Wanting to skyrocket your TPT business success in 2024? Let's explore creative solutions to time management that don't necessarily mean expanding your payroll. I'll take you through my journey of reshaping family routines and utilizing support networks to carve out dedicated time for business growth. It's all about leveraging your resources wisely and developing SOPs to strike the perfect balance between personal life and professional ambitions, without having to shoulder the additional cost of hired help. Join me as I guide you through the strategies that have helped me and can assist you in confidently striding toward your business goals.
Wanting to skyrocket your TPT business success in 2024? Let's explore creative solutions to time management that don't necessarily mean expanding your payroll. I'll take you through my journey of reshaping family routines and utilizing support networks to carve out dedicated time for business growth. It's all about leveraging your resources wisely and developing SOPs to strike the perfect balance between personal life and professional ambitions, without having to shoulder the additional cost of hired help. Join me as I guide you through the strategies that have helped me and can assist you in confidently striding toward your business goals.
Let's talk about working more efficiently, working smarter, not harder in 2024. So last year, my word for the year was streamline, and this year, we're doing more of the same. So I'm going to be sharing a lot of tips for streamlining your business, but also working more efficiently, that I've learned within the last year and that some of the things I did well in 2023 and some of the things I'm learning from in 2023 and that I'm bringing into 2024 with me so that I can work more efficiently. I think we all want to work more efficiently because we all have a limited amount of time. I'm a stay at home mom full time stay at home mom. I have people who help me run my business. I'm not doing it alone, but I have 10 different revenue streams at this point in my business, so I have to be very strategic with the time that I have and plan very well. Otherwise, I'm going to be working on the weekends, I'm going to be burning the midnight oil, and none of that can happen. And I'll tell you. We're getting close to the end of the month.
Speaker 1:As I'm recording this right now, I'm less than a month away from having my second child hopefully not gone. With this child comes on time and we're less than a month away. But, with that being said, I'm looking at maternity leave, trying to manage all of that and really making sure that my business is running as efficiently as possible without me having to be super hands on. And so, even though I'm not still in the classroom, I don't have the exact same challenges when it comes to time and time management. I have to be extremely efficient, in the same way that you do, and I have to learn how to prioritize, and those are some things that I've learned a lot over the last year and some things that I'm going to continue to work on in this next year. So let's start with number one. One of the biggest things that I've learned in the last year about time management and working efficiently is to really take inventory of your business wins and misses. I think a lot of times we think to ourselves like okay, I want to work more efficiently, I want to be more productive, and I know like, within RTA, I work with business owners all the time TPT business owners all the time who are looking to be more productive in their time, and so they're looking for things like a sauna or time tracking things or things that are going to help them do more in less time, and those things are all good right, but a lot of times it has to do more with focusing on what's working for you and what's not working for you before you can develop a plan.
Speaker 1:So, as we head into the new year, most people are looking to add something new, like, maybe you're looking to add a new type of marketing or to dive into creating a course or creating a membership or some sort of new business venture, new revenue stream, and if that's you, those are all great goals to have. But I would absolutely say that first take inventory of what's gone well for you and what hasn't gone well for you. What are the things in your business that are really working for you? Maybe it's email marketing, maybe it's product creation, maybe it's search engine optimization, maybe it's organic traffic from your blog. Maybe, if that thing is working really well for you, maybe you say, okay, I'm going to spend more time doing that thing in the new year because it's working really well for me, so I'm going to focus my efforts there. Or maybe you say, okay, because I'm doing that really well, then I can focus on optimizing something that maybe I'm not doing as well, right? Or maybe I don't have to spend as much time blogging this year because blogging is already bringing in a significant amount of traffic. Or maybe I don't have to spend as much time focusing on growing my email list this year, because I've already grown it and it's growing organically. At this point, I already have systems in place with Facebook ads, with organic marketing or whatever that's growing my email list, and maybe this year I don't have to focus on that quite so much. More than likely, though, where you're gonna find that you get the best opportunities for improvement are gonna be with taking inventory of your misses.
Speaker 1:Okay, this is really important. So am I putting products out that are getting organic traction on TPT? Or am I putting resources out, creating resources and then having to market the snot out of them because they're just not getting any reach on their own? Okay, so if that's the case, maybe I really need to focus on my SEO, maybe I really need to focus on keyword research, or maybe I need to really focus on creating resources that teachers actually want or teachers are actually looking for. Taking the time to see what are my misses.
Speaker 1:So, for example, for me in 2023, my team and I put out over 100 products. In fact, we might have created Colser 250. It was a lot of products, you guys. It was a lot of products, probably Colser 250. So it was a lot of resources that we created in 2023. And I didn't list the vast majority of those products. My VAs were listing those products for me, so, while I'm able to give them keywords, I was not doing keyword research for every single one of those products because I couldn't keep up with it. It was just happening too fast.
Speaker 1:Okay, now, there's a lot that could be said about that. There's a lot that we could learn from that, but what that means is that one of my missed opportunities one of my misses for 2023, was doing that keyword research really making sure that each resource that was uploaded with search engine optimized, and following up with that resource and actually tracking it to see if the keywords that I chose were working or if we needed to tweak something and do something else. So that is one of my misses that I'm having to fix in 2024. And we're gonna talk about in a minute how I'm gonna fix that and how you can fix that too. But really making sure are the previews that I'm creating leading to a high converting product? Am I writing my product descriptions efficiently? Am I creating covers that are actually eye catching? The marketing that I'm doing is actually being effective? If not, why not? Because we need to develop a plan for that.
Speaker 1:Okay, so really taking inventory of those business wins and misses and what it's going to mean for us moving forward. Okay, because we don't wanna just like, add things to our plate thinking that it's going to fix our problems. A lot of times we can tweak the things that we're currently doing in our business and make them work more efficiently for us. So I'm not having to necessarily add three income streams in 2024 to increase my income level. I could literally just refine what I'm doing and make the work that I'm already doing work harder for me by working more efficiently, and then I'm not having to go out into find additional income streams to bring in more income. Okay, so working smarter, not harder.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about the next thing Asking for, or hiring, help. Okay, this is one of those things that I'm actually really passionate about, and not necessarily the hiring, but like just getting help, and I think the reason that is is because, if you take a look at that very first category, that very first thing that we just talked about, which is finding the wins and the misses for your business. A lot of times, the difference between something being a win for your business and something being a miss is having the time to bridge the gap between the two, whether that's time to learn, time to implement like in my case, time to implement things efficiently. That was the absolute miss for me and it was because of time, like I just didn't have the time to fully implement and to follow through with everything that we were doing, because the team was just working so much faster than I possibly could and they didn't have the same level of expertise that I had when they were listing products. So let's talk about that timepiece and how you can remedy that in 2024.
Speaker 1:Obviously, the obvious thing is to hire help, and hiring help is not gonna be for everybody. If you're brand new in your business or you're relying on all of your TPT income, I know that hiring help can be a very scary thing, but it can also mean like it's a risky thing, right? Because if you need that income to live off of, then paying somebody and not being sure whether or not you're gonna get your money back on that or how long it's gonna be before that starts to really pay off income wise is kind of scary, right. So I'm not saying that hiring help is going to be the solution for everybody, because I just don't believe that and I think that you can hire too fast in your business and hiring help should never be something that's stressful. Like am I going to be able to pay this person? Right.
Speaker 1:But asking for help, I think that this is a really big one and I'm gonna say this, but with the knowledge that this does not apply to everybody. Okay, but if you're in a position where you have great friends, you live around, you have family, you have a community that is willing and able to help you, maybe help you by watching the kids, maybe they even are able to help you do things within your business and are willing to do that for free Everybody's situation is different then ask for help and like for me I'm really guilty of. I have family members who would be willing to come over and to watch my kid for a few hours every now and then so that I could knock out some tasks or get ahead, but I just haven't taken advantage of that right. So that's something that I definitely wanna do in the new year, but one of the things that we've done in the last year and a half in our family is really utilize my husband. Like, my husband is a really incredible help, and I think sometimes people don't utilize their spouse in a way that they could, or maybe they're not sure how to ask for help or they're afraid that if they ask for help, then there's gonna be a certain expectation in terms of like, is that business making any money, or am I just like watching the kids for an entire weekend while you work?
Speaker 1:So, with that, here's what I would say work for me and work for my family is that we sat down and we said, okay, we had a nanny. She was incredible. I couldn't love her more. She couldn't have been more incredible, but the thing about it was is that she was getting to a place where she was ready to work a little less part time, go back into the business world and kind of work there, and so what my husband and I did was we sat down and we said, okay, either we have to hire another nanny or, like, we're gonna have to change up our family routine and we're gonna have to adjust roles and responsibilities. And so we sat down and we planned out our day and actually worked really, really nicely.
Speaker 1:My husband was able to say, yeah, I'll watch her for two hours. First thing in the morning. My daughter gets up pretty early, so he'll watch her for two hours before he goes to work. And those are the two hours that are set aside for me, and then I also have nap time, quiet time to fill in the rest of the gaps, and that gives me a solid four hours a day at least to work, where I don't have to worry about childcare. Every now and then I'll have to work in the evenings, but most of the time I'm able to fit everything into that four hour time slot.
Speaker 1:And it really took us sitting down. It was something that we I didn't really think was possible, because my husband works full time, so it was something that we weren't expecting would work. But when we really sat down and looked at it, it made a lot of sense. And so sitting down with your spouse or with a family member and saying like, hey, is there any way that I could get some help? Or maybe it means hiring help, so hiring somebody to help you clean the house, or maybe it means your spouse taking on additional household tasks, taking on responsibility of cooking dinner or getting the kids out the door in the morning so that you have a little bit more time something like that but really just sitting down and having those conversations within your community. This could also be a really great opportunity to trade with another mom friend. So maybe you say on this Saturday I'll watch your kids for a few hours and take them to the park while you get to work, and then next Saturday you take my kids to the park and I'll work for a few hours. So just kind of trading things out. It doesn't always have to mean hiring, it doesn't always have to come from family or from a spouse, but whatever you can do to try to get a little bit more time, it can be extremely beneficial for your business and really help you fill in some of those gaps in your business and help you meet those goals.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about the next part. Part three Develop SOPs or standard operating procedures for you and your team. So even if you don't have a team, I know I used to think like standard operating procedures were basically just for your employees or for your team members, but no Standard operating procedures can be for yourself and then, ultimately, for your team if you add a team member later on down the line. But this really goes back to number one identifying those misses. Where am I missing the mark in my business and where is the work that I'm doing not working for me? So I mentioned earlier that I know that there is an SEO problem with a lot of those newer resources that were put out on the market that my VA's uploaded for me and I didn't search and optimize them myself. So having a standard operating procedure for myself and or my team to make sure that I am hitting all the marks that I need to hit.
Speaker 1:So maybe it looks like making sure that keyword research is done, creating a checklist for every single product and making sure that with every product I'm going through and I'm marking things off the list, sometimes we're such a hurry to get the product uploaded, to get the thing done, to write the email, whatever, that we're really not following best practices, even if we know what best practices are. So, in my case, of making sure that the keyword research is done for every single resource, making sure that that search engine optimization is done all the way through and that the product has gone over with a fine tooth comb when it's uploaded is going to be really important. The next thing that's going to be important is making sure that I follow up on that product within 30, 60, 90 days, within a certain period of time, to make sure that those keywords are working, to make sure that the keywords that I've chosen are working well for me, to make sure that that product cover for that new product line is actually getting me clicks and to make sure, for example, that that product is converting and that that preview is performing for me. So making sure to take the time and put it on the calendar that can be part of my standard operating procedure or your standard operating procedure for a product is that when I list a new product, I set a reminder on my calendar to check on the status of that product in 30, 60, or 90 days, just depending on how long I think that product is going to need or how often I'm going to be able to do that, but making sure that I set an alert on my calendar so that I know to come back and I know to check on that resource and I don't forget about it. Okay, so, making sure to follow through. This can be the same for marketing. Maybe your click through rate for your email is really low or your conversion rate for your email is really low. So develop a standard operating procedure for writing that email and making sure, like, did I link to this product at least three times within this email, or did I keep the email short and sweet? Did I write too long? Did I go back in and make sure that I only have one call to action? Really just creating a list, a standard operating procedure for writing that email, creating those graphics putting out that content, to make sure that you're not forgetting the basics every single time that you do that task. Okay, so, creating those standard operating procedures for yourself and maybe for your team or ultimately for your team.
Speaker 1:Okay, and number four is a really big one that I think we often miss the mark on, and that is, at the beginning of the year, scheduling your big, scary and new goals on the calendar, like putting them on the calendar when am I going to work on this goal and when is this goal going to be completed? And the reason that I mentioned this as part of working smarter, not harder is because a lot of times we'll have a really big goal for the new year, like maybe I'm going to launch a course this year, or I'm going to launch a membership this year, or I'm going to create a website this year, build a shop and buy, like whatever that goal is, and you know it's going to take a lot of time, it's going to take a lot of energy, it's going to take a lot of effort, it's going to take a lot of learning, right? So, making sure that you have that goal on the calendar, when am I going to start working on that goal? When am I going to be finished with that goal, with that project? Okay, it's going to do two things for you. First, it's going to ensure that it actually gets done. I'm not going to be able to put it off indefinitely and then like, oops, I've made it to the end of the year and I still didn't get that done. I guess it's going to be next year's goal again. Right, having that on the schedule, having it booked, putting it into at least a quarter and saying I'm going to do that in Q3, that's going to help to ensure that that gets done and that you have a timeline for getting it done. The next thing that it's going to do is it's going to help you to work on that project more efficiently.
Speaker 1:Because I'm going to tell you, guys, most of us have a problem, okay, and that problem is that when I have something really big especially if it's an exciting goal or something that I'm really excited about or really scared of, it kind of looms right. So I have a tendency to say, okay, I want to create a course this year. I can't work on it just yet, but I'm going to do it when things slow down and I want to be ready when things slow down. That's what we tell ourselves. We want to be ready when it slows down. So I'll start consuming content about that goal, I'll start doing research on that goal. I'll start watching YouTube videos, reading articles, consuming all of this knowledge and information, conducting all of this research, fitting it all into my head and storing it up for a later time.
Speaker 1:Now, there's a couple of problems with this. The first thing is, this can be a major distraction from the things that I should be working on when I can't work on that goal, right? So if I know that I can't work on that course, on creating that course until this summer, or I can't work on that new membership until the fall. Then I shouldn't be spending quarter one focusing on that project that I can't get to for many months down the road. I should be spending quarter one focusing on things that I can do right now. They're actually going to make me money now and help move my business forward now, so I shouldn't be wasting time consuming content and trying to keep knowledge instead of my head for a later date. I should wait until I get close to, or I'm able to, actually implement that knowledge and put it into place and work on that project.
Speaker 1:Okay, so schedule those big, scary new goals. Put them on your calendar so that you don't have to worry about them, you don't have them looming and they're not a distraction for you the rest of the year. All right, you guys, I hope you have some really big goals for 2024 and I can't wait. We're going to be talking about big 2024 goals with a lot of different TPT business owners and all different stages of their business with all kinds of goals, and I absolutely cannot wait for you to listen in on those conversations. We're going to start those conversations next week right here on the podcast. Cannot wait for you to listen in on those coaching calls. Thanks so much for being here. I'm going to see you guys right back here next week.