These days everyone is throwing around the words scale, and “six and seven figures”. All great, truly exciting things for an entrepreneur. As a mentor for entrepreneurs, I firmly believe that a solid foundation for this growth is absolutely paramount to any businesses future success.
The following questions come from my client intake form, and they set the stage for what we will cover in their program, whether it is in a group setting, 1:1, or a one day intensive.
- Tell me about what you feel your strengths are in your business/career?
You may or may not be shocked to hear that most of my clients do not consider the things that are essential to scaling their businesses in their list of strengths.
If you are considering hiring, booking more, or diversifying your offerings, you need to take a look at the things that you are good at. If you are not delegating important tasks that are not your strength, you either need to be, or you need to pump the breaks on the notion of scaling, and get to work on improving those skills.
Examples of this might be bookkeeping, photography, content creation, email marketing, social media, etc.
- What are your current “pain points”? What are you struggling with in your business/career?
Almost every single business owner includes something on the lists of essentials above. If you want to scale, and you absolutely suck at content creation or bookkeeping, are you ready to scale? Should you be outsourcing?
- What software/systems are you currently using in your business? For instance, a CRM, project management, etc.
If you want to scale from being a soloprenuer, an excel sheet (that you low key actually suck at using, but let’s ignore that fact) is not going to cut it for your book keeping.
If you are a photographer and you do not currently utilize a CRM like Dubsado or HoneyBook to manage your clients, it is TIME.
How are you managing your important, needle moving projects? Multiple notebooks scattered throughout your purse, office, kids nightstand, backseat of your car next to last weeks Starbucks? Time to upgrade. Our team uses ClickUp and it is absolutely life altering.
- Do you feel like your current systems are serving you and your clients/customers well?
No? Time to make some changes before considering scaling your business. If you do not have a solid system for managing customer relationships, finances, and projects, invest a few weeks in refining these systems, and consult with a coach or mentor to help you do it the right way!
Looking for a mentor? You can contact me at caitlinthomasphoto.com/education or email me!
Caitlin Thomas is the Founder of Beyond Boss, a professional photographer, and a mama of two. She is passionate about helping other women make more time for living and enjoying life, without sacrificing their dreams and ambitions.
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