Navigating Through the Bursting Point
Over the last few weeks we’ve focused a lot on the topic of the bursting point — we didn’t really plan it this way to be honest, but the response from so many of you has proven that it was something we needed to help you with little more.
We originally started with describing the bursting point and then continued on to how to turn the experience into a positive. We even hosted a Future of Virtual Assistance call specifically on this topic just last week. What we haven’t covered so far is how to navigate through the bursting point — how to get through it without actually suffering a breakdown and closing down the business, but instead coming away actually appreciating the experience.
So how do you do it? How do you make the time to deal with the things — your clients, too much work, etc. — while figuring out how you’re going to get through this situation at the same time? How do you ensure that you come out in a better situation at the end?
There are seven steps that I recommend when it comes to navigating through the
bursting point. They’re simple, yet effective. And they can mean the difference between breaking down, continuing to work in misery, or a fantastic learning lesson that you look back and appreciate because you’re in a much better place now.
Here’s a brief summary of the seven steps you need to work through.
-
Identify why you started this business in the first place. (i.e. more flexibility in your work, allow yourself to work from home while raising the kids, simply wanted to ‘be your own boss’)
-
Identify your situation.
How many clients are you working with? How many hours are you working each day? each week? each month? Is there really enough hours in a day to meet the commitments? -
Identify your revenue.
How much are you bringing in each month? When you break this down based on the number of hours you are working – how much are you REALLY working? -
Identify your wants and needs. What do you want more of? What do you want less of? If you could design the perfect business — with the kind of people you want and the kind of work you love to do – what would it look like?
-
Identify what needs to change. Will you ‘remove’ some clients to make room for people you really want to work with? Will you increase your rates? Is it time to specialize?
-
Identify your action plan. Now that you’ve gone through the steps above, what action steps will you take to make the changes you want and need to make?
-
Identify how you will continue to grow. Once you get rid of the ‘clutter’ and have made it to the other side of the bursting point – what will you do? How will you continue to grow?
Each of these steps above is absolutely critical to get through to the ‘other side’. Don’t rush through or attempt to skip a step … it really won’t benefit you in the long term.
To help you with navigating through the bursting point, I created a short assessment to help you confirm where you are currently. Are you far from hitting the bursting point, are you nearing it or are you already in it? Take a few minutes to take this assessment and you check out the special offer you can also take advantage of.
Take me to the ‘Navigating the Bursting Point’ Assessment
Tags: bursting point, Cindy Greenway, Tina Forsyth, virtual assistant mentoring, virtual assistant training
