How to Build a Business that Fits Your Life

There’s a reason the first question I ask a client is “what do you want your life to be like?” It’s because without a clear and vivid vision of what YOU want, you won’t be very likely to get it.

This sounds trite and flippant, but I assure you, it’s by far the most important question you need to ask yourself as you build a business.

Who you are, what you love, what you hate, how you like to work, how you like to play, and how much money you desire and need are all important ingredients that will allow you to create the business that really fits you best. Doesn’t this sound better than if I were to ask you what business model is right for you?

Here are two scenarios of people in the same kind of business, yet set up completely different:

Peggy absolutely loves to nurture and care for her clients and enjoys lots of interaction with them. Her passion is taking care of her clients’ needs and making their lives easier.  In her career she was a high level executive assistant in the corporate world. She left her job in her early 50s to care for her husband who became unable to work. She also has a daughter in university. She needs to have a consistent income, and a predictable daytime schedule. She needs to be at home. What works for Peggy’s virtual assistant practice is to work very closely with mainly local clients, from her home office. She does administrative work for a small number of ongoing clients in a particular industry. She can be available to them during their business day. She takes on a small number of virtual clients outside of her geographic area for task-oriented, as needed projects to diversify her income.

Sandra has a pre-school child and gave her letter of resignation soon after going back to work so that she could be home with her young child. Her income from her job was not enough for her to make working for someone else worth it financially and emotionally. Her schedule is completely erratic and she requires absolute flexibility. Her income needs are not high, and is a second income for her family. She loves variety and the satisfaction of turning projects around quickly and moving on to the next one. She tends to get bored quickly, just likes to get the work done and move on. She dislikes the day-to-day administration and works best when she has a clear direction and a definite project end.  Her passion leans toward technical problem solving and creativity. What works for Sandra’s virtual assistance practice is a specialty in online marketing software. She sets up electronic newsletters, and manages the back end of her clients’ shopping cart systems and email marketing. Because she is so specialized, she often is not the sole virtual assistant for her clients and frequently is a member of a project team. She likes this because she doesn’t want to be the point person and also due to her schedule, she isn’t suited for customer service and regular interaction with her clients and their clients. She can handle a higher number of clients and most of the work she does can be done at any time of day or night as long as she meets her deadlines.

As you can see from the above examples, Peggy and Sandra have entirely different needs. Had either of them chosen each other’s model to follow, they’d be miserable. Their businesses would soon feel like a job, and you can bet their relationships with their clients would be less than effective.

So, how do you avoid this in your life and business? Take the time to figure out what you truly want, and custom fit your business to your life plan.

Here are some tips to get you thinking:

1. What’s your “sweet spot”?

Jim Collins, the author of the Good to Great leadership books, says it is where all of these three things intersect:

• Something that people will pay you for – these are your marketable skills that you have
• Something you’re passionate about
• Something that you’re put on this earth to do – the elusive “purpose” many of us seek

2. What kind of lifestyle do you want?

Explore and carefully consider how you want your life to be, now and in the future. Look at each of these areas:

Personal and family responsibilities

Financial obligations and desires

Amount of time you want to spend “doing” client work

Degree of flexibility in your schedule

Willingness to travel, or need to work from local base

How you prefer to work (degree of autonomy and interaction, short turnaround or long haul)

Energy level (prefer steady and predictable, or adrenaline junkie)

Risk tolerance (lots of security and stability, or open to uncertainty)

3. Who needs you?

There’s a client out there right now, just waiting for someone like you who understands their needs and is ideally matched for you.

If you “do the work”, you’ll reap the rewards. These guidelines will help you to identify what you really want and what is ideally suited to you, so that you can build the business that is your best fit.

Want to use this article? You can as long as you include this footer: Sherri Garrity is the Chief Corporate Fugitive and creator of the Five Keys Success SystemTM for ex-corporate employees and aspiring entrepreneurs who want to break free from the confines of their corporate experience and live outside of the ordinary. The Corporate Fugitive system demystifies the business of setting up, managing, marketing and growing a successful and extraordinary business. Visit www.corporatefugitive.com for information and step-by-step resources to take you from overwhelmed employee to extraordinary entrepreneur.