on that fear, I charged too little at first. Too high was a subjective emotional thing and not based on anything to do with a business plan! I have learned so much the hard way, and hope I can help you to avoid the same mistakes.

It’s funny because my very first business 35 years ago, was making and selling hand-made pottery. I had no problem figuring out the correct price based on costs involved and how much I needed to have as a profit. It was easy. If people liked my work they would want it. If the large pieces were beyond their budget they bought a smaller one. I had a variety of choices and my work sold itself.

I have written before about the difference between selling a product and a service. So many more fears and self-doubts come up when you are selling your own service. That fear is immobilizing and can propel you to charge way less than you need to have a sustainable business.

The irony is that you will starve then for sure, because the only way to bring money into your business is by having prices based on value and your business plan. It needs to be the same process whether it is a pottery mug or a coaching program. If you are offering a service like acupuncture, massage or health services you will relate. If your service is designing websites or gardens you will also relate.

A business plan for a small service based business is not that difficult. It’s simply asking yourself what bottom line you want, where it will come from and how many  programs or sessions you need to sell each month to make your goal. But that process, in itself can be challenging.

When I ask my new clients that question, they usually don’t know. They are too busy just trying to get by and, “make more money.” It is scary for people to even put a figure to what they want to gross per year. I tell people to just guess. Inevitably it is too low of a figure and a reflection of their fear and self-doubt.

People have all kinds of mis-led reasons they give for under-charging. Here are a few I hear regularly.

•  I have only been in practice a short time.
•  People can’t pay any more than this.
•  I’d rather get paid something than nothing.
•  I don’t want people to see me as being expensive.
•  I am uncomfortable charging more until I am more experienced.

No one actually cares how long you have been in practice. They only care about their problem and the help they need. If you focus on your short time in practice then it sounds like you are saying you aren’t that good yet. If you aren’t that good, why would someone want to pay you any amount of money for help. People who need help are shopping for value.

Some people do make decisions on price and it usually backfires. I did that when I had my first website built. I shopped around and assumed that the person who was giving me a good deal would be as skilled as the guy who was charging a higher price. I learned the hard way that you get what you pay for. Now I only go for quality. I am still conscious of my own pocket book but I will always hire the person who is offering me the highest value.

I encourage you to:

• Give more value to your clients.
• Determine your prices based on your business needs.
• Pay yourself first.
• Acknowledge your expertise.
• Focus on growing your confidence.

Read some of my related blog posts:  Be willing to receive large amounts of money. Running a business is all about giving and receiving!
5 Keys to Correct Pricing.

Please share your thoughts on this topic. I would love to hear from you.

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I first heard this phrase, “Pay yourself first”, about twelve years ago when I had a part time business and often felt like I was just scraping by.

I had a separate bank account for my business, however I really didn’t understand how to manage it. I never really paid myself, I just earned money and spent it. Sound familiar?

At that time just about all my earnings got transferred to my personal account and I put every little money into my business. Many solo-business owners operate this way, by juggling money because of inconsistent income.

A year or two later I moved back to USA and decided to turn my business into a full time venture. This meant building a website, paying for hosting, printing and countless other expenses. It was a big shift!

I had lots of money going out and I began to pay myself in little bits and pieces just to keep my personal account above water.

It went on like this for quite awhile. I worried about not having enough, not bringing in enough income and was anxious if my bank account dropped below a certain point.

Then I again heard this phrase, “Pay yourself first.”  I didn’t know how to do this but I delved in and began to learn more about money management and how to run a business. Now I understand  what this means and the reasons to do it.

•  It is always good business practice to pay your employees first and foremost, so why would you treat yourself with less respect?

•  It is impossible to budget and plan your personal life if you don’t have a pay day and an amount you can count on.

•  If you don’t pay yourself first, you are nurturing an attitude of lack instead of abundance.

What you need to do:

1. Come up with a figure of what you absolutely need to pay yourself to sustain yourself and to feel good!
2. Divide it into two payment amounts. 
3. Schedule your paydays and write it on your calendar.
4. On that date write yourself a check or transfer the funds online.
5. Give gratitude for your business and your abundance.

If you want to add one more positive bit, decide on your next pay increase and plan and schedule it ahead.  Watch your income increase to meet that intention. It is like magic.