As we always say, plan your life, then plan your business.
Some of the most successful and happy people we know are entrepreneurs who created a business that’s in perfect synchronicity with what they want out of life. If you do what you love, you’ll work harder, better and more happily.
In this step we will focus on:
- Elements of your Life Plan
- Using your Life Plan
Elements of your Life Plan:
Your Current Status
Think carefully and honestly about where you are now in your life. Consider work, recreation, relationships, finances and anything else that’s important to you. And then jot down some simple, succinct bullet points in each of these categories:
- Quality rating of your life on a scale of 1 through 100, with 100 being the best possible life
- Realities of your life, including responsibilities, funds available to start a business, expenses
- Things that make you happy
- Things that make you unhappy
Your Ideal Life
This is a snapshot of your “ideal” life, in a very brief, bulleted list. And remember, the sky’s the limit, so don’t be afraid of being bold or maybe even a little grandiose. Factor in things like family time, hobbies, charity work, early retirement – anything that gets you really excited.
Your Loves: What You Really Like Doing
Think about the types of things that you love to do, whether at work, at home, or at your local soup kitchen. List these things out briefly. And don't worry if some themes are starting to repeat in each section, that just means you have some really focused ideas about what you want in life!
Your Skills & Capabilities: What You Do Well
List the abilities, experience and strengths you can build on to attain that ideal life.
Bear in mind that your skills need not be strictly from your professional life – list skills developed in your personal life as well. It may be a combination of skills that leads you to a startup that’s best suited to fit your needs.
Your Track Record: What You Have Experience Doing
List those accomplishments in your professional and personal life of which you're most proud. Pay particular attention to successes you've had that would be helpful in starting a business and managing it successfully.