5 Business Planning Mistakes Hurting Your Biz (& How to Fix Them)
My friend, you don’t have time to waste.
As a solo entrepreneur or a business owner with a small-and-scrappy team, time is not something you can afford to waste. Having a plan ensures you waste as little time as possible.
But when you’re doing it all alone (or don’t have a ton of support yet), it’s easy to get distracted and discouraged. You flit from idea to idea, project to project, client to client, and you can never really get that deep work done.
Ultimately, that leaves you feeling more stressed, overwhelmed, and discouraged because you never really get anything done to move the needle forward. Which as we all know, leads to more work and fewer results, which of course leads to burnout.
And yes…I’m speaking TOTALLY from experience!
When I started my business in 2016, I had NO idea what to expect or what to plan, I was just trying to survive and keep the lights on. But there was no way I’d go back to the corporate job I left. Which is where the chronic overwhelm began. I wanted to do it all so I’d never have to go back.
But as you can imagine, that wasn’t exactly the most efficient way to run my business. So in the 7+ years I’ve been doing business, I’ve learned a better way. And it starts with a plan!
If you want to see how you can get out of that constant state of overwhelm, here are five business planning mistakes to avoid, and what to do instead.
Business Planning Mistake #1: Trying to do it all
I don’t even have to know what kind of business you run to know that you probably feel like you need to do all of the things…Instagram, YouTube, newsletters, funnels, everything.
But just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean you need to do it too. What you really need to focus on is what’s most important to your business, i.e. what’s going to bring in clients or sales through the door and how you can do that in the most efficient way possible.
Instead of trying to do it all, start focusing on something that can generate money. A low-ticket offer is a great way to do that because not only are you making a little bit of extra cash in the now, but you’re also easing people down that sales funnel, so they’re more warmed up when you introduce your bigger-ticket offers in the future.
Business Planning Mistake #2: You refuse to go digital
Look, I love my paper planner as much as the next person, but if you’re running an online business in 2023, you need to have a digital planning tool too.
Why, you ask? Because it’s going to save you TIME!
Since I use a hybrid model of paper and digital planning, I don’t have to constantly write things down (or write them over and over). I don’t have to communicate what’s going on with my team and my family over and over. On paper, I can rough draft it, and digitally, I can finalize it for everyone who needs to see it.
Business Planning Mistake #3: You’re not aware of your available time
Whether you’re working full-time on your business or trying to get it up and running while your kids are napping, things add up quickly. You might not even realize how long something takes you until you actually watch those hours — yup, we’re talking about time tracking. Seriously, if you’ve never tracked your time, I highly recommend doing it!
Why does this matter — especially if you’re not getting paid by the hour? Because you need to do it to see what you can realistically get done in a day. And putting more on yourself than what you can actually handle leads to disappointment and burnout.
Knowing your limits can really help you get through each day and eventually reach those milestones in your small business.
Business Planning Mistake #4: You’re not batching
With so much on your plate, you need to maximize your time to get the most done as you can. As an entrepreneur, you don’t have time to waste!
That’s where batch work helps — you batch similar tasks together, so you’re not constantly having to switch your focus back and forth between your money brain, your planning brain, your content creation brain, etc.
Once you do this, the work will fly by because you’re in the zone and don’t have to break your focus! It's honestly one of the best ways to stay on task.
Business Planning Mistake #5: You don’t track (the right) metrics
Not all metrics were created equal! I know it’s tempting to focus on things like followers or subscriber count, but those things actually don’t matter. They don’t tell the story of what’s actually driving traffic to your offers and making you money.
Instead, look at metrics like:
Email open and click-through rates
YouTube click-through rates
YouTube video views to the end
Impressions
Basically, regardless of the platform, keep an eye on the numbers that tell you where people are going and if they’re going to the web pages that matter (like your offers or your about/services page).
Learn how to better plan for business growth inside of 10K on Replay
Look, I know that running a business isn’t easy! Things will go wrong, kids get sick, and deadlines will slip. But that’s okay! You just need to make sure you’re focusing on the right things, and the rest will follow, even if every day isn’t perfect.
But if you need a little extra help focusing on the “right things” — and knowing what those important things even are — then check out 10K on Replay!
This group coaching program (with 1:1 support) will help you find a personalized approach to managing the stress and overwhelm you feel on the daily as a solo entrepreneur! You’ll have the opportunity to connect with others who are struggling with the same things, and get custom feedback (like video/content/schedule audits by yours truly) to help you stay on the right track.
If this sounds like the kind of support you need, check out 10K on Replay here!
