There’s just something about the shift in energy when leaving our normal surroundings and going somewhere else to write/strategize… as long as wherever you’re going has what you need to be comfortable.
Occasionally getting away for a few days to refresh, reflect and refine is one of the ways we were able to double our revenue when comparing 2022 Q1 to 2021 Q1 (and yes, our overall profit percentage also increased).
Key to these mini-retreats (even if you’re going to work from the local library or a cafe for a couple of days) is:
- doing a brain dump of everything that your business needs before you go
- once there, implementing things that only you can do and/or that are serving as a roadblock for your team (this is not a time for client work)
- taking frequent brain breaks — for me, these include taking Buddy for walks in nature, sitting outside listening to the birds, making delish smoothies or cooking a fantastic meal
- And… giving yourself grace and appreciation for whatever you get done. It’s almost never everything on the list. In fact, chances are, you even added to the list… and that’s okay. Celebrate what got done!
Second thing we did, or rather keep doing: Constantly adjust to the new normal.
There’s no going back to how it was pre-pandemic. We don’t complain about what was and wishing it could be again. We look at today, our best guess for tomorrow and adapt.
Those who spend time lamenting are wasting their time — the one asset they can’t get back.
Third: We run TMW lean and we invest money where it makes sense (and cents!).
Two places we never skimp on: team and systems.
Last year we moved to a new CRM that was over 5x the monthly cost of our previous one. We saw it as an investment that would generate a positive return over time.
That said, the CRM hasn’t lived up to our expectations and they haven’t made good on improvements that were promised. So, rather than deal with it, we bought a new CRM last week and are in the process of setting it up. A combination of our adjusting as needed and not settling.
For the team, we’ve increased pay and added profit sharing.
And fourth: We focus on building relationships and being relentlessly helpful wherever possible — whether someone pays us or not.
This is one area where we don’t focus on the ROI. It’s truly about being helpful and coming from a mindset of abundance rather than scarcity.
While the above may seem like there’s little left to give our clients, the exact opposite is true.
Taking care of what TMW needs ensures we can continually give our best to our clients — in part because we walk the path first and can help them avoid money-draining mistakes while taking advantage of the best opportunities.
Check out what one of our clients said in a recent case study here (no opt-in needed).