One Way To Save Time, Money, and Frustration
Sloooooow it down, just for a second!
Quick on my feet, buuuuut did I really need to be?
Ellie‘s birthday fell on a Monday this summer, and she wanted to take treats to summer school. To avoid allergies, the treat was simple: fresh fruit and coconut whipped topping.
Since her birthday was Monday, we celebrated on Sunday, which means we prepped on Saturday. As we were shopping on Saturday, I thought about getting the fruit for Monday, but I didn’t feel the fruit had been lasting very long, so we didn’t want to risk it being squishy.
But, since we had her party on Sunday, guess who didn’t make it back to the store on Sunday… Me.
On Monday, Sean took Ellie to breakfast, and I took Gracie to swimming lessons and then dropped Gracie off at school.
Next step: Birthday treat.
As I drove to the store, I thought through my plan and was excited to realize that I could think quickly on my feet and complete a project on the fly.
But then, the execution began…
I headed to the third store of the morning (coconut whipped cream is not as common as I expected), and the perspective of “thinking on my feet” became clear: this was unfolding a bit differently than I had anticipated 🫣
As I was picking out the fruit, I knew I needed a bowl to put it in (we have bowls at home). And if I’m getting strawberries, it would be best to cut them up for the kids (we have knives at home). And if I were going to put these in a container, I needed to have containers (we didn’t have little individual ones, so this was helpful). And since I’d be touching the fruit, I'd need some gloves (which we also have at home).
I then parked at Stephens Park, popped the back hatch, and set up shop.
Three stores and $65 later, we have a successful birthday treat to drop off.
Now, how does this transfer into business?
Proactive vs. Reactive.
I’m not saying you’ll be able to avoid any “quick on your feet moments”, but we can do ourselves a favor and plan ahead.
For a recent client, she wanted to be more proactive with posting on social media. She knew her content and loved doing it, but she found herself stressing about what to post on that day.
Together, we zoomed out for the year. We listed out each month of the year. We then filled in the big events or seasonal things that she’d be posting about:
January
Clean eating resets
Catering
Healthy Focus
Events: TBD
Smoothie Special
February
Valentines day
Event: sparkling wine and chocolate tasting
Events: TBD
Smoothie Special
March
Spring feature
Smoothie Special
By mapping out the whole year, she could take some time to batch-create content, or if she was in a pinch, she could refer to this list, which would at least help her brain narrow down on an idea.
I did this with another client to help him map out his calendar for availability as he had certain times of the year when he was going to be slammed and, therefore, needed to block off time on his calendar and then make sure to prep projects with ample time.
It’s slowing down to then go fast, which can be tough for many small business owners! But trust me when I say it could save you time, money, and frustration!