#JTInTheRaw Show 81 | 7 Tips To Work On Your Business

When was the last time you stepped out of the day to day operations and worked on the business? When was the last time you worked on the strategy for your business?   

Tell me when in the comments . . . when?  Whether you are watching live or on replay when did you last work on your business? 

You cannot work on the business when you’re in the business.  And today I’m going to give you 7 tips for your strategic meetings that will profoundly improve your business or your department. 

Welcome to #JTInTheRaw show 81 where I chew the thin on business – small business, large business, management of business and any industry business.  My goal is to have you think and do different and today I’m focusing on you strategically growing your business. 

Business Spotlight 

Yesterday we launched yet another FREE business development resource!  I’ve called it the business spotlight and it doesn’t matter WHAT industry you are in or WHAT type of business you are in – this challenge is for you! 

I want you this month to focus on following through and following up.  As leaders, managers and team members we regularly achieve 80% of tasks and then hope that momentum will complete the final 20%. 

This month I want you to have laser focus on completing tasks that have been hanging over your head for weeks, months and maybe even years! 

Your goal this month is to follow through on projects or follow up on emails, conversations, and or ideas. 

Give me a love heart if you are up for this challenge.  If you would like more help on the challenge, then pop ‘challenge’ in the comments.  So: 

• Heart if you are up for this challenge; and or 
• Challenge if you want some resources to help. 

Reminder 

In 2018, I want to feature as many of you as I can!!!!  I am launching The Implementer Series.  I want to interview you and hear what JTInTheRaw ideas you have implemented! 

I want to do this for 3 reasons: 

• Prove I am not full of shit!  I want to prove that the ideas that I share can and do help your business. 
• Have you hear from people who are in business every day. 
• Build your confidence of being on Facebook Live.  You know I love video as a positioning medium and many of you should be doing video but feel awkward, so I want to mentor and help you by featuring you! 

If you would like to be featured in The Implementer Series, pop “ME” in the comments!  You’ve just gotta share what idea that you implemented and how it benefitted your business.  You can be anywhere in the world and in any business . . . put me in the comments and then you’ll be on The Implementer Series!   

Business Strategy  

I want to admit something to you.  Just quietly I want to admit two things: 

• I often think I don’t have the time to work on the business; and 
• I forget how energising a strategic meeting is! 

This week I experienced a strategic meeting for my business and I facilitated a strategic meeting for a business on Wednesday.  And I was I reminded of both the importance and the energy.  

If your days are like mine you send and receive emails, you chat with customers, you make calls, you chat with your team about operations and you struggle to come up with fresh ideas. 

This week I spent 3 hours with Chantal focusing on The Fitness Business Podcast.  We stepped away from talking about systems, guests, and marketing.  We went back to our 2018 goals and focussed on how can we get there.  We also spent time speaking on what we need to do differently on Facebook now.  

These are all strategic discussions and we literally stepped out of the business. 

And here are your first 3 tips for a strategic meeting: 

1. Your meeting has to be outcome based – ie you want to finish your meeting with a result and that result is based on your goals you want to achieve; 
2. You need an agenda; 
3. You need to go off site.

I believe your most successful strategic meetings will be when you don’t try to achieve too much!  Keep the focus of the meeting to 2 or 3 key points over a 4 hour period.  You want to go deep on a fewer ideas rather than shallow on more ideas.  

With the client I worked with this week, our goals of the strategic meeting was to focus on the individual’s goals and personal performance.  We kept the focus on just the individuals.  In 6 hours we could have covered 6 to 12 areas of the business, but instead we went deep on personal performance in just 3 areas. 

Tip number 4, do less and go deep. 

And finally, create an action list with clarity on who has to do what and by when.  As you want outcomes from your meeting you must develop action items and the only way these will be completed is when they are allocated a person to do and a date.

FYI – we use a program called Basecamp for us to help action our ideas.  If you would like a link to Basecamp pop Basecamp in the comments and I’ll share it with you. 

Chantal and I have a strategic meeting every 3 months.  We develop the agenda for the next meeting from the day after we meet.  It is a dynamic agenda that is built over 3 months.  Together, we then refine the agenda just a week before. 

If you want to think and do different in 2018 in your business or department, you need to give yourself permission and then time to think and then do different.

I believe with 4 structured, constructive strategic meetings a year your business can catapult itself into a new stratosphere!  You need to commit to: 

• Having the meetings 
• Creating actions 

The 7 tips again for a successful strategic meeting: 

1. Your meeting has to be outcome based; 
2. You need an agenda; 
3. You need to go off site; 
4. Do less and go deep;  
5. Create an action list that includes people and dates 
6. Meet regularly to create momentum 
7. Be committed to the process of working on the business 

Which of these tips resonate for you.  Give me a number between 1 and 7 . . .  

1. Your meeting has to be outcome based; 
2. You need an agenda; 
3. You need to go off site; 
4. Do less and go deep;  
5. Create an action list that includes people and dates 
6. Meet regularly to create momentum 
7. Be committed to the process of working on the business 

As always, I’d love you to share the show with anyone you know who could benefit from having strategic meetings and working on the business. 

This Week 

Today I have the Industry Leaders Roundtable for NSW Personal Trainers.  We are going to pull apart the Facebook and Instagram new algorithm to figure out what should be posted and when we should post!  We are also focussing on running fitness challenges in our businesses with a goal to come up with best business practices for a challenge.  There really is nothing like what we do at Roundtable and next week it will be a bunch of Anytime Fitness franchisees turn.  

If you would like any info on the Roundtable program I run in Australia and New Zealand, please pop ILR in the comments and I’ll send you a link and then we can chat. 

Also, next week I am speaking for Precor in Melbourne on social media.  This is next Friday, so I’ll be coming to you live from Melbourne next Friday morning. 

Finally, on Friday next week I also have the monthly Q & A for Active Management Members.  Every month I answer questions from members on a live Q & A.  If you would like to be a member, pop Active in the comments and you can be a member for as low as 49 bucks for the year.   

Please if you think anyone you know should know about the February Business Spotlight Challenge – please tag them in the comments. 

If you want to be featured in the Implementer Series, where I interview you on what you have implemented from watching JTInTheRaw, pop ME in the comments. 

And if you want to know more about the Industry Leaders Roundtable, pop ILR in the comments. 

And if you love your weekly JTInTheRaw show, give me a love heart.  

Quote of the Week

“Do less in your off-site strategic meetings and go deep. Really deep.”