Why your business needs an awayday (especially if you are a solo or small business owner)

Do you think that awaydays are a waste of time or just for big businesses? Well, I’m here to tell you otherwise. Awaydays are essential for business small and large. Keep on reading to find out why your business needs an awayday and why they are especially important if you are a solo or small business owner.

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Before I delve into why an awayday is important I want to make sure we have the same understanding of what an awayday is.

What is an Awayday?

An awayday is defined as “A day on which employees meet at a venue away from the workplace to plan strategy or to discuss a particular issue”. 

This definition shows you what an awayday is in its simplest form. It is simply a day where you go away from your workplace, for a defined amount of time and with a specific purpose.

Why are Awaydays especially important for solo and small business owners

Awaydays are important for businesses small and large. Most corporates and big businesses will have them regularly as standard practice. However, a large percent of solo and small business owners won’t have an awayday. This is usually for a number of reasons:

• The business owner will have had a bad experience of an awayday whilst being an employee and therefore isn’t interested in having them anymore
• If the business owner is a solo business owner, or has a small team of freelancers and contractors, they might think it is pointless since who would they have it with
• The business owner is too busy trying to keep the business running that they think it is a waste of time to take time out for an awayday.

Now whilst the business owner may have what they class as valid reasons for not having an awayday I would argue otherwise. I believe that awaydays are very valuable for solo and small business owners for a number of reasons.

 

 

1. You can work on your business rather than in your business

As a business owner, it is important that you take the time to work on your business rather than in your business. However, as a solo or small business owner the likelihood is you struggle to make enough time to do. Working IN your business is where you are doing tasks that relate to the day-to-day running of the business and usually have a direct impact on revenue. Working ON your business is where you are doing tasks that relate to the future. This is where you strategising, planning and designing.

An awayday offers you the perfect opportunity to work on your business in a manageable way. Whilst you might try to block out a time once a week or once a month to work on your business rather than in your business it is easy for something “more important” to take its place.

When you commit to an away day you can block out the day in your diary weeks or months in advance and ensure there is no conflict with client work. Then by turning your phone, email and social media off and working through a defined agenda you can have some highly productive working ON your business time.

you are now clear on what a Marketing Strategist so I’ll now share the benefits of hiring a Marketing Strategist.

 

2. An awayday offers you the opportunity to think about the long-term of your business

As a solo or small business owner, the likelihood is that your focus is mainly on the week or month ahead. If you are like most small and solo business owners then you’ll be focusing on the following:

• Delivering a great service to your current clients
• Generating leads for new clients
• Monitoring your finances for the short to mid-term

Now there is nothing wrong with these things being your focus. They are essential for ensuring the short to mid-term success of your business. However, if you only ever concentrate on the short to mid-term future of your business, you’ll never make drastic changes in your business.

The beauty of an away day is you are given a specific time to think about your long-term. You’ll get to answer questions such as “What would you like your business to look like in 1, 3 or even 5 years’ time?”. Then once you’ve answered that you’ll be able to make a plan to get you from where you are right now to where you want to be in the future.

 

Love the idea of getting clear about the year ahead? A 2021 Strategy Day is designed specifically to get you out of short-term mode and helping you to set your goals for the next year and then a plan of how to achieve that business growth. Book a 2021 Strategy Day.

 

3. Awaydays are perfect for blue sky thinking

If you went into business by yourself then I’m guessing you are a creative individual. Are you constantly coming up with new ideas? Do you have notes all over the place of new ideas that you’ve never had the opportunity to properly consider?

An awayday is the perfect opportunity for blue sky thinking. In an awayday, there are no limits. Rather than thinking you should be doing something else (that is directly related to producing revenue), you have the freedom to know this is the time for blue sky thinking.

You can gather all your ideas together and give them the attention they deserve. In an awayday you can work out which ideas you should carry forward and either research future or incorporate into your plan.

 

4.You can create a plan for the future

The reasons why big businesses will regularly have awaydays is they are connected to their planning cycle. To plan properly you need some dedicated time, not 20 minutes in between calls and an hour when you are exhausted at the end of a day. Depending on how fast-paced your industry is you might decide to plan in quarters, 6-months or annual blocks.

Creating a plan is especially important for solo and small business owners because your resources are likely to be limited. Your time, money and energy is precious, and by creating a plan you can ensure that you are focusing on the things that matter. Also, by creating a plan in advance will help you to be more productive on a day-to-day basis, which is what everyone wants right?

 

There you have it! You now know why your business needs an awayday (especially if you’re a solo or small business owner). 

 

Hopefully, you can see how important it is to have an away day for your business.

Now you have two options:

• You can open your diary and block out the day to host your own away day.
• You can book a 2021 Strategy Day and work with me

I have designed the 2021 Strategy Day specifically to help coaches and consultants who have a solo or small business.

It is a virtual awayday experience designed to ensure you have a clear strategy and action plan for the whole of 2021.

By working with me not only will you have to work out what you need to cover in your away day (I know exactly what you need to cover) but you’ll also have someone to share your blue sky thinking with and help you create plans for your wild ideas so you can have your most successful year in business to date.

Sound good? You can apply for a 2021 Strategy Day here.

Want to know a little bit more about what is covered in a 2021 Strategy Day? Click here for more information. Click here for more information.

 

Prefer ongoing support instead? You can drop me a message here or if you would prefer to discuss your situation (I love a good chat) then you can book a call here.