How do you manage your time when you have multiple clients? Do you find yourself suffering in your personal life because you are pouring so much time into your clients?

 

Today I want to talk to you about a common struggle that service providers have. If you have multiple clients, you have probably been overwhelmed with time management at some point. This is a significant challenge with a wide range of potential effects: clients not getting your best work, your family doesn't get the best of you, your health suffers, your personal business doesn’t get done, and all of this leaves you feeling unsatisfied. 

 

When you get to this place it blocks your growth. You wonder “How did I get to this point?”

 

“Our commitments exceed our reality, and this creates scope creep.”

 

When you get here everything crumbles. There is a burden, and you start to question if you should be doing this work. You get smothered with emotions of fear, anxiety and stress. This is called scope creep, and I want to help you learn to avoid it, show you how to handle it, and learn how to address it. 

 

If this resonates with you at all, join me in my upcoming sprint, The Scope Creep Solution. The content will be delivered through my Facebook group, and it won’t be there forever, so make sure to sign up now!

 

How Scope Creep Happens

It all comes down to managing your time between your business, your personal life and trying to match each to your goals.

 

We all have revenue goals, and I do not want you to feel bad about that. Today I'm going to share my thoughts on how you can reach your income goal without making yourself miserable.

 

“No matter how good you get at scope creep, it keeps coming up.”

 

Build a Business That Reflects Your Greatest Desires

Think back to when you weren't your own boss… somebody else dictated what you did, how you did it, what the expectations were, and then reviewed you. You decided to create something for yourself, so I want you to pause to figure out what your business would look like if it truly reflected your greatest desires.

 

I worked a corporate job for years, and when I stepped away, I did it to create a life of legacy for myself. I realized I needed to be with my kids and create a business that allowed me to be present. That was a reflection of my greatest desires.

 

• What does your ideal week look like?
• What is your greatest desire?
• What are your core values?

 

Take action: What do the impacts of your dream look like in your ideal week? Considering this allows you to see how much time you have available for work. What roles do you play in your family, home, marriage, community, or work? Prioritize which ones are important for you and sketch it out on a calendar.

Know Your Boundaries

Do you know your boundaries? Communicate them in your home and with your clients. You can also do this in your discovery calls so you can make sure to match yourself with clients who respect those boundaries. Communicate them upfront so you don’t get into a situation with unknown expectations.

 

If you know how many hours you can work per week, then you can price and package your services accordingly. Figure out how to best utilize the hours you have. If one client = 15 hours per week, now you can figure out if you need to increase your time, scale back your revenue goals, or create a new offer.

 

I want you to obtain your financial goal if possible so maybe this means you are a little more flexible and/or creative. You might deliver the same service in a VIP format or start a group program 1 day per week. There is no magic way to do this, but when you go through the Director Of Operations Certification Program, we walk through this together. We address how to build a business that supports your lifestyle and empowers you to be the person you want to be.

 

Set Up the Customer Journey

What kind of journey does your client need to take? What kind of communications will you be sending, and what kind of processes are you going to follow? Set those expectations and then calculate the amount of administrative time it takes to obtain, sustain and nurture your clients. 

 

If you have 15 hours a week and it takes you 15 hours to deliver to the client without the administration on your end, you are now in a time deficit. One solution to this is automation.

 

“If you can automate, it creates an enhanced experience for your client, it creates predictability for you, and it removes some of the stress that naturally hangs over your head when you are juggling multiple clients.”

 

How Many Clients Can You Truly Take On

If it takes you 1 hour of admin a week per client, and you have 4 clients, this means you now have 11 hours to take care of the clients. Ask yourself: Can I deliver my best quality work to these 4 clients in 11 hours per week?

 

“Your network will reflect the quality of work you provide to other people.”

 

Secure Clients that Empower You to Lead

Own the role you have been procured for. Onboard yourself and minimize the amount of effort they have to spend onboarding you. Be the asset in a business that needs very little management. Be the person that shines, the magnet that people want to come to. 

 

You can empower the CEO with additional strategy and space through Strategic Mapping™, which is my licensed intellectual property that we go through at the beginning of the Director of Operations Certification Program. Everyone who joins this program as an operational expert will have access to this strategy to share with their clients. It will allow you to shine and own your role from the very beginning. If you do this you will be an indispensable asset. 

If you are interested in pursuing the Director of Operations Certification, you can join us for the Scope Creep Solution, or by submitting an application. Round 6 starts up at the beginning of September!

 

Weekly Ops Activity

I want you to look at your ideal week and the responsibilities you have and determine how many hours per week you have to focus on work. Pop into the Facebook group and let me know your magic number!

 

Previous Episodes Mentioned

Episode 4: The Core of Business: Your Mission, Vision, and Values

 

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This episode was first published at theopsauthority.com/podcast/57.