Welcome to 2020. It’s not only a new year, but a new decade. It’s a great opportunity to crack that spine on your new planner and dive in. Ready to get started?

What are your goals this year?
Take a few minutes to write them out.
As you write things down, also consider these questions:

• What do you need, and who do you need, in order to be successful?
• What’s going to help you attain that goal?
• How can you lean into your strengths?
• What might get in the way?

What’s going to make these goals visible? One of the success factors I heard at the end of the 2020 was that having a one-page copy of their annual vision on the wall was a critical success factor. It helped when making decisions, prioritizing, and making adjustments.
What would magnify them? Are these goals really a stretch? What would double them? 10X them? 100X them? While stretch goals can be an encouragement to some, note that they may be a discourager to others.
Who are you going to share your goals with? We know that the act of public accountability often ups the ante around what we are committed to doing. It can sometimes light a spark, or add oxygen to a smaller ember.
Finally – TRACK. Where are you starting your year? What are your metrics – revenue, inventory, followers, subscriptions, etc.

Take a few minutes today to note your starting point and be sure to leverage the power of the Monthly Daily Trackers if you have a copy of PlanDoTrack or Coaching Business Builder.

I’m looking forward to bringing you another year of weekly blog posts related to business development and growing your coaching business.

We take a look at many of these topics in greater depth at the Coaching Biz Growth Lab – a group that meets annually on Fridays from 3 – 4 pm ET (usually the 1st and 3rd weeks of the month). 1st call for 2020 will occur on Friday January 10th. Hope you'll join us this year!

Enjoy!
Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton - GroupCoachingEssentials | Potentials Realized
Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Author of Effective Group Coaching (2010), Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Check out my author page on Amazon for all publications.
Email: info@potentialsrealized.com

Over the last few weeks here at the blog we’ve been exploring different elements for year end. This week I wanted to draw your focus to a big of a laundry list of common year end items coaches may find themselves working around.

Last year, as part of the Coaching Biz Growth Lab, (a group I host throughout the year) I pulled together a handy, year-end checklist which you can download here.

You’ll note that this list includes a list of a variety of different tasks and activities including a focus on financials, clients, goals and other areas.

Taking some time BEFORE the end of the year is critical for getting the year wrapped up and setting focus for the year ahead. What are the areas you want to put attention around?

Before you move onto your next task, be sure to download a copy of the year-end checklist!

Enjoy and in the comments let us know what you found most useful OR things you also added.

Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton
Coaching Business Builder | Group Coaching Essentials
Supporting coaches to grow their business and skills in the areas of group coaching
Recipient of the Prism Award for Excellence in Coaching (2016), and i4pL Award of Excellence - Curriculum Design (2017)
Contact Jennifer to set up a call to see how her 1-1 coaching or group coaching support can help you move towards your year-end and 2020 goals.
Phone: (416)996-8326

Did you see the BLACK FRIDAY Special on for the 2020 Coaching BizGrowth Lab? This is an annual coaching group I host throughout the year on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month. Join us for planning, community and focus on your business! Save $550 on an annual membership until December 4th. Click here to register.

​​Metrics are the heart of any business. Numbers and data provide patterns and insight for those who take time to explore what metrics are available to them.
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As a solopreneur, or small business owner, it can be useful to take time on a regular basis to track what your numbers are saying.

Here’s a quick list of some of the metrics you may want to track:

• Sales
• Website visits
• Downloads
• Revenue
• Reads
• Sample sessions
• Products developed
• Speaking engagements
• Likes
• Numbers of clients
• Hours billed
• Net profit
• Social visits
• # of books sold
• Operating revenue

What else do you have metrics around? What else might you want to note?
Questions to consider:

• As you look at the list, what’s important?
• What are the metrics you have easy access to?
  • Pull those out – what patterns do you notice? What trends do you see over time? How does it stack up to what you had planned or envisioned?

Enjoy!
Jennifer

PS - Don't forget to join us today - Monday November 18th from 11 -1145 am ET for a special 2020 Planning Hack. Bring your pen and planner and join me in zoom room 270-302-0415. We'll start promptly at 11 am ET.

It’s getting to be that time of year to earmark some time for year-end planning, whether it is for yourself, your team or your business. This has become a passion topic of mine for many decades now as a retreat leader, and for the past couple of years, my authorship of two workbook planners – PlanDoTrack (for Remote Workers) and the Coaching Business Builder (for coaches) has brought me more into the landscape of planning on a regular occurrence.

As you go to develop your plans for 2020, and perhaps the new decade, it may be useful to segment your planning along the lines of PLAN, DO, and TRACK.
 
First, prepare. We know that planning and preparation can save ample time. An old project management adage is that “ten minutes of planning will save 1 hour of unfocused effort”. Before you go to sit down and work on your plan it may be useful to:

1. Schedule time for this. From a 45-minute planning hack (join me on Monday November 11th at 11 am ET for one!) to a four-hour virtual session. What’s the amount of time you want to earmark for your planning? Do you want to do this with others? Or alone?
2. Gather what you need. That might include:
   1. Last year’s plan to see how you reviewed your plan last year, along with last year’s metrics
   2. This year’s annual and quarterly plans so you can take stock of how things went
   3. Numbers – finances, dates, programs etc.

 Next , PLAN:
As you go to prepare for 2020 planning consider:

• What do you want to focus on?
• What will WILD SUCCESS look like?
• What are the elements of work you know you need in order to be fulfilled?
• What are the pieces your clients are asking for?
• What is the legacy work you want to leave a footprint around?
• What is the foundational work you want to undertake?

Then, DO:
Another important part of planning is the DOING. Consider what kind of plan is going to work for you. Are you the type of person who likes to review? Make notes once a week? Take a deep dive monthly? Both PlanDoTrack and Coaching Business Builder includes an undated planner with monthly, quarterly and annual planning pages. You can start using them at any time, and in seeing how people engage with these, it's fascinating to note the different preferences people have around planning. 

Once you have decided your responses to these questions, consider doing a big list of all the things you want to focus on (projects, tasks and activities) for 2020. Make a list according to your preferred style:

• Are you a visual person? If so, starting with a MindMap may work well. Grab a new notebook and write out your plans.
• Do you work best to deadline? Grab a set of post it notes first and with one post-it per idea list your activities. Then grab a calendar of appropriate size and place them in the grid.  If you are a color person, you might consider dedicating certain projects to certain colors and using that color of post it/index card. The dollar store is a great place to find these resources.
• Do you work best with peer accountability? This is where you might consider joining an annual group. I host two throughout the year – the Coaching Biz Growth Lab which meets the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month between 3 – 4 pm Eastern, focusing on business growth and the Learning Lab and Design Studio which focuses on all things learning design such as how to create more impactful individual, group and team programs.
• Do you work best to numbers? Consider leveraging the questions under the track. Jump there!
• Do you work well with time and space dedicated to it? Consider scheduling time on a regular basis to your planning. Perhaps you join me every month for the Month End Planning sessions OR want to do it on your own. Schedule regular time to this right now for the next quarter or throughout all of 2020.

As Drucker is often quoted as saying, “what doesn’t get scheduled, doesn’t get done”.

Finally, TRACK:
Tracking is another part of planning and productivity success. What do your numbers say Without metrics around a plan it’s hard to know what really is changing. While some may only see numbers as numbers, the value of tracking metrics is that over time you will start seeing some interesting patterns.
If this is an area you want to get better at, check out the Monthly Daily Trackers, and Content Trackers in both PlanDoTrack and the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planners (see section 5 - the planners).

Questions to consider:

• What are the metrics you want to track? Consider profit (i.e. revenue, sales), productivity, staff or team measures (number of meetings held, number of 1-1s).
• What is the baseline you want to capture right now?
• Where are you going to track your metrics?

If you are looking for a framework, consider using the Monthly Daily Trackers which you will find in the 5th section of PlanDoTrack or Coaching Business Builder. There are 12 sets of them.

For more on metrics, stay tuned for next week’s blog post. I’ll be dedicating it to the topic of metrics.

Best,
​Jennifer

PS - Save the DATE! I'll be hosting an open invitation planning for 2020 session on Monday November 18th from 11 - 1145 am ET. Grab a pen and your journal and join us!

Welcome to November! What are your key goals this month? As we step into November it's a chance to focus on PLANNING, SCALING and GROWING, this month's topic in the 1BizStepADay series.  
This month you are going to be able to engage in prompts around visioning for your business, as well as planning. What's possible for you and your work? This month you are invited to dream a little, or a lot!
​
​The 1BizStepADay series includes a daily prompt to get you taking action on a different aspect of your business. Each month has a different theme. We've explored systems check (August), developing your signature program (June), major projects (September) and last month we turned our attention to client outreach. 

Please join us join us for some daily steps this month with the daily prompts, as well as connect in with some of the November planning sessions I will be hosting, including the complimentary Virtual Book Club call on Monday November 18th - the 2020 Planning Hack! Join me in my zoom room on 11.18.19 from 11 - 11:40 am ET that morning with your pen and paper.

You can download this month's 1BizStepaDay list here 

Enjoy the focus this month! What else is on your daily focus list for these last two month of the year (and decade)?

Remember consistent action + daily steps = momentum. How far  have you come this year?

With best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton - GroupCoachingEssentials
Join us throughout 2020 for a focus on your coaching business on Fidays from 3 - 4 pm ET bi-weekly for the Coaching Biz Growth Lab. Focus in on core topics for your business and fun, impactful coaching! Reach out to Jennifer to set up a call to discuss.
Phone: 416 -996-8326

While many of us (myself included) are rushing to head out of town to kick off summer with loved ones and family, it's a great time to take stock of the first part of 2019. Have you built in time to complete your month end reflection AND Mid-year stock taking?

Earlier today I led my monthly month-end reflection session. Each month
I lead a live virtual session to take those interested through a 60-90 minute virtual planning session.

Next month's is scheduled for 12 - 1pm ET on Tuesday July 30th. It will also mark the one year anniversary of the launch of Coaching Business Builder. Bring your planner, and reserve your spot in this live one hour program ($39 US).

As a mid-year treat, I wanted to link you back to the 17 questions I posed a few months ago at the Q1 reflective planning session. You can view that here on YouTube - follow along - grab your pen, and journal, and use the questions to take stock of both the last quarter and/or 2019!

Enjoy,
Jennifer

Pick up a copy of PlanDoTrack (for virtual and remote entrepreneurs, remote workers and leaders) or Coaching Business Builder (for coaches). They are both a 12 month undated planner and self-guided workbook.

Jennifer Britton -Potentials Realized
Let's connect to discuss how coaching (1-1 or group) can move your business forward this summer
Phone: (416)996-8326

One of my favorite activities over the last few years has been to create a summer project list of small, and larger tasks, to complete in what some find to be a quieter time. There always are lots of project possibilities in the summer months. Have you considered:

• Updating your website
• Incorporating a new system
• Catching up on the reading you have piled around your office (or bed)
• Taking time to plan for a new program
• Writing some blog posts (and getting ahead of the curve)
• Creating a content calendar for your business
• Writing your newsletters for the next few months
• Starting a new series on Instagram

Some useful questions to consider as you go to decide what projects you want to put attention around:

• What have your clients been asking for?
• What are your key goals this year?
• What new activities would support your action and achievement of these?
• What projects would you like to move off of your “TO DO” List?
• What milestones would you create for yourself so that this is completed before the end of the month, or the end of the summer?
• What resources do you need in order to be successful with this?

For some more inspiration around this topic, listen into this 20 minute video I did last year on 2018 project ideas – check it out on my YouTube channel.

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

In both the Coaching Business Builder and PlanDoTrack, I include four business philosophies which are critical to all types of virtual and remote professionals, and business owners today – Focus, Experimentation, Momentum and Reflective Pause.

In my work with teams, and individuals, over the last fifteen years in my business I’ve seen that these make the difference between good and exceptional.

With this in mind, over the next few weeks I’ll be taking a deeper dive into the realm of these four areas looking at:

• What it means in today’s business context
• Why it’s important
• Ideas for putting it into practice
• And resources you may want to follow up around

​A reminder that if you like these topics you may want to check out my weekly Facebook Live, where I put into voice quick planning ideas and activities. You will find it over at the PlanDoTrack Facebook page.

Let’s turn our attention to the first topic of FOCUS.

We live and operate today in what is often considered an era of distraction. Our ability to focus and keep our eye on what is important to us, and to our work, is key.
Did you know that:

• The average worker receives 90 emails in the span of a day?
• It takes 22 minutes to get back on track after an interruption?

It’s not uncommon for workers (not just managers) to be spending 5-10 hours a week in meetings? I’ve met managers who wear the badge of
Focused work and attention are critical, and essential in order to create foundations, and grow a business.

How To- Creating Focus:

• Consider building in focused blocks of work – turn off email, move into a conference room, or take your work mobile. What will give you the space and time to do the focused work you need in your job/business?
• Leverage the circadian rhythm. Science continues to show that we have different times of day when we are at our best. What are those times for you? What can you do to ensure you have focused work times within those blocks.
• Create your to-do list of Top 5. With change being the norm for many workplaces, having a top five list each day is important. It’s interesting as the writing of James Clear has pointed to the early 1900s productivity hack from Ivy who asserted that a focus on a top 6 list every day would lead to productivity advances. Whether it’s five or six, being able to check core items off the list can help with efficiency and also motivation.
• Know your priorities – and your teams. Priorities also keep us grounded. They will help us shape our top five as well as discern where our time needs to go. What are your priorities for the week? The month? The quarter?

 
Refer To - Focus
When: The Science of Perfect Timing – Daniel Pink
Atomic Habits – James Clear
Outer Order and Inner Calm – Gretchen Rubin
Deep Work and Digital Minimalism – Cal Newport

Check out my April 3, 2019 Facebook Live 

Wishing you all the best,
Jennifer

This week it’s launch time! You’ve done it!

Over the last four weeks (or more) you have been working on your free offer or giveaway. This is key in terms of letting others know what you do and offering them something of value.
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Doing this regularly can help further develop your reputation and let people know what you have to offer.

This week as you go to launch, consider the varying ways you are going to continually let people know about this offering. Some possible ways might include:

• In your signature line
• On your blog
• In your newsletter
• Via your network
• Instagram post
• LinkedIn Status update

What are the ways you are going to let everyone know about this?

Have a great day!
​Jennifer

Over the last few weeks you have been busy working on your free giveaway. It’s now been drafted, and you have figured out where it’s going to go. It’s not quite ready yet!

Take some time this week to-do a last review and perhaps get some feedback. Maybe you have a routine of passing materials off to your loved ones for a quick second set of eyes. Maybe you have a community that supports you on this. Who can give the project a review?
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This week you will also want to focus in on how and where you are going to promote this. Don’t forget the 7 to 11 times rule. The landscape of free offerings is super-saturated at times.  You will want to make sure you are regularly talking about this and letting people know that it exists. If you haven’t done so, make a list of WHERE, WHEN and HOW you are going to let people know about it (Here’s a challenge - make sure you have at least 11 different touchpoints!).

Share with us what you have been working on – you can share it here in the comments, or over on the Effective Group Coaching Facebook page.

Best,
​Jennifer