8/2/2006
By Liz Ferris, Ferris Consulting
As I consider the topic for this week's article, I am feeling a deep
sense of inspiration from the last few weeks of work with amazing
clients. I have been to England, conducting marketing workshops with
collaborative POD's in Bristol, Cambridge and London; Atlanta, where
I conducted a strategic planning retreat for a creative design
company; and Ohio, where I facilitated a strategic marketing retreat
for a court reporting company.
I am inspired and energized by a common theme I experienced in the
outcome of all three projects -- a renewed sense of passion,
excitement and optimism about the future from the professionals
involved.
What was the reason for this confidence and enthusiasm about the
future of their business? The answer is, clarity about the vision they
want for their business and a belief in their ability to transform their
vision into reality.
Identifying and defining a clear vision helped the professionals in the
workshops and retreats to reframe their focus and move beyond their
current level of thinking to imagine what was possible in transforming
their business or practice.
For each situation, the retreats and workshops gave professionals the
opportunity to get away from the office, client requests and the
demands of day-to-day living to reflect and deeply consider what was
important in their life, their business, and their practice. It gave them
an opportunity to work "on" their business instead of "in" their
business.
What does it mean to work "on" your business instead of "in" your
business?
In the book E Myth Mastery by Michael Gerber, Gerber states the
secret to entrepreneurial success lies in our ability to work on our
business, not in it.
Working on your business means taking a step back from the day-to-
day routine of serving clients, meeting deadlines and responding to
urgent tasks to give deep and meaningful consideration to what your
vision for your practice is and what your plan is to close the gap
between where you are and where you want to be.
Working on your business is the "proactive" work that allows you to
build the kind of business that gets you excited and meets your goals,
interests and values. It includes having a vision of what you want your
business to look like and a plan that will provide your business with
focus and direction.
What is vision and why is it important?
Steven Covey says that vision is "the ability to see beyond our present
reality, to create, to invent what does not yet exist, to become what we
not yet are."
Vision is what you want your business or practice to look like, with an
emphasis on the word "want." This is an important distinction because
focusing on the word "want" encourages you to let go of your internal
thinking of what your business "should" look like and more importantly
to let go of the internal thoughts you may have about why you cannot
create the business or practice you want.
A focused vision will also give you direction and help you to make
important choices on how you spend your time and resources so they
are in alignment with your goals.
In a recent marketing workshop I talked with a lawyer who told me that
she wanted to grow her collaborative practice; however, she could not
find the time to network with key referral sources in her community,
update her web site or attend collaborative training and POD meetings.
She believed that these actions were outside of her control. The less
time she spent doing the work that would result in her achieving her
goal, the more convinced she became that building a practice she
desired was outside of her control.
Compare this to another client I worked with who developed her vision,
mission and values and created a plan to support these goals. She
internalized her goals and was able to communicate her enthusiasm
for her practice, scheduled the time necessary to network, contacted
key referral sources, wrote an article for a publication and created a
brochure. These activities resulted in her doubling her referrals in a six-
month time period.
Once you have clearly defined your vision, the next step is to create a
plan or road map to create the business or practice you desire. Your
vision and "road map" will guide your day-to-day, week-to-week and
month-to-month activities so you are doing the work that will result in
achieving your practice vision.
You can grow your business or practice so you are doing the work you
enjoy and attracting the kind of clients that you love to work with. To
accomplish this will require you to take a step away from working "in"
your business and schedule the time to work "on" your business.
I would like to hear from you with your comments, insights or challenges
on creating a vision for your business or practice. Please comment on my
blog or reply directly to this e- newsletter.
END
Please go to our Website to learn more about our Strategic Planning
services and our Marketing Workshops
If you want to learn more about how to create your practice
vision, action plan or other practice growth strategies email
me at [email protected] or call me directly at 414-332-8452.
Elizabeth Ferris, founder of Ferris Consulting, specializes
in assisting attorneys, mental health professionals and
financial specialists to grow their practice through
results- oriented marketing and practice development
strategies. She has worked with attorneys, collaborative
professionals and mediators across North America and England to
implement effective strategies for increasing awareness and demand
for their services. Elizabeth can be reached at www.ferrisconsult.com
© 2006 Elizabeth Ferris. All rights reserved. You are free
to use material in whole or in part, as long as you include
complete attribution, including live web site link. Please
also notify me where the material will appear.
