Content Marketing Strategist

When I started my first business six years ago, I can remember feeling in total control some days. Then I felt completely overwhelmed the next day.

Owning a business is a rollercoaster of a journey. You’ll have some amazing highs and a few lows, but it’s all worth it in the end.

When I opened my business, I didn’t have anyone I could turn to for advice. I learned everything I know from doing quite a lot of googling and just giving it a go! It was definitely the hard way with a lot of lessoned learned along the way.

I want everyone to have the opportunity to build a successful business. That’s why I’ve come up with the BOSS-IT method – my framework for ultimate business success.

BOSS-IT stands for:

• Boundaries – in your business, you’ll need to make sure that you have clear boundaries between your business and home life. You must establish these boundaries to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Running a business can be mentally and physically tiring. Before you even start your business, be clear on your business boundaries. Rest is an important part of any business!
• Organisation – work smarter not harder. Get yourself organised so you maximise your effectiveness and ensure that you are working towards your goals.
• Self-motivation – as a business owner, you’ll need to keep yourself motivated. You don’t have anyone else telling you to do it. On tough days or days you don’t fancy working, you’re still going to have to find ways to motivate yourself.
• Systems – your business systems are critical to your success and helping you reach your goals. Setting up key systems and structures at the start of your business will really help you work smarter not harder. The types of systems you may need include how to communicate with your customers/clients. You also need to manage your time effectively. Determine how and when to reply to queries. Decide what marketing you are going to do. Plan how you are going to manage staff and how you will handle your finances. These systems will take time to put in place at the start of your business. They will make it easier for you to work, communicate, and build a good business model.
• Intuition – Follow your gut instincts. It is likely that many people will have an opinion on how you should run your business. A wise person once said, ‘opinion is the lowest form of knowledge’. In business, you are going to make mistakes, and that is ok! Hopefully you’ll learn from your experiences, which will make your business better. One of the biggest mistakes I made was never trusting my gut instincts. You know your business better than anyone so believe in yourself and trust your own intuition.  
• Trust – To grow and build your business, you will need to learn how to trust yourself. You must also learn to trust the people around you. If you believe in yourself, then people will trust and believe in you too. This will make it easier for you to delegate tasks to staff. You can then focus on leading and growing your business.