Yes, the title is an oxymoron, but indulge me for a moment. This post came about because I am often asked how I keep track of all the different aspects of running a business as a solopreneur.
As a solopreneur you’re pretty much responsible for wearing EVERY hat in the company – accounting, marketing, IT, snacks – you already know this. As I started attending more events, growing the biz and just getting busier, I needed to get a better handle on all the different aspects of running my business, not just “get the client and do the work”. Sound familiar??
One day I’ll grow to the point where I need to hire employees. In the meantime, I needed a way to organize all the “departments” in my business. This got me to thinking about corporate Monday morning staff meetings, when each department reports on what they accomplished last week and what they have planned for the upcoming week. Next thing I knew, the Phisco Marketing Staff Meeting was born.
Now, I don’t technically have a staff, but that doesn’t make a difference.
Solopreneurs Need Staff Meetings Too!
How it works
As the boss/CEO/COO you divide your staff meeting agenda into departments and list responsibilities as though each department head has to give a weekly report. Next, complete the agenda below as your first order of business on Monday morning (I usually complete mine on Sunday evening to get a jump on the week). Then plan your actions accordingly, even scheduling in those “where did that come from?” tasks that creep up on you.
Important note: A client is any entity that you do work for. If you sit on a Board, that’s a client. If you are an active member of any committee, that counts as a client too. Do you perform volunteer work on a regular basis? Client. You get the picture.
Here’s my Staff Meeting Agenda template. I added basic notes so you can see what I include for each department. Yes I really use this one, colors and all, I didn’t pretty it up for y’all one bit! Click here to download this staff meeting agenda as a WORD doc. No need to recreate the wheel. And there is no opt-in required!
At the end of your week (whichever day that may be for you) review what you accomplished, and push the items that didn’t get done to next week’s agenda. Then rinse and repeat!
This can’t replace a quarterly review, business overhaul, etc. but it can function as your prioritized week-at-a-glance. This has been my saving grace for the last 6 weeks or so!
Sometimes a simple structure can make life less complicated. Feel free to use, re-purpose, modify as you like, all I request is that you let me know how it works for you! If you have another method, do tell!
Ciao,
Miss Kemya