The next couple of months are crucial if you want to set yourself up for success next year. If you haven’t already begun conceptualizing and writing your 2022 business plan, it’s definitely the time to start. But let’s be real – the thought of setting aside time to hash out a business plan keeps many of us locked in inactivity.
Master real estate coach Paul Wheeler has a simple suggestion for an impactful first step: invest 22 minutes now to define the whys, whats, and hows of growing your business and meeting your personal goals.
Your “why” is the motivating factor for everything you do in business – the thing that keeps you inspired at work even when it’s challenging. But many agents and brokers have never really sat down and figured out what it is that drives them to work hard for success. The first step of your 22-minute investment is to take two minutes and quickly write down the things that drive you. This exercise is only for you, so be honest. Your list might include family obligations, money, or something less tangible like the satisfaction of helping people find homes.
When your time is up, stop. Now reset your timer and take two minutes to find the one thing that best encapsulates your “why.” Think about the reasoning behind your motivations. If financial security is high on your list, ask why that is important. Is it to have money for money’s sake, or are you really concerned with security and stability for your family? By the end of these two minutes, you should only have one thing on your list. This is your big “why.”
You’ve completed the first step, so now it’s time to define your “whats.” Reset your timer for two minutes, and this time write down everything you want to accomplish in your life. This could be anything – ultimate income goals, how many kids you want, where and when you want to retire, taking up deep-sea exploration – whatever is important to you on a grand scale. Don’t filter yourself, just keep your pen to paper.
When your time is up, stop, and reset your timer for another two minutes. Go through your list and identify your top three goals. This can be difficult, but keep in mind that you are not deciding against ever doing these things; you’re simply prioritizing the most important ones. It’s possible that some of your goals can be incorporated into each other, or simply represent milestones toward a larger goal. But identifying three distinct “whats” will help you keep focused on the finish line.
You’ve figured out why you do what you do and what you want to accomplish. The last step in this process is identifying how to get where you want to go. Once again set your timer for two minutes, and write down everything you know you need to do in the next 10 to 20 years to reach your goals. This could include everything from setting up investment accounts to learning about submarines. Repeat this process five more times – two minutes each for the next five years, next year (2022), next month, next week, and tomorrow. This isn’t a hard and fast plan. Rather it is a way to conceptualize and identify markers along the way and corrections you need to make now and within the next few months.
You’re almost done! Set your timer one last time. In these final two minutes, identify issues you’ve had in the past that have gotten in the way of meeting your goals. This might include personal weaknesses, dysfunctions on your team, or external factors within the market. Knowing and acknowledging what has tripped you up before will allow you to plan for these contingencies in the future.
It’s been 22 minutes! Do you feel like you have more clarity for 2022 than you did when you started? Taking just a few minutes to identify motivators, goals, benchmarks, and roadblocks can really jumpstart your business planning. But don’t stop there. Now that you have some basics hammered out, the next step is to turn all this into meaningful action items on a consistent basis. The Workman Success Systems My Perfect Week Scheduler used in conjunction with the Daily Success Habits tracker are tools that can effectively help you turn your aspirations into achievements.
