Enjoyed an afternoon with graduate entrepreneurs today at the University of South Wales Freelancers Academy.
My session followed talks on (traditional) business planning and networking so it was a hard day at the Academy.
Luckily my session was very practical and visual. I introduced them to my visual planning tool that simply requires an A3 sheet of coloured paper, a felt tip pen and some post-its.
Stage one: Close your eyes and develop a really clear vision of how you want your business to be, your life to be in a year. Enjoy this- make it motivating- allow it to make you smile. Draw a picture or right a few key words at the top right hand side of the paper- encapsulating your vision.
Stage 2: Consider where you are now- bottom left. What does the route look like to your vision? Full of twists and turns or straight? What might the obstacles be? What support do you need along the way? How will you reward yourself?
Stage 3: Identify and plot 6-8 key activities that need to be accomplished along your route. (Chunk these down and diarise tasks later)
Stage 4: Articulate, out loud and in the present tense, your vision. Be specific about who you want to work with, how many contracts you want, how much money you want to be making. This is always a very special moment.
Stage 5: Make it happen!
There is a £1000 up for grabs for the freelancers to develop their business. I’ve been invited to be on the judging panel on Friday- looking forward to seeing their ideas develop over the next few days.
