Want to know what the key to scaling your business with confidence is? Many online…
Want to know how to build a business that supports your dream life? Some people go into business because they have an idea that they know will change the world. Others go into business because they have big dreams for their life and they know they won’t be able to live their dream life whilst working for someone else. If you have big goals for your life and want to have a business that helps those dreams become a reality then you are in the right place. Keep on reading to find out how to build a business that supports your dream life.
This page may include affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I may earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.
HOW TO BUILD A BUSINESS THAT SUPPORTS YOUR DREAM LIFE
Step 1. Define your version of a dream life
Before you can start to build a business that supports your dream life you have to get clear on what your version of a dream life is. You might be someone who already has a very clear idea of what your dream life looks like, but if you don’t, please spend some time getting clear on it.
There are lots of personal development books, podcasts and tools out there to help you get clear on what type of life you want. But what you definitely should pay attention to, as this is really important for when you get to the design your business stage, is the following:
- How much money do you need in order to live your version of a dream life?
- How much time do you want for work versus life? (This can be done on a weekly, monthly or annual basis)
- How much control do you want over when you work?
- How much flexibility do you want over where and when you work?
Step 2. Design your business intentionally so that it supports your dream life
Once you are clear on your version of a dream life you can start to design your business so that it will support your dream life.
The first thing to consider is the type of business. For example, I predominately work with online, service-based, business owners. This type of business means that someone is location-independent. This works well for people who dream of being able to travel more. They know that as long as they have access to their laptop/phone and wifi they can work from anywhere.
That is not to say you couldn’t have a service-based business or even a physical business and still travel. For example, it could be that you are a wedding photographer who does wedding shoots from March – September and so then travels in the other months.
It is likely that there will be multiple business types that could work so you’ll need to review your options and then decide what is best for you.
Once you have decided the type of business that makes the most sense for you there are still other things to consider to ensure the design of your business is fit for purpose. For your business to support your dream life you’ll need to pay close attention to two things: time and money.
Time
As someone who works with a lot of online service providers, coaches and consultants I’ve seen how even two business owners who on the outside have the same type of business inside run very different types of businesses. This all comes down to service design. The services you offer, and deliver, will have a big impact on your experience inside of the business so designing your services intentionally is key.
Some things to consider when designing your services are:
- How many hours per week, month or year do you want set aside for working with clients / client delivery
- When would you like to work and not work
- How available are you happy to be
Answering these questions can make a huge difference to what you offer in your business and therefore, whether that allows you to live your dream life. For example, two web designers might be happy to work the same amount of hours across the year, but the way they want to work is totally different. One is a parent and wants to be able to do the school run every day so they are only available for clients from 9:30 till 2:30 during term time. Whereas the other is childfree and takes extended periods of time travelling (and not working), so when working they’ll do VIP days with clients that run 9-5.
Money
It’s very unlikely that your dream life is going to cost nothing. Having a proper understanding of how much money you need to support your dream life is key. Once you know that you’ll be able to work out what your business needs to make. Please note that what you might need per year for your dream life should not, I repeat, should not be the annual revenue target for your business.
Your annual revenue target will need to be higher because your business will have expenditures, taxes etc. You’ll need to understand what your business needs to make in revenue in order for you personally to be able to have the amount of money you desire.
Once you know that figure then it is time to work out what your sales would need to be. And what the impact of those sales would mean for you. If you are selling a digital product or a scalable offer then the impact will be minimal. The difference between selling 100, 400 or 900 courses is likely to be minimal. In the same way, it won’t make a big difference if you have 50, 100 or 300 people in your membership.
However, if you are delivering one-to-one services then it may be a bigger impact. It’s very common for a service provider to realise that with their current pricing achieving their dream financial goal is unachievable. If you find yourself in that position it means something has to change – you can work more, you can charge more or you can add in a scalable offer. For many one-to-one service providers creating one scalable offer totally changes their revenue venue potential and helps them drastically improve the quality of their life. If you want to find out more about choosing a scalable offer for your business read this blog post – How to choose the right scalable offer for your business.
| GET 1-TO-1 MENTORING TO HELP YOU BUILD A BUSINESS THAT SUPPORTS YOUR DREAM LIFE?
Each year I take on a limited number of 1-to-1 mentoring clients to help them build a business of their dreams. I’ll be by your side to help ensure you’ve designed your business in a way that truly works for you. And then help you take the necessary actions for that to become a reality. |
Step 3. Plan how to transition from the business you have (or no business) to the business you’ve designed
Now you’ve got clear on where you want to be it is time to bridge the gap (cause I’m assuming you don’t have that business already). Right now it might feel like having that type of business is a million miles away or it might feel that it is something fairly achievable. Either way, planning how to get from where your business is to where you want it to be is key. And you might not be able to plan everything right now, but getting as much as you can onto paper (or more likely an online doc) is powerful.
Step 4: Follow the plan
Creating a plan is one thing, following the plan is another thing. If you want to build a business that supports your dream life you are going to have to work. And following the plan isn’t always easy. It might be that in your plan you need to do things that are pushing your outside of your comfort zone. Or it might be that there are things in your plan that right now you don’t even know how to do. This is where hiring help (whether that be a coach, mentor, consultant etc) can make a huge difference.
For many business owners to successfully follow their plan they need accountability. And whilst some business owners think it is crazy to pay for accountability you need to think about the bigger picture. If accountability will make you do the thing that helps your business get that step closer to being your dream business isn’t it worth it?
| GET THE TRAINING, SUPPORT AND ACCOUNTABILITY TO HELP YOU BUILD A BUSINESS THAT SUPPORTS YOUR DREAM LIFE!
As an online business mentor I work 1-to-1 with clients and provide the training, support and accountability to ensure they build the business of their dreams. I’ll be there every step of the way to help you dream, plan and do what is necessary. |
Another thing to remember is that you’ll need to review your performance. When you created the plan you’ll have made it with the best of intentions based on what you knew at that time. But sometimes the actions you take might end up in different results. That’s why regularly monitoring your progress is key. Getting into the habit whether that be monthly or quarterly to review your progress and review your plan will help ensure you stay on track.
That’s it! You now know how to build a business that supports your dream life.
So many business owners set out to build a business that supports their dream life, but never achieve it. Don’t let that happen to you. Spend the time getting clear on what you want for your dream life, and then dream business. Then plan how to build that business. And then follow the plan. It really is as simple as DREAM PLAN DO which is a 3-step process I swear by.
I hope reading this blog post has inspired you to go forth and build a business that supports your dream life. Let me know in the comments what your biggest takeaway has been.
| GET THE TRAINING, SUPPORT AND ACCOUNTABILITY TO HELP YOU BUILD A BUSINESS THAT SUPPORTS YOUR DREAM LIFE!
As an online business mentor I work 1-to-1 with clients and provide the training, support and accountability to ensure they build the business of their dreams. I’ll be there every step of the way to help you dream, plan and do what is necessary. |
Related Posts
