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| A recent brainstorming session. |
I have a confession to make. I’ve never been much of a planner. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy my routines, and as an admitted introvert I definitely need those. But I prefer coming up with ideas and concepts much more than executing them—which doesn’t always bode well when you’re self-employed (this is where deadlines come in handy.)
With some trepidation, I went to my marketing guru husband a few weeks ago and said, “I want you to help me put together a business plan.” I don’t think I’ve ever seen him sprint for the Post-its and Sharpies faster.
Initially, I regretted my decision to ask for help. As we talked about what my goals were, he would say things like “That’s not an objective—that’s a tactic!” Or vice versa. It was enough to make my head spin.
But eventually, we made progress. I had to face the music and realize that some of the work I’m doing prevents me from making progress on my dream of becoming a novelist. I realize that when/if I become a novelist I will also have to have additional streams of income. I understand that. But out of the options of things I can do for supplemental income, there are a few clients/types of writing I will need to phase out of over the next year in order to reach my goal of how much money I want to earn over the next three years. (Yes, I said three. He was nice enough to build in some time for me to reach my goal so I don’t panic and give up next year.) He was even kind enough to pull his illegible sticky notes off the wall and type them up for me, so I now have an “official” 2015 business plan in my hot little hands. Yes, it's already February, but better late than never, right?
One of my goals is to explore more public speaking opportunities and I’m happy to report I get to work on that goal next week. I’ve been invited to speak on the topic of “I’m Published, So Now What? Making a Living Writing” for a local writers group. I’ll be presenting with three other panelists who all have different writing specialties. I’m working on an outline of my talking points and will be practicing in front of the mirror this weekend. I'm excited about creating new opportunities and prioritizing the type of work I take on. I'm also glad I put it all down on paper so I can stay focused.
Do you have a one, two, or three-year plan for your writing goals? I’d love to hear about it!
4 comments:
Hi Renee:
Love this post. I need a business plan. Maybe your husband could rent out his services to writers. :)
Good luck with your public speaking!
That's awesome, Renee! Maybe you could do a follow up to this post and explain more about the process or steps you guys used to come up with your business plan? Like when your hubby said, "That's not an objective--that's a tactic!" I'm interested to find out more!
Good luck on your speaking gig this weekend. After having the opportunity to chat with you on the phone a few weeks ago, I know you'll do fantastic! You're a very personable and engaging speaker. :)
Renee--I'm sure you will win over the audience with your sense of humor and your knowledge.
Good luck! (And yes, I think you won't have to worry about writing gigs that pay. Just rent out your husband.)
If you guys could have seen me. I was sitting there with my mouth open and saying things like, "I want to write books. Can you please explain how writing fiction is a strategy and not a tactic?" I'll definitely have to explain things further in a future post. And thank you for the votes of confidence on the panel appearance. I'm usually pretty shy but find it hard to stop talking when it comes to topics I'm passionate about. They'll probably have to take the microphone away from me :-)
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