Does your to-do list look more like a mile-long scroll? Do you feel like you have so many things to do and not enough hours in the day to complete them all? Are you feeling a bit stressed out?
If you’re a health coach that is struggling to figure out how to balance a busy life while building your business, you are in good company. Many of us work another job and/or have children plus other responsibilities. Balancing work and family time is always a challenging feat.
Today, I’m sharing practical strategies to help you know where to start, what to outsource (even if you have a low budget), and what to focus on. These are the items that will have the biggest impact on successfully organizing your health coaching business, and help you reach your audience effectively.
First, it goes without saying that YOU need to come first. What can you do most days to take care of YOU? My routine involves exercising in the morning 5-6 days a week. This is what helps me stay more focused, and stay energized. Find what works for you, and make the commitment to take care of yourself first.
Focus on One Project At a Time
I’ve had to learn this lesson the hard way. We all have so many great ideas, but then we feel like we are being distracted and pulled in a million different directions. This results in us feeling like we aren’t making much progress – super frustrating, indeed!
What I have found to be a huge help is to prioritize, then execute. When you know your goals and your vision, it makes it easier to focus on the things that matter most. You want to continuously ask yourself “Is this something that is going to help me reach my goals?” so you can help yourself stay on track.
Look at what your options are for building your business, then pick one (or two at the most) to focus on at a time until it’s completed. For example, maybe you’re working on putting together a new coaching program, and you also want to present a workshop or webinar. You have also been asked to contribute a guest blog post, and then you know you need to keep up with your own blog posts and/or weekly newsletters.
How do you fit it all in?
If you take a step back, you’ll have to decide which of these things you should focus on right now. You also need to realize that it’s OKAY to say no – or at least say “not right now.” Look at the time commitment involved as well as the potential for exposure and growth, and figure out what makes the most sense to you. There’s not always a right or wrong answer, which can sometimes make it difficult to decide.
Consider what needs to be done right now, and what can wait. Focus on the tasks and projects that will have a direct impact on your business, and do your best to prioritize what you can do right now.
Don’t Try to be Everywhere
Pick one or two social media platforms to master at a time, then move on to another one if you can. If you had to pick just one social media platform to start with, I recommend Facebook. Facebook has the best options for targeting your audience, running highly-effective ads, building an amazing community using Facebook GROUPS, and much more.
After Facebook, consider what other platform might be good to branch out to, and see where YOUR ideal clients are hanging out.
It’s better to be highly visible and consistent on two platforms than it is to be scattered and inconsistent on several platforms.
I focus mostly on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIN, and I’m able to do this easily through automation (see next tip). I also like Instagram, although I don’t use automation for it at this time.
Automate Your Social Media
If you are looking to simplify your daily tasks, automation is a lifesaver! There is no way I would have time to build a social media following and have a consistent presence on 3 platforms if I had to do everything manually (not to mention, I would lose my ever-loving mind!).
You want to automate the process as much as possible. Two of the most popular scheduling apps are Hootsuite and Edgar. Each one has its own unique features that allow you to get yourself in front of your audience without spending all day on social media.
Hootsuite is a good choice if you have several social media accounts you want to manage from the same app. It also allows you to create keyword searches so you can track brand mentions and respond to would-be clients. I think HootSuite makes Twitter easier to use and understand, once you figure out the features Hootsuite offers. Hootsuite has a free version.
Edgar is unique because it allows you to add different items to a post queue, categorize them by type, and let the program schedule them. This is what I use, and I absolutely love it! Once you have gone through an entire rotation, Edgar will recycle old posts, so you never run out of material. This is especially beneficial since most social media posts only have a shelf life of between 14-90 minutes. It allows more of your followers to have an opportunity to see the post. Edgar starts at $49 per month, and I have found it to be more than worth it (I don’t have to have a VA upload content to Hootsuite).
Automation is great, but you also want to spend a little time on social media to answer questions, interact with people, like their posts and share good content.
Put List-Building on Autopilot
You may have heard the phrase, “Your list is your net worth.” This holds true in health coaching because it ensures that your message will be seen by prospective clients. With more and more social media channels switching to algorithms and adopting a “pay to play” policy, it is even more important to build your email list.
One of the most effective methods of building an email list is to create a free offer, called a lead magnet. This is typically a PDF file that subscribers are sent in exchange for their email address. You can use a selection of your recipes, a sample exercise plan, a checklist, short guide – anything that would benefit your audience and entices them to sign up for your email list. Once you have designed your lead magnet, you can reap the benefits over and over again, with no additional work on your part.
Use your social media scheduler, as mentioned above, to automate this for you. Also, be sure your opt-in is easily visible on your website (home page, blog page, sidebar, and pop-up). When you include your opt-in at the end of your blog posts, this lets readers get to know you a bit before they give you their email address (just be sure your opt-in relates to the topic of your blog post in some way).
Know When to Outsource
This is a biggie! It’s important to realize that you can’t do it all if you want to build a profitable business. When you look at yourself as a business owner, you’ll see that even though you wear several hats, you can still ask for help. When you get help with the tasks others can do, you can focus more on the actions that will directly bring you new clients.
Make a list of all the tasks you’re doing, and see where you can start to outsource some things. Once you have your list, break it down into the tasks only you can do, then the tasks you don’t like to do or don’t want to do.
Note: Just because you enjoy doing it, doesn’t mean you should be doing it (designing images for social media can easily be outsourced very inexpensively).
Some tasks to consider outsourcing are:
- Graphics for sales pages, website, social media, lead magnets
- Social media management
- Facebook ads
- Sales copy for your website or emails
- Formatting your weekly emails and blog posts
- Setting up email autoresponders
- Creating forms, handouts, guides, PDFs
- Help with facilitating a webinar
- Editing copy (sales pages, blog posts, etc.)
- Designing/managing your website
- Setting up a membership site for an online coaching program
- Setting up an affiliate program
- Creating PowerPoint or Keynote presentations
If you don’t already know people that can help you with these tasks, you can check out Fiverr.com for graphics and then check out Upwork.com for the other tasks. You can also ask around for a good recommendation.
Simplify and Organize
No matter which methods you decide to employ, coming up with a strategy to organize and streamline your tasks will help you take back control of your life. It is possible to reach your target audience and gain clients without taking on the weight of the world.
What can you prioritize for the next month, and what can you outsource to make your life easier?
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