How to make time for your dream business in 2019 (from creative women doing it daily) - When I Grow Up

How to make time for your dream business in 2019 (from creative women doing it daily) - When I Grow Up How do you make time to build your dream business? is a question I could answer myself, but let’s be real: I’ve been The When I Grow Up Coach for 11 years, and while I could reach back and give you my tips from when I was side hustling from 2007-2010, I’ll do you one better: Ask my clients for their super recent tips! And man oh man did they deliver. These are women who either (a) just launched their dream business (b) are prepping to launch their dream business (they’re the ones without websites yet!), or (c) have been working on their dream business while holding down a full-time job and/or Mom-ing it up! So if you’re left wondering how to make time for your dream business while living life in 2019 and especially if it’s the main challenge that’s keeping you from making it happen then keep on scrolling to get help from women who’ve been there are doing just that! Vicky Cook (Heart and Moxie) My mornings are the key to my juggling it all and staying on top of my dreams. It sounds cliché, but the only time in my busy schedule that’s consistently mine and uninterrupted is the early hours before I go to work. I put my alarm on the other side of the room, so I can’t hit snooze, and I am able to dedicate at least 1 hour every single day to my business (plus I squeeze in additional time for personal development work and a workout!). By the time I head to work, I feel like a rock star for having achieved so much already, and having a good chunk of time to myself! Lara Gwyn (Lara Gwyn Wellness) Im not gonna lie. It feels tough to make time to keep moving forward, but once I actually sit down its really enjoyable and I can knock out a decent amount of things. So, for me, blocking out an hour every other day didnt work. I had to tell myself I was sitting down for 15  minutes to work on the business and Id end up loving it so much Id sit for hours. My tip for making time is to just start. Sit down with the intention of sitting for 10-15 minutes and just get into action. Nicola Taylor (soon-to-be coach) Im planning to launch my coaching business this year and Ill be super honest, it hasnt been easy making time to move things forward. HOWEVER The way I keep myself inching forward is by following a few simple techniques. I break whatever Im working on into reeeeeally small chunks, and then I work on them in equally small chunks of time every few days, say 15-30 minutes. That way, it feels less overwhelming, and I have lots of things to cross off my to-do list at the end of a session (so satisfying!). I also try to keep my WHY front and center I want to help amazing people overcome obstacles and take action on their dreams. In a way, Im test subject number one, so whatever I find that works, I can pass on to my clients! Kristen Good (Designer and Creative Strategist) Making time is one of the hardest parts especially when youre juggling a day job and 2 kids under 4 but when I’m struggling to make the time, I remember my why for creating this business. I want to have MORE time for my family so setting aside an hour or 2 to make it happen is worth it knowing what it will bring me. It can seem impossible to FIND the time but asking my husband to hang with the kids, working after they go to bed, or sometimes using a “sick” day from work helps me make it happen! Zoha Abbas (Multidoer, Creative Productivity Coaching) It can feel really hard to find time to work on my business sometimes, but the thing that keeps me going is remembering that every tiny little step counts. I use any downtime I happen to have at my day job (shh!) to brainstorm or write in the notebook I have with me at all times. I use evenings after work if I dont feel completely exhausted, and I always use a chunk of my weekend to work and take client calls. I think part of the trick for me is knowing when I have an uptick in my energy and to use that natural juice to power a time of work where I can just get in the zone, especially on weekends. And every night, I write out what Id like to get done the next day, so when I get to that morning I already know what Im trying to get done even if its just one bitty-baby step each day!   Katie Kervin (Strategic Marketing and Copywriting) One of the biggest ways I’ve made time to build my business is by sometimes saying no to the fun stuff. This was particularly necessary when I was still working at my day job, doing a lot of freelancing, AND working on my launch. I often chose to turn down social thingsâ€"happy hours, girls’ trips, fun dinners out. I’ll admit this felt (and sometimes feels) like a bummer, but I remind myself that the choices I’m making now are helping me to build a business and life that is flexible, allowing me more freedom to make my schedule and fill my life with more of the things I love to do! Courtney Fanning (Big Picture Branding) Im the type of person who needs structure or else I feel like Im just a meandering mess! Each month I look at what I need to accomplish and then deliberately decide when my business hours are each week. Networking and putting myself out there often happens in the evenings, which as a mom, can be really challenging, so my husband and I have a shared Google calendar so we know which nights hell need to take over dinner and bedtime duties. Lastly, Im a night owl through and through so some of my best, most creative work happens in the evenings. Ill anticipate when Im going to need a late-night session to hammer out some copy or brainstorm some new ideas and then make a point of declaring myself off-duty for the next two hours. Sometimes that time limit is just the kick in the pants I need to crank out some great work! Maureen Shields (soon to be Info-Coach, for those wrangling with big life decisions) I make time to build my dream business by finally embracing the fact that I am an externally motivated type of gal. I require an outside force to help me create the time to do the work. More importantly, I have stopped beating myself up about needing gentle pushes to move forward. Whether it is a through a program, a personal coach or an accountability buddy, I make sure someone else knows about my goals to help me stay inspired, on track and taking action. And, when things seem overwhelming or time is tight, I put on my favourite music to lift my energy. The Hamilton soundtrack does it every time! Amber Petty (Sing a Different Tune) At first, I felt like I had to put every extra second of my life into my business. Shock of all shocks, I got burnt out really fast. Instead, I pick one morning or afternoon a week to do major tasks. No matter how busy things get, I always do something that day. Then, if Im inspired, Ill do little things throughout the week, but I dont feel pressure to spend every spare moment working. Sara Foster (FosterForward, Productivity and Accountability Coaching) Money Coach Nicole Hatcher was interviewed on Real Talk Radio with Nicole Antoinette and she said something to the effect of There will be a time in life when you cannot have balance between self-care and making your major dreams and goals come true in terms of career. You will come to a point in life where you WILL NEED TO HUSTLE. You wont be able to have it ALL. You will need to prioritize. This is that time in my life. I make time to build my dream business by being more structured with my free time and by working at building FosterForward, sometimes at the expense of a good nights sleep or leisure time. Its my time to hustle! Amber Dalgleish (Create Revelry, soon-to-be Designer and Event Decorator) So right now, I am full time Momming-it. In my head, this was supposed to leave me with so much time to really focus and build my business. Back in reality land, I quickly found out that I need to schedule business-building time into my days or else it quickly turns into “trying to get a few things done” before business work starts. This has also really been a learning curve for me in terms of realizing when, and how best I work. For me this means zero distractions- house clean so I don’t have that in the back of my mind, as well as my phone in another room, and nobody in the house. I also carry my notebook around, because even when I haven’t had a sit-down-working-session in a few days, I’m always thinking about the business and need to record the ideas or they disappear. Now that you have these great time management tips, do you see how it’d be possible to make your dream business a priority for 2019? Then you might want to join me for Dream To Done: A Guided Year to Clarify, Launch Build Your Dream Business.  No-obligation applications close on Wednesday and won’t open again until 2020!