Freedom means many different things to different people. For some, it means flexible hours. For others, it means working at home. For still others, it means working for yourself. I’ve found that whatever it means, most people want more of it. I’ve also found that you can do more than you think to create the exact type of freedom you desire in your business. Here’s how.
Know What You Want
The first step is to define what freedom means to you. For me, it was taking a walk every day at 2PM. I block out my calendar from 2-4PM so I can do a workout or a walk, or even errands that are urgent. I work into the evening so that I still get my hours in. I am refreshed and do better work all day long because I take a break at the right time for me.
Perhaps you have an office that you’d prefer to go in only 2 or 3 days a week, but you have clients all week. I re-arranged my schedule so that I see clients back to back all day long on Mondays and Tuesdays. I don’t have to go into the office on Wednesdays now. There are no holes in my schedule. I have longer blocks for strategy time on my non-client days. Clients seem fine with the change. It might even help my clients be more responsible for their time slots as I am less available now and clients value their time with me more.
If you work for someone else and you want to propose a change in your schedule, all you have to do is come up with some options and the courage to present it to your boss. There is usually no penalty for asking, we just have to be willing to have the scary conversation.
To get started on your road to biz freedom, define what freedom looks like to you. You could start with what you don’t like about your schedule. Or it could revolve around a client, employee, or service that you’re offering. Nothing is out of bounds. Take a look at what’s constraining you and see what you can do to solve it.
Brainstorm
Once you’ve defined what you want to change, think of alternative ideas and solutions. If it’s big, think big. You may have to trash a service line, a client type, or an entire office, and replace it with something that works better for you. It’s your business after all.
In 2009, I was doing face-to-face coaching. I would have to get up early, get dressed, fight traffic, go into my overpriced office, and meet my clients. I loved coaching, but I could not see a way to profit from it the way I was doing it. Today, I have a full coaching practice with a waiting list. I do this with back to back calls that are bundled on 1-2 days a week. I’m making three times as much money in far less time and effort. Plus I have no rent to cover, and I’m even using less makeup and dry cleaning services!
How can you change your service line to fit your needs and still provide excellent services to your clients?
Implement
Once you’ve brainstormed creative ideas to build the freedom into your business, choose the one that works the best for you and take the steps to implement it.
Over time, your likes and needs as an entrepreneur change. I still love “slinging HTML,” which means coding web sites. But the easier pages don’t excite me anymore, they bore me. I’ve built a team that can do the easier code, while I still do some of the more difficult programming. I don’t do much anymore, but when I do I love it instead of dread it. The client still gets served very well, and I’ve trained my team to code the secrets that make our sites so special and effective. Everyone wins, and I have my freedom. By the way, my team is virtual and on hourly contract by project, which means I don’t pay for any overhead or waste, and I can pass on lower prices to my clients for this reason.
Some people feel that having employees and making payroll each week is anything but freedom. But if you are doing low-level tasks and not performing your highest skills, you are far from free. A compromise is to use a contractor who has many other clients and can do a portion of your work. They can also be virtual, so you don’t give up your physical freedom, and many are part-time who pick up a range of hours depending on your needs.
In this internet age, freedom is more attainable than ever. If you don’t feel free in your business, stop and define what it means to you, brainstorm how to fix it, and implement your new ideas. When you feel freer, the quality of your work will go way up and so will your happiness and your profits.