It’s August. For many people, it’s only a couple of weeks before the kids go back to school. Summer is ending – and your summer (read “crazy, unpredictable) schedule is ending. No more pulling out your hair while trying to finish one task while your kids are swarming you. So many people can’t wait for the day their kids are back in school and back to a routine. They spend a lot of time back to school clothes shopping, finding school supplies, creating school calendars, finding carpools, etc. – that they forget to plan for their business! Even those with kiddos already back in school – Labor Day can throw a wrench in your newly minted work schedule.
NOW is the time to plan for September. I try and do less work the week before and the 1st week of school. It usually ends up being crazy…activities are starting, working out schedules, carpools, meals, etc. But the 2nd week – I want to hit the ground running. That means I need to have my specific plans for September mapped out – so that I can start understanding what resources I’m going to need.
Identify Your Resources
With a change in your schedule, you may be able to have more plans or programs. But what will resources will you need?
- A VA? Maybe?
- a new tool or software or program?
- a sitter/nanny/help/cleaner/dog walker?
- a carpool set up?
- meals planned, prepared, frozen now?
Understanding what you have coming up allows you to put into place detailed plans for your resources. It takes time to find a babysitter. Same with a VA. Finding a new VA, interviewing them, giving them a couple of “test” tasks to to see if they can fulfill your instructions, and if they are reliable. There are not things that you can leave until the last minute. In addition, you need to understand how much TIME you will have to work on your business every week. If your schedule depends on your kids’ schedule, you will want to understand how many actual hours (minutes?) you can focus each day. And I would definitely start mapping out your time blocks – so that as soon as the kids are off to school – at 8am you know exactly what to do – so that you don’t waste time and are super productive.
5 Tips for Planning for September
To get a plan in place now, I recommend you do the following:
1. Make a list of the great programs or services that you want to do in September. I recommend planning a little less than usual, for instance:
- One big project/program
One small project/program
2. Try to list all the tasks of your important events (webinars, calls, meetings, etc.)
- For a webinar, you will need to prepare the presentation slides, create graphics, social media posts, set up the webinar software, sign up page
- For each task, list the type of resource you may need (VA, babysitter, a new piece of software, etc.) For instance, for the webinar, perhaps you hire someone to create the social media graphics for promoting your program. You have a VA create the signup page, the actual page where you’ll deliver the webinar, etc. For the webinar, maybe you’ll use zoom – and you want to test it before using it the first time (so you know how to “share your screen” and record).
3. Write what you need to do to get each resource (interview candidates, watch trainings, etc.)
- If you already have people in place – great!
If not, get recommendations for people from trusted entrepreneurs – and start interview. I also recommend you thinking of a couple of “easy” tasks to see if this person is a good match.
4. Put a deadline to get this resource
- Put a final deadline for the resource
Include some intermediate deadlines to keep you focused and moving along
5. Create a Contingency Plan – Not everything will go according to plan nor will every person you hire work out. Have a backup person or software in mind – just in case.
When you have a clear plan of your programs for September, the resources you need now September has the potential of being a successful month!
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