your business blueprint
Everything you need to launch a business so that you can focus on the work that only you can do.
I created Your Business Blueprint to provide women who want to start their own business with everything they need to get their business off the ground and with a marketing plan in place.
I have worked with a number of business owners to help them grow their business and every single one of them talks about how hard the first few years were because they didn't have a clue what they were doing. A local artist I worked with said that for the first couple of years it felt like she was flinging spaghetti at a wall to see what would stick.
Having owned my own business since 2005, I know from personal experience that we tend to make it much more complicated than it needs to be and, too often, we end up becoming consumed by our business.
My mission in creating Your Business Blueprint is to help you get up and running with everything you need in place so that you can focus on the work that only you can do from day one in your business (or as soon as possible). I don't want you to struggle for the first few years when you really don't have to.
I want you to have the time and energy to build a business you love while also living a life that you love.
Because isn't that the whole point?
If you're ready to bring your business dream to life, I would be thrilled to help you!
“No business thrives unless it creates a difference for people who are willing to exchange money, time or loyalty for the value that difference brings to their lives.”
Bernadette Jiwa
your business blueprint
has 3 steps
So which stories are the foundation of your business?
Creating a strong foundation for your business
I believe that great businesses are built on compelling stories. Those stories are the foundation of your business and they need to be clear and compelling if you are going to build a successful business on top of them.
Too often I see business owners launching businesses before getting really clear on who they are, what they stand for and what their customers truly need or desire.
Once you are clear on your story, your prospective customers' stories and your business' most compelling story, you can create a blueprint for your business that weaves those stories into the very foundation of your business. So that every decision you make and all the actions you take build upon that solid foundation.
YOUR PERSONAL STORY
(YOUR PASSIONS, SKILLS & TALENTS
AND YOUR "WHY" FOR STARTING YOUR BUSINESS IN THE FIRST PLACE)
PLUS
YOUR CUSTOMERS' STORIES
(THEIR DESIRES, CHALLENGES & NEEDS - THE THINGS THAT THEY WANT TO INVEST IN)
CREATES
YOUR BUSINESS' MOST COMPELLING STORY
(THE GREATEST TRANSFORMATION AND VALUE YOUR BUSINESS PROVIDES TO YOUR CUSTOMERS)
step one
“Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers.”
Seth Godin
In this second step of the Your Business Blueprint, I will help you to get clear on the life you want to live in this next chapter to make sure that the business you are planning supports that lifestyle.
Too often, I see people start a business that gets in the way of them living the life they want to live. I want to make sure that your life goals and your business goals support each other.
This is your business and I want it to reflect you and allow you to do the work that only you can do.
The design of your business includes:
Your offers: the products or services you plan to offer which you create in response to what you know about your story, your customers’ stories and your most compelling business story;
Your pricing: this can be an emotional minefield but it doesn’t have to be - together we can figure out pricing that works for you and your clients; and
Your business set-up: all the logistics and practicalities of setting up your business.
This includes the following:
- deciding on the corporate structure you choose for your business;
- doing the paperwork to set up your business;
- obtaining a tax ID number for your business;
- opening your bank account;
- researching any licenses or insurance that you need;
- setting up a way to get paid;
- setting up systems to book client consultations;
- setting up systems to sell your products and/or services; and
- putting a system in place to track income and expenses.
Your team: I will help you to get clear on the support that you need as you launch and grow your business whether that is from lawyers or accountants or by hiring independent contractors or employees for different roles within the business.
step two
Creating your
business design
“No matter how much you hustle, no matter how much time you devote to it, no matter how many new skills you learn, if your business isn’t designed to reach your goal, it won’t.”
Tara McMullin
In Step One of Your Business Blueprint, we got clear on what I believe is the foundation of your business - your most compelling business story (which we uncovered by getting clear on your story and your prospective customers’ stories).
Marketing, when done respectfully, is simply sharing your most compelling business story with people who genuinely want to hear it.
It’s easy to get distracted by all the different marketing methods that exist today and you can very easily waste time, energy and money chasing the newest and shiniest marketing method.
In this step, I will provide a framework for you to create a marketing plan for the first 90 days of your business. You will be able to use this framework again and again as you keep planning for the next quarter.
Your marketing plan will outline how you plan to share your new business with as many people who want to hear about it as possible in a way that takes into account everything we know about you and your prospective clients.
We will think about where your clients are online and in the real world and how you can showcase your business in those places in a way that allows you and your business to shine. This is your business and I want you to build it your way while also being very mindful that your marketing needs to resonate with your prospective clients and needs to meet them where they are in their life.
As you create your marketing plan, you will:
- learn the importance of setting up an email list so that you can connect with your prospective clients and engage with them - your email list is something that you own (unlike Instagram or Facebook followers);
- decide which social media platforms you plan to be on and create accounts on those platforms for your business;
- choose which social media or real world platform is going to be your #1 way of introducing people to your business so that you can channel the majority of your energy into introducing people to your business via that platform;
- create a weekly marketing plan broken down into daily plans of action so that you are consistently reaching out to your prospective clients with a clear and compelling message that will resonate with them.
step three
Creating your
marketing plan
“Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make but about the stories you tell.”
Seth Godin
