From Vision to Action: Strategic Steps for Growing Your Showbiz Side Hustle - Ep. 86

Welcome back to the Showbiz Side Hustle Podcast, powered by PerformerPreneur. In this episode, Nicole dives deep into the art of strategy and direction for your business and personal growth. 

Download the Dream Big Workbook: https://nicolelouisegeddes.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1168031

Moving beyond vision boards and values, she guides you through the essential steps to get you from where you are now to where you want to be. It's not just about dreaming big, it's about reviewing, reflecting and implementing practical strategies that turn dreams into reality. 

Whether you’re aiming to lead your business with confidence, make more money or simply stop winging it, Nicole offers tips, tools and real-world advice to help you evolve into the leader you were meant to be. 

Get ready to embrace change, celebrate your wins and learn how to take clear, actionable steps, no matter how small, towards the life and business of your dreams.

Chapters

00:00 Business leadership strategies

03:44 Planning and strategizing steps

07:31 Reviewing Business and Lifestyle Habits

11:38 Balancing work and personal life

13:34 Understanding your business finances

18:01 Celebrating small victories

20:21 Realigning personal brand goals

23:31 Building a support network

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello everybody, welcome back to my podcast. Where this week I want to talk to you about strategy, about direction, about your business, where we're bringing together your vision, your values, your personal brand, your visibility, but we're getting a little bit further and deeper into the process and looking at those steps to success, to getting you from A to B. You are listening to the Showbiz Side Hustle Podcast, powered by Performapreneur. So we know where we are right now. We know all the things that we have to do, we have to be, we have to become, we have to implement, learn. The list goes on, but there'll be things that you maybe haven't considered that are gonna get you going quickly to the next destination, smoothly to that next destination. So I'm here with a few steps for a few things for you to think about, some strategy to help you get a clear vision and steps to take to get to that destination of your dreams. Um, it sounds big, but it really is simple. And the reason I want to give you some of these tasks, some of these tips, some of these tools is because I want you to evolve as a leader. I don't want you to be this foundational basic business builder. I want you to lead your business. I want you to lead your life and become that leading person that's gonna get you where you want to be. I want you to make more money. Let's be honest, we are not doing this for a hobby. Um, we have been trained in the industry to do things for the love, not the money, but realistically, we need to make some cash. We need to get money in the bank so that we can pay the bills, so that we can live the life that we that we deserve, that we dream of. And I want you to stop winging it. Too many of us are just doing enough. Yeah, we're living and building our businesses day to day. We're not thinking strategically, we're not looking far enough ahead, and we're winging it. We're doing okay, but we can absolutely do better. Um, so having a clear plan in place is gonna be the piece of the puzzle that is gonna help you to become that better leader, to make more money, to stop winging it and have that direction and that strategy that you deserve. Um, so old ways won't open new doors is a saying that I come back to time and time again, even to myself, like stop doing these things that are just keeping you in the same places, doing the same things, uh, working with the same people, building the same level of business. Old ways won't open new doors. I want you to hear that and I want you to move with it to see what that means and open that next door with me today. Um, so you're gonna have to get accountable, you're gonna have to know that this only starts and finishes with you. You can find the support, you can get the advice, you can do the learning, you can lean in on people like myself and communities like Performance, but it all happens because of you. And you took that leap, you stepped through the stage door, you've created and starting to build a business, and that was down to you. And so we really need to build on that brilliance and make it happen even bigger. Find more solutions, embrace the change, acknowledge reality, and just lean in to being you, to being the person that does the work. Strategy is one of those words, isn't it? Um, and I'm laughing to myself because I use it even though for a long time I feared it, it felt bigger than what I could achieve. It felt bigger than what I what I had in my arsenal, what I needed, but it's absolutely simple. It is just a master plan, it's just choreography. It's what's gonna get you from right where you are now to where you want to be. The steps, the process, the things that are missing, the things that you want to learn, the things that you need to ask, the things that you need to do. How are you gonna get from A to B? And that's all those little C's in the middle. Uh, strategy begins with an S, but you know what I'm saying, visualize it A to B, and then all of those little test steps, those S's, those strategy pieces that are gonna move you slowly but steadily to that next level. Um, and it's where it's where the magic happens because when you start to believe and build and understand and take take account of those steps and the things that are missing, or the things that are working, or the things that you need, or the things that you don't need, um, you're gonna build your business better and stronger, and it's gonna have more purpose, it's gonna be fueled by more passion, it's gonna have more skills and understanding and strengths and energizers, and you can see and feel in my voice that if you can bring all of those things together, then that business will bring you so much joy. There's a few simple things that I know you can do today. Alongside listening to this podcast, you can press pause, or you can make some notes and go do this with a glass of wine, a cup of tea, a coffee tomorrow morning, whatever suits you. Um, but you need to be reviewing and reflecting often. And if this in our teeth back in, if this is the first time you have sat down to review and reflect, that's okay too. But understand and learn from the process that if you did this regularly, once a quarter, once a month, even as far as once a week in some of those trickier, busier times, then you will get so much more clarity on the steps you need to take on that strategy. And we're not talking 10-year big vision right now, we're talking the next goal, the next bit of your business that you want to achieve, that you want to reach. And I'm saying business, but this can also work for personal life, it can work for performing careers. Like you get to choose where you put your energy into when it comes to building the life of your dreams. I'm gonna stop right there and throw in an ad because in order to do this, you need to know what that life of your dreams truly looks like. So listen in. If you're feeling stuck and unsure what your next spotlight could be, start with my dream big workbook. It's completely free and designed to get you excited about your next act. Simply follow the prompts, get curious, and start gaining clarity. Because right now, you don't need a five-year plan. You just need to take that very first step. You can download the Dream Big Workbook for free by the link in the show notes below. Go on, go get started on your next big dream. Back to task one, and that first thing that I need you to think about. You've got the vision of your dreams, you know where you want to go, and now we just need to review and reflect on the place that we are now, the business, the life, the career that we've got right now in front of us, and so that we can work out where our energy, where our focus, where our knowledge, where our skills need to be developed. We need to work all of that out. And it starts here with reviewing and reflecting. I want you to look at what's going well. Look at what's not going so well. Be honest, write it down, make notes. What hasn't worked, but you're still doing? What has worked, but you've stopped doing? Um, what needs to change? How do I like to work? What bits of the business do I enjoy doing? What bits of my life do I not enjoy? What time of the day do I like to work? What clients am I currently working with that that feel like my ideal client? And what clients am I working with or I'm attracting that don't align with my values that we've that we've looked at pre in previous episodes? Or it might then tweak that understanding that maybe your visibility isn't necessarily in the right place, even though you enjoy being visible and active on those platforms or in those rooms. So it's really just reviewing and reflecting ticks and crosses, notes, what works, what doesn't work, what do I enjoy, what do I attract, what I do, what do I want to stop doing? What can I do better? What can I learn? What have I learned that's not served me and I need to stop relying on? All of those things will help you get the clarity to get from A to B. And another way you can do this is with my fabulous start, stop, continue activity, which I do quite often in all areas of my life. Three columns, start, stop, and continue. And once you've got that reflection and that brain dump, it might be a spider diagram, it might be a list, it might be a voice note, you can pop some things into these three columns, things you're going to start doing, things you need to start doing to build on what you have already achieved. Um, what you need to stop doing because they're not serving you, they're not working, they don't bring you joy, whatever that looks like for you. And those things that you absolutely need to continue to do, to build into your day, into your week, into your business for a multitude of reasons. Um, and this is building the direction of your business, the direction of your strategy to get you from A to B. Um, and it really does work. And as I say, you can do this for family, you can do this for life, you can do this for holidays. Like you can really just pick what you want to get more understanding of, what you want to visualize and where you want to go to build that strategy, that master plan, that choreography to get you there. Um, it's really creative, it's a really creative and interesting way to work out what these things are that are gonna help you build your business your way. There's gonna be some non-negotiables, okay? There's gonna be things that absolutely have to stay, whether you like them or not, and eventually you can absolutely outsource them. You can find people that will do these things better than you. But when we're starting out, please don't ever think that anybody starting out in business is outsourcing from the offset. And there's a part of me that really truly believes that if you were doing those things to start with and having a little bit of understanding around them, even if they were frustrating or hard or you couldn't do them, and for me it's tech, but if you really tried to get your head around it and understanding, um, however frustrating that might be, it gives you a sense of you know ownership when you do hand it over, like yes, I know that this isn't for me, and um the excitement when you get to that point in your business where you can just hand over elements that you just do not enjoy doing, but they are non-negotiable, they need to be there in order for the business to be a viable business. So please make note of what they are. What are those non-negotiables and a ticking across again if you if you'd like, or two columns, or you know, just a big post-it note on the on the the wall in your office that says one day this will be somebody else's role in my business, and that in itself can be a real motivator to keep building that business and become the CEO of your business and your life. There has to be a work-life balance. You know that um I love the juggle. I juggle many hats, many identities, um, and it's a real difficult one to pin down. So understand what that looks like for you, but also understand that there's there's waves, there's highs and there's lows, there's busy periods, there's quiet periods, there's there's moments in the week, the month, your life that will be a mess, a hot mess of everything, and you just have to get your head down and get on. But there'll be other seasons where it's easier and the balance feels right, and there's no right or wrong, um, but we do have to know and understand what we want that to look like, and that will again help us build that business in the direction that is gonna suit us, yeah. If you crumble under pressure, then we need to be noting that and not adding so many deadlines or not waiting till the last minute or segmenting your life so that you have very clear periods where you are working and being in your business, but then there's a section of the week or the month or school holidays where you know that you pull away. That looks different for everybody, and another thing that looks different for everybody, but everybody should be looking at and noting and understanding for them individually is your finances. In order to get from A to B, when we're building businesses, when we're when we're building our dream lives, when we're looking in the direction of our dreams, when we're trying to work out how to get there, you do have to know the numbers that will support that big vision, that will support that business, that life, that holiday, that identity. Um, so please don't put your head in the sand and think that these numbers, these pound signs will miraculously appear. It takes strategy, it takes a master plan, it takes clarity and uncomfortable moments of acknowledging that you might not be where you need or want to be. But how can you get from A to B? And that is by taking a breath, doing the work, reflecting, understanding, getting in and amongst those numbers, and working out what you can improve on, what you can build on, what you can sell more, what you can add a percentage more onto, what you need to stop doing in terms of your operating expenses. Um, and by understanding that, as uncomfortable as that might be for our industry, myself included, that there's been something really built into us inherently that we do this for the love, not the money. And so many of us as creatives don't have that brain that works in numbers, just five, six, seven, eight. Um, and that's okay, but it will only get us so far. And if we're looking ahead, if we're building the direction and the strategy and wanting something bigger and better, you have to get inside those numbers. How much does your business need to run? How much money does your business actually bring in? And how much of that is going into your own pockets, into your business bank account and your personal account. How much do you need to live that life now that you want, and the one that you want in the future? What is that percentage increase? What other things do you need to factor in? You need to factor in operating expenses, like I said, you need to factor in VAT if you're at that level, you need to factor in your taxes, your national insurance. Um, and then you can look at your products and your services and you can see how you need to scale to get to where you want to be. And this is part of a business build, and it's tricky and it's uncomfortable. But in Performapreneur, we talk about these things openly. So if you know you need more accountability on anything that I talk about today on this direction strategy podcast episode to end the season, then please do lean in. My inbox is always open. The membership is there for you to jump in and be part be part of. You get group coaching and you get some individual time with me too. But these are the things we talk about now, they've become really normal in the membership in our world because they're not hard and they're not secret, and there's no shame about understanding numbers and wanting to build a business that makes money. So moving on, that's another thing for you to think about. One thing when we're doing these activities, when I'm saying to you, where do you want to go? When you've completed your dream big workbook and you're building your strategy by reviewing, reflecting, getting inside your bank account, understanding your numbers, working out what you want to start and stop, and continue, and then you know, putting that post-it note of what you might outsource and delegate in the future. One thing I want you to add into that, and there's a lot of things to think about, so please do keep pressing pause and letting that sit and settle with you. But one thing I want you to add in always is celebration. You have to celebrate even the smallest of steps, because if we don't pause and celebrate and share and shout about and reward ourselves with, and that might be you something tangible and real, or just a feeling or a moment, or a high five in the mirror, or a a woo-hoo out into the into the universe. Like if you don't reward yourself, if you don't celebrate these moments, they will go unnoticed. And that's a really lonely, boring, boring's probably not the right word, lonely, kind of steady, un I can't think of the word, but you know what I'm saying. It's it's it's not it's not great from week to week. We need to celebrate, we need to cheer each other on. You need to be high-fiving yourself in the mirror, you need to buy yourself a bottle of champagne when you hit a target, you need to be cheers in with a friend and telling them about that small win with a glass of prosecco on a Friday when you choose to step away from your desk and go have some time for yourself. Like these are the rewards I'm talking about. These are the things that I want you to celebrate and to say out loud and to share with me and each other and your socials, and because as you hit all of those little steps that we're talking about to get you from A to B in your strategy, you need to celebrate them because they are huge, huge. You're doing more than most when it comes to building a business. A lot of people haven't started or b have plateaued, they don't build any further because it's exhausting, it can be time consuming, it can be hard work, and so if you're taking those next steps, you need to celebrate that one you've reviewed and reflected reflected today. Woohoo, two, you've listened to this podcast, yes, and then by the end of the week, all of these little things deserve a real big moment um in your diary to say yes, look at what I've achieved this week, look at what I can celebrate. Um, and if it's monetary and you've got some spare cash, you might want to buy yourself something, but it might not be that, it's just about noticing, and I want you to notice what those things are. Because listen, if we were in corporate, we would get away days or we would get um um increases in our in our wages, things like that, incentives, and we don't get that, so we have to do that for ourselves. Um so please do make a note of that because I do feel that is super, super important. So, over the course of this podcast, I've very, very quickly given you some ideas to think about. I'd love, love, love you to go away and do them. Press pause, take your time, make sure you understand because we're at the start of the second half of the year, and it's a great time to revisit your vision board to tick off and celebrate all the things you've achieved, but also aim a little bit higher, a little bit further. Um, get that clarity around where you're going in that direction and check that you haven't detoured, yeah. And that episode about values will help you understand how to get back on track. There'll be things that that maybe have gone off on tangents, gone in different directions, and a you might be okay with that, but actually you might need to realign, and that's okay too. Check in on your visibility. Is it is it showing up and saying the things that you absolutely need and want it to say? Do you understand your personal brand? Go listen to those other podcasts. And if you have any specific questions, know that the Performpreneur Associates are here to support you, not just me. Um, so please do send in your questions and go via the website to find out how to do that. The last thing I want to remind you today is every tiny step is getting you and taking you in the direction that you have set out on. Yeah? So get that clarity, get the understanding, and then take that very first step. And I want you to take the step small to start with. One task a day will get you to where you want to be. This is not build a brand new business in a day. This is not rework your entire product stack in a week. This is not build a website this month. This is what are the tiny tasks within those big goals, projects, visions, strategy, and direction can you do and take? Because you're gonna have to run your life and your business as is right now alongside building and taking those next steps and reviewing and working hard and learning and moving. So just plan to do one new thing a day. And it will get you to where you want to be. Yes, it will get you there slowly, but it will get you there consistently. If you find you have more time and you've got a lull in the week or the month, or you've got a big space in your diary that you can fill with three, four, five, six, seven tasks, then brilliant. Woohoo, let's celebrate that. Let's let's take that motivation, that energy, and do those things. But don't not do anything because of that time element of the puzzle where you go, oh, I haven't quite got enough time to do that. No, you haven't got time to do something brand new and big, but you've definitely got time to do one tiny part of the project, one tiny task, one tiny thing on that journey will get you to where you want to be. And so I hope you can see the sense in that. And I hope just hearing me give you that validation and permission to not do it all at once, like it's impossible. Do the tasks today, have a clear picture of what you want the next six months to look like, the direction you want to go, the strategy and the steps and the master plan that you need to create, but you do not need to implement every single element of it straight away. Yeah, it is a slow, continuous process. And if you need accountability and support, then please do drop in my inbox over at Performapreneur on Instagram. I will be your biggest cheerleader. I want to hear what this next big dream is. I want to help you achieve it. I want to slow you down when you get ahead of yourself and it becomes overwhelming. And I want to give you a boost when the motivation starts dwindling and you think, gosh, this is a big ask and it's a bit hard. Because life is hard, but if you have a support network around you, then you can lean into them on those days, alongside your values, your visibility, your personal brand, your authenticity, all of those pieces of the puzzle are super important, and we can build them into this big, exciting strategy that we'll take step by step together if you need that support. But I absolutely know you can achieve all of these things on your own because look, you started and you have something already. So if you keep going, it will only ever grow. Keep moving forward. Make sure you check in with yourself, with your vision board, with me, with your to-do list, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly, put those moments in your diary. This is when I'm gonna review and reflect. This is when I'm gonna look at my accounts, this is when I'm gonna tick off my to-do list and vision boards, and just take some of that creativity and get it on paper and turn it into strategy. That is my biggest tip for getting you to where you want to be. Um, if you have enjoyed this episode, then please do go back and listen to anything you might have missed in this season. We're gonna move forward soon with our next series and next season, which is all about the second edition of the Spotlight on Success Book. Before then, we have one more QA session. So please do ask any questions. Go drop them over on Instagram, Facebook, email, however, you want to get your question to me, voice note, DM, you choose, um, and then it might appear in next week's QA episode. Big love, have a happy week, take care. Okay, guys, that's it for today. I hope you've enjoyed the show. Thank you for joining me here on the Showbiz Side Hustle Podcast. So until next time, please do take a little bit of action, that very first step, and make sure that you are doing something for you and your showbiz side hustle this week to move you forward and get you heading quickly and swiftly and strategically towards success.