There are so many experiences that have the potential to change life as we know it in an instant, like moving out your parents house to live independently for the first time, the moment you become a mother, and even the day you decide to quit your 9-5 job to become an entrepreneur. But when it comes to developing your business, most things seem as if they cannot happen quickly enough (unless we’re talking about the seemingly endless expenses of running a business, of course… but we’re not). However, there is one thing I know about, in which you can implement right now – free of charge – to elevate your brand instantaneously.
Grab your phone, order a pizza (I hear it’s free if you order your “emergency pizza” from Domino’s), and get ready to pull an all-nighter because this one is going to be filled with very important tasks for go-getter entrepreneurs like you.
Are you ready for it? Here is the one thing you can do right now to elevate your brand in an instant:
TAKE YOURSELF SERIOUSLY.
Wait, what?!
Yes! That’s it! That’s the very first step towards achieving the entrepreneurial growth you’ve been dreaming of.
Okay, not too seriously, but seriously enough to allow yourself to have fun AND show the world what you can accomplish through your personal brand.
No matter where your business stands today, taking yourself and your business seriously has the power to unleash a multitude of opportunities AND will help you generate idea after idea, after idea…
Let this empower you to leave your old mindset behind and recognize that the greatest limiting factor in your life and/or your business should not be you. I know you may be reading this because you need real support and guidance, or maybe you’re just in a rut. No matter the reason, don’t allow yourself to feel stuck in one place for too long. Once you seriously get serious about your business, you will stop spinning your wheels and will start experiencing the measurable progress you desire.
This is the part where you start taking notes…
Below are some ways I personally know how to take myself seriously as an entrepreneur & freelancer that you can start applying right away:
- Brainstorming: do this part in 3-steps. First, get all of your ideas on paper before you forget them; don’t edit as you go so that you keep your creative juices flowing. Once your ideas are written, sort or organize them into categories that make sense to you, i.e. my ideas usually flow in the form of topics or titles – since I write a lot – with some being related to business, others branding, lifestyle, or travel; notice these are the same headers or “categories” I use for my blog. Lastly, determine your best ideas by placing a star next to the ideas that are your biggest priorities.
- Goal Setting: now that your ideas are organized, categorized, and prioritized, you can see a little more clearly what your business goals should be. Rule of thumb: choose 3-annual goals first. Why? You don’t want to overwhelm yourself and start spinning again, do you? Trust me, choose 3 goals for each year and make sure they are SMART! (Check out my post on Instagram @Julia.fredricksen to learn more about SMART goals).
- Planning: This is too big of a step to get into all of the details in one bullet or even one post, but first things first, you should work backwards to determine a few monthly goals that will help you reach your annual goals, and you can develop a list of daily tasks and operating procedures to help you achieve your monthly/weekly goals from there; this will be a great start to an operating plan for your business, which is a must-have for every entrepreneur. Note: This takes time! Operating plans make up a fraction of the plans you will need to develop for your business; at some point (sooner rather than later) it makes sense to operate in accordance with a fully developed business plan tailored to your unique business. Business plans are used for several reasons, a couple of the biggest being to obtain financing or grants, to attract investors, or to have an actionable plan that gives you the focus you need to maintain steady growth and longevity in your business. Planning for your business also means knowing your numbers and ensuring you are priced right. For assistance with developing a solid foundation and a plan for your business, you can submit an inquiry to me by filling out the contact form on my blog or simply emailing me at julia@juliafredricksen.com.
- Personal Branding & Marketing Strategizing: developing a business involves planning more than just daily operations to help you achieve annual goals. You actually need a strategy for the branding and marketing of your business too! The traditional and actionable business plans that I write include some of this, but the branding and marketing strategy are completely separate elements every business should have. Think of branding as the strategy you execute to attract, maintain, and grow relationships with your specific audience; it takes strong core values, authentic connection, and other meaningful or useful methods to make others feel like they can relate-to or identify with your brand. Marketing, whether digital or by other means, consists of the methods or tactics you use to make your audience aware of your brand. We often see both of these in the works via social media accounts by and for businesses of all types where photos, graphics, reels, ads and other digital material is shared regularly for this purpose. This step is another doozy that is impossible to write about in one bullet, but this is something we can talk about more thoroughly in a consultation; you can book a remote or in-person consultation with me here: Julia Fredricksen – Booking Site
- Getting Started: this is a step because I know you are likely feeling a bit overwhelmed by now. To get rid of that feeling, go back to step one and just get started by brainstorming on paper. Remember to take one step at a time, and understand that the best results take time to plan and execute.
There are numerous ways to begin taking yourself seriously as an entrepreneur. So please, stop making excuses when you have barely just begun. Don’t put these tasks off any longer, but work through them diligently and steadily until you have completed each step. Entrepreneurship is a journey of ups and downs, so you better put your best foot forward. Reach out if I can help!
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