Lessons from HGTV: Structure supports your success and creativity.

Lessons from HGTV: Structure supports your success and creativity.

Lessons from HGTV: Structure supports your success and creativity.

I'm fascinated by HGTV and shows about remodeling. I love seeing a run-down property transformed into a beautiful and stylish home. As I watch "Property Brothers" and "Income Property," two of my favorites, a lesson I've learned is that if there are problems with the foundation, it can spell disaster. The house may eventually collapse, and the problems, although expensive, require the right solutions and should be done first.

This is also true in a business. If your foundation isn't solid, you have a good chance of crashing and burning the business. And if you're doing well in your business, in other words, you're making money and growing---if you don't examine an underlying problem and fix it, you're going to Will get into more expensive trouble. For long-term success, the support structure, the foundation, must be strong.

If you're like most business owners, you have a brilliant mind that generates great ideas, makes decisions, creates new products and solutions, allows you to work and be productive, and allows you to provide a livelihood. Sometimes it's like a machine that bounces ideas, thoughts, and activities from one post to another that and then bounces you from one thing to another.

You may get some work done, but often have unfinished projects or experience being too busy or never getting anything done. It's worse for some people than others, but it's a little bit more likely for all of us. And those of us who own our own business, especially if it's a small business or in the early stages of growth, can have this problem. Small business owners, especially those in the startup or early growth stage, wear many hats and handle everything small and large.

Success in business and creativity is being built on this strong foundation. To ensure a strong foundation, you must create and use good structures. Let's talk about some structures that will help you lay that foundation.

Lacey is a small business owner in the early stages of growth. (His company has over 1 million in revenue, a few employees, and growing). When we met, she was functioning like she was on a bungee cord—jumping from one activity to another, exhausted at the end of the day, to enjoy life and face overwhelm. No time was spared.

Lacey and I sat down and reviewed her schedule and structure and support. What we discovered is that she has a calendar, but she wasn't actually scheduling her day properly and using the calendar to her advantage. We also discovered that he had little in the way of structure or support.

It was as if she was at the base of this mountain, trying to climb it, and every time she moved forward, stones were thrown at her! When we went to it I was exhausted just listening!!! So we put together some structures that are solutions to support its success.

I know many people, especially those who see themselves as limiting or repressing structures resistant to 'creation'. However, I find that most people, even 'creative' people, when they actually incorporate structure, are the exact opposite. When you don't have to worry about not getting what you need done or trying to remember everything you have to do or promised someone, your mind, In fact, becomes free to create.

What kinds of structures can you build to support you? The structure you create has to be something you accept or you won't do them easily.

Calendars- Calendars are great if you use them and if you use them properly to help you. Now, I'm not going to go into all the different programs or ways you can use them (Franklin Covey and others have created wonderful systems if you want to find and use them).

Schedule everything. Schedule time for emails, calls, breaks, lunches, dates, meetings, and research. Just don't try to fit it all in - it's like putting out a fire and it's never productive or satisfying.

Schedule blocks of time and if there's something that interrupts you (essentially, like an urgent matter) move that time around.

There is a beginning and an end time. Seriously, for a business owner, if you don't finish your work, your life becomes your work. Tiresome! That's not why you're in business. (And have a designated place where you do your work—not where you live!)

Schedule a Vacation - Why should you enjoy life, or stay in business?

Schedule a 'breakdown' - this has revolutionized many people's lives. If you schedule time (at least 30 minutes a day) for breakdowns, you can move other things around and not feel as pressured to keep working! If you don't use it, it's bonus time for you to do as you wish.

And most importantly: use the calendar you create! Respect him. Honor yourself by respecting your structure to support your success.

Some other structures to help you:

Accounting programs: If you're still doing all your banking and accounting, do yourself a favor and get one of the many programs (Quickbooks, Wave, FreshBooks, etc.) that work with your bank online and Schedule regular intervals. To keep your accounting up to date. Or... hire a bookkeeper or have your assistant do your books for you.

Know your numbers. Your numbers, your profit, loss, and expenses give you a picture of what is going on in your company. I can't tell you the number of business owners I've worked with who aren't at the top of their game. Their experience is almost always some version of driving themselves because they don't have enough money. Then when they do their numbers, most of them are surprised at how much money they have or where they are wasting money and could be more profitable.

It is impossible to grow anything without a clear understanding of what it is. If it turns out that when Lacey really understood the money in her business, she became more creative and was able to achieve higher profits through new revenue streams and better use of her financial resources. The My Six Money Mindset program also helped him change his perspective on money so that he could use the financial resources of his business for his own success.

Goals, plans, and to-do lists: You should know where you're going, and what you'll get there and have easy ways to measure your success and adjust as needed. I know this may sound obvious, but what I find is that many new business owners shoot from the hip. Make sure you include dates in this plan. How long without a plan are just fantasies!

This is far from a comprehensive list of all the structures you need to support your success. However, if you put in a little time to lay the groundwork, you really can build the business of your dreams and enjoy the fruits of your labor!