Why You Can’t Afford NOT To Think Big

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Put final touches on a podcast episode that’s waiting to be published.

Brainstorm ideas for new content.

Work on new Instagram reels.

Reply to reader comments.

Read up on what’s new and cutting-edge in the world of marketing strategies and tactics.

Go over your editorial calendar and plan your content.

Check social media.

PIN ALL THE THINGS.

If this sounds like just another Tuesday in your business schedule, you are definitely not alone! And while everyone is different, which means there’s no “typical” day in the life of an online business owner, there ARE a ton of little tasks that most of us find ourselves doing day in and day out to keep our businesses moving forward. Tasks that, while important and necessary, can also get us so focused on what needs to get done today that we forget about tomorrow.

You see, when we’re totally bogged down in the day-to-day of our businesses, without an overall structure of where we’re trying to go and what we’re trying to accomplish, it’s super easy to get distracted.

We’re doing some research and see a new Instagram strategy and think, “Oh! I have to try that!” Five minutes later we’re on Pinterest and catch a new blog post graphic idea that seems interesting and think, “Oh! I have to try that too!” And then we’re scanning a Facebook group and someone says, “No, you should really do your graphics this way,” and we think, “Oh! Well, maybe they’re right and I should do that, too!”

But here’s the thing—when we get so caught up in the day-to-day, it’s like we’re spinning our wheels without actually going anywhere. And if we don’t know where we want to go, we’ll just stay there, caught in the day-to-day, spinning our wheels forever.

That’s why it’s so important to think BIG.

When we know where we want to go, we can make sure that the things we’re doing on a day-to-day basis will actually get us there. Because the truth is that sometimes all the day-to-day busywork can start to feel like a grind when there isn’t a bigger purpose behind it. 

But what does thinking BIG actually mean when it comes to your online business?

YOU’RE NOT LOCKED IN FOREVER

Now, before we dive in, I just want to point out that having big goals or mapping out our big picture doesn’t mean we’re locked in forever and can’t ever change your mind. I think a lot of people are wary of setting big, long-term goals because it gives them a hint of commitment-phobia—what if we set a long-term goal today and it doesn’t make sense for us a month from now, six months from now, a year from now?

Or, on the flip side, what if we set some big goals… and then we don’t hit them? Won’t that be a total bummer? Isn’t it better not to set ourselves up for disappointment?

And I totally get it! But let me be the first to say that just because we set a destination of where we want to go in our business doesn’t mean we’re not allowed to change course along the way. I think it’s super important to be flexible with our goals. Sometimes, we’ll realize along the way that the goal we’re working towards isn’t what we want anymore. Other times, we’ll realize that what we’re doing isn’t getting us to where we want to go, and we’ll have to completely change course.

And both of those situations are a-okay. In fact, we should expect them.

And it’s that direction that will keep us moving forward, no matter what course or destination we ultimately decide is right for us and our blogs.

TAKE A STEP BACK EVERY NOW AND THEN

Thinking big about our online businesses—and setting the goals we need to achieve to get us from where we are to where we want to go—doesn’t just happen. We need to make time for it.

Setting aside time to think about the big picture of our business and set both short-term and long-term goals is a must to keep ourselves moving in the right direction. And the key is to do it often.

Personally, I do one major big-picture planning session per year (usually around the new year) and then a few smaller planning sessions once a quarter. And I find it’s so, so helpful.

Why is that? Well, because it’s those big goals—the ones that take us out of our comfort zone and feel like a stretch—that really get us excited and motivated!

When we have a stretch goal—one that feels equally scary and totally exciting—it gives us a reason to push ourselves every day. It gives us an extra boost of motivation. We’ll wake up a little earlier, work a little harder, and go that extra mile to make it happen.

For example, when I first started my blog, my big goal was to make enough money blogging so my husband could quit his job. At the time, that felt like a complete stretch! I wasn’t sure if I could do it (and people literally laughed at me when I told them), but the idea of hitting that goal—just the possibility of retiring my husband—was so exciting, it gave me the motivation I needed to make it happen. That goal is what got me up at 2 a.m. to write blog posts. It’s what kept me up all hours of the night reading about strategies to grow my business. And, ultimately, it’s what got me to where I am today.

The day-to-day tasks of being an entrepreneur are necessary to get our businesses off the ground. But it’s the big goals—the ones that stretch us all the way out of our comfort zone—that will take us where we want to go. That’s why we can’t afford NOT to think big about our businesses.

PAY ATTENTION TO THE FEELING IN YOUR GUT

If you’re thinking, “Well, all of this sounds great, but I have too much to do! I don’t have time to think big,” I totally get it. But remember—we all have the same 24 hours in a day. Spending some of that time working towards our big goals isn’t any harder than losing all of our time with the small stuff (and trust me, all the day-to-day stuff isn’t going anywhere).

It’s time to think big. So here’s my challenge—I want you to take a look at your list of goals (and if you don’t have a list of goals, sit down and write one!). Is there anything on that list that fires you up? That gives you butterflies in your stomach, or that feeling of nervousness in your gut? When you think about your goals, do you have that “am-I-scared-or-am-I-excited” tightening in your chest? If so, you are on the right track. Your big goals should scare you a little bit!

One of our Powerhouse members, Brooke from Journey to Kidlit, knows this as well as anyone. A few years back, she was on a Get Ruthed episode of the Do It Scared Podcast. If you are not familiar with the Get Ruthed episodes, it is essentially where business owners are put in the hot seat. Well, during Brooke’s episode, Brooke learned her goals were not big enough. (You can listen to her original episode HERE!) 

We will save you from ALL of the details, but suffice to say, Brooke took the time to think about what she really wanted, set a clear revenue goal for her business and reached that goal that she thought was absolutely crazy. And this is cool, but recently Brooke attended a live event with us in Florida. 

She volunteered to be a subject of our session on planning out your Big Picture. When she confidently declared she had a multi-million dollar goal for her business over the next three years. You could hear the collective gasp in the room from the attendees earlier in their business journeys. And the gasp was followed by whispers stating “no way could I do that” and “I don’t think that would ever happen for me”. 

But you know what, Brooke was in their exact same shoes just a couple years earlier when her big goal was what all of our members want in the beginning: to make money. 

Brooke claimed her new revenue target as her goal and broke down (with a large audience, no less) her big goal into smaller bite-sized steps using our Big Picture Path worksheet. She realized that as she filled in each step, she knew exactly what it would take to get there. Suddenly, she realized that she was still thinking too small AND DOUBLED HER GOAL! And mapping out her entire business path down to each milestone had her completely fired up and ready to get going. 

So what fires you up? What big goal would get you excited? And if there isn’t anything on that list that gets you fired up, ask yourself, “How can I think bigger?” How can I 10X this goal? How can I dive in and find a deeper motivation?

Find something that lights the fire inside you and gives you the extra drive you need to make big things happen. 

Because ultimately THAT is what drives your business. The rest supports your big goal but without your big goal and a clear picture of where you are going, you don’t have a business yet. Not really. 

PLAN SMALL

Of course, a big goal is only as good as your ability to execute, and that is where planning small comes in.

Once you’ve established your big goal, you’ll need to break it down into manageable bite-sized pieces—smaller goals for your quarter, your month, your week and your day. And then you’ll need to make sure that you are setting time aside EACH DAY to work towards that bigger goal. Because ultimately it is your daily actions that will get you to where you want to go.

A great way to start is by filling out the worksheet we mentioned in Brooke’s story. This is a worksheet we use for coaching in the Powerhouse program and it looks something like this: 

After you claim your Wildy Important Goal, you determine five milestones to measure that will help you reach that goal. These could be things like revenue numbers per product, # of email subscribers, #of podcast downloads, etc. Whatever you determine to be an important milestone in order to achieve your WIG. Then from there, you look at where you are now and break down step by step within each milestone what it’s going to take to reach that goal. 

But the question is, do you know where that is?

If you are an existing business owner and recognize that thinking big is something that you struggle with, you are not alone! But that is also a really good reason to be in a community of business owners with similar goals because we have discussions like this weekly in our Powerhouse program and it is MAGIC seeing the transformation in our members as they find their drive and see the results they have wanted for so long. 

If you need this too, here are your next steps: 

1. Register for our FREE on Demand Video Training 

2. Secure your spot in the Powerhouse program while the introductory rate is still available.