5 business tips to help you get the most out of 2020

One thing I’ve learnt in my 13 years of being a wedding celebrant and running a successful celebrant business is that the power to make real change in your business lies within you. No-one else. Just you.

You can seek help, guidance, support and advice from others, but ultimately you are the only one who can implement and take onboard all the knowledge, information and wisdom that you gain. It’s your responsibility and it’s all down to you. Yup, for real!

So to make this year and every other year that follows a good and successful one, you’ve got to take control, to take intentional and purposeful actions and to make your business work for you, in the right way for you. 

So here’s some of my top tips for taking control of your business and moving it forward in the direction that you want to head in, which hopefully will contribute to your 2020 being an awesome one.

Be yourself

I know this is spoken about soooo much but it’s honestly so true. We have gone past the days where couples are looking for just a celebrant. They are looking for a fabulous human being, whose values, personality and vibe match their own and who also happens to be a brilliant celebrant. 

Prospective couples won’t know who you are and how well you suit them if you don’t tell them or show them. Let yourself be showcased in all that you do from marketing yourself to how you dress! 

Being yourself goes a long way in ensuring a year of positive mental health, whilst managing a business that truly represents who you are and highlights your uniqueness.

Be your own celebrant

Being your own celebrant is an extension of just being yourself. It’s down to you to work and run your business in the best way for you. Once you have your Celebrant foundation in place, the next step is to build on those foundations as your own celebrant. 

You are your own person who is free to develop your own way of working and your own style – guilt or pressure free. You do not have to stick with things you’ve learnt, if they no longer serve you or don’t suit your way of working. 

Use your framework flexibly and get used to the idea that there is no right or wrong when it comes to your Celebrant practice, just what’s right for you. Being your own celebrant will set you on course for a fantastic year and future to come.

Get organised

Now I say this as someone who is not naturally organised. I am chaotically organised, but it’s something I’ve worked on over the years to get better at, which means my business has benefited so much more from it. 

Being organised with your business means having your systems and processes in place, using software that helps you and makes you efficient, and doing all that you can to operate efficiently and effectively. Less chaos, more calmness and intention. 

Being organised really does help to promote a good work ethic and keeps your eye on the business ball.

Get clear on what you want

It does surprise me how many people do not get 100% clear on what they want for their business on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. How can you take proper action in your business if you’re not really clear on what you want your business to achieve? 

Saying, “I want more bookings in 2021,’ is not clear. Saying “I want to get 10 more bookings for 2021 by June 2020 is.” This clarity of this statement instantly helps you to organise your tasks to put this goal into action and gives you a time-frame to work towards. Clarifying your aims will help you to clarify your actions.

Set goals and plans

You really can’t set yourself up for an awesome year or future as a Celebrant,  if you don’t create a plan of action for what you want to achieve. Whilst winging it does and can work, it shouldn’t be the only way that you operate. 

Trust me, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t wing aspects of their work or how they run their business. I know I’ve massively winged things which have turned out to be awesome. I’m not saying to keep your business a wing-free zone, but I am saying to make planned and purposeful actions the main foundation of your business with some flexibility to wing stuff.

Every year, I follow a five-part planning process to set myself up for the year ahead and I’m telling you it works! It helps me to get clear on what I want to achieve and set actionable plans to see me throughout the year. And since I’ve been doing this I have massively upped the success rate of reaching (and almost reaching) my goals.

I’m going to share my planning process in my online planning workshop next Wednesday. So come and join me if you want to figure out what you want from 2020 and how you’re going to do it.

We’ll spend 2.5 hours together in my interactive classroom, you’ll get a downloadable planning workbook that we’ll go through during the session AND afterwards 11 monthly support emails from me to keep you on track with your goals.

If you’d like to join me and the rest of your planning classmates, you can read more info and sign up here. I’m going to be closing the booking for the workshop in the next 24 hours so that I can start interacting with next week’s classmates en masse and start preparing them for the workshop.

Even if you don’t join my planning workshop, these five things: being yourself, being your own celebrant, getting organised, getting clear and setting goals, will set you up for an awesome 2020.