Goal setting and developing a values driven business
January is a time of reflection and planning for many businesses - looking back over the previous year to see what went well and what could be improved upon, then checking in with their goals and developing marketing plans for the coming year.
It’s been an even more important process for me this January as I made a significant change at the end of 2021, leaving my part-time job in a conservation charity to concentrate full-time on my content marketing writing business. It was bittersweet as I loved being involved in local conservation work but, equally, I’m excited that I now have the opportunity to spend more time growing my business.
After a very busy 2021, I decided to take a proper break over the festive holidays to rest my mind and hit the ground running in January.
And that was the intention when I fired up my laptop on my first day as a full-time freelancer. I had ongoing work from my lovely retainer clients but wanted to use the extra days to plan a strategy for working proactively and growing my business.
But I had a couple of false starts!
On reflection, I’ve since realised that the process of looking for new clients is something I’ve never really needed to do (clients have tended to approach me via word of mouth) and who knew that simply moving from part-time freelancer to full-time could throw the proverbial spanner into an established structure for the working week!
It turns out that I was missing an important point (based on one of my writing niches, ‘physician heal thyself’ springs to mind, as one of my clients laughingly reminded me 😂 ).
Freelancers often comment that January is an odd month as businesses ease their way back into the working year. So, rather than focus on an income goal or number of new clients goal, I tweaked my thinking and am now concentrating on developing marketing activity, knowing that the rest will follow.
Guess what! Everything is now slotting into place.
Developing a business plan and marketing strategy
I’d already done some work in December around my overall goals for 2022 - looking at my life, my business and my income goals - so wanted to translate them into a business plan which will form the basis of my marketing plan. And, right at the point I decided to do that, my good friend and business coach Ruth launched her Simple AF Biz Plan Kit (don’t you just love that title).
If you’re on my email list, you’ll know that I love Ruth’s courses and templates, so I headed straight to her website and clicked to buy. It comes with a pop up Facebook group for support and nine videos to explain how to use the business plan. At the end of the process I’ll have a simple one page business plan to follow
Creating a business in line with my values
The other thing I’m working on in January is how to add an ethical (responsible) aspect to my business. My personal values are very much about sustainability and the environment (remember I used to work part-time for a conservation charity?) and I’m really keen for my business to reflect this so that I can connect with people of similar values.
Over the years, I’ve participated in or volunteered at events raising money for the British Heart Foundation, Macmillan Cancer Support, Water Aid, Climbers Against Cancer and local trail networks - to name but a few!
I’m also an ethical shopper at home, using environmentally friendly cleaning products, refilling toiletries at our local refill store, and buying Who Gives A Crap toilet paper. I also use a green energy supplier, but maybe the less said about that the better right now!
So, I’m toying with the idea of linking my premium packages (currently being created) to a percentage donation for a good cause. I’ve still to decide how that looks and which charity to choose, but it’s an exciting development.
I’ve also been talking to the Organisation for Responsible Businesses to learn more about sustainability in my business. I’ve now signed up for membership and am looking forward to being involved with a community of like-minded business owners.
How’s your January going?
I’d love to hear how 2022 is going for you so far and whether you’re developing something new in your business or have some January tips to share.
If you’re looking to grow your content marketing (blog posts, website content, articles, etc) in 2022 and are looking for a great content marketing writer, I’ve heard there’s this great freelancer who’s usually fully booked but has recently created more hours in her week for new clients #justsaying 😉
Click below to book a chat with me about your content marketing goals for 2022 (remember to bring your own coffee!).
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