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About a week ago, I decided it was time for a sabbatical – a WORK sabbatical. Granted, I had a few family matters to attend to as well, but I decided it was high time to spend as much as 12 full days as possible working ON business.

This is a luxury I haven’t allowed myself at a full-time level for a couple years. Normally, I try to fit it around my client needs and, while I certainly love each and every client I work with, this putting my business on the back burner wasn’t doing me any favors at all.

So, last Thursday, I sat down and made my list of everything I’ve wanted to accomplish for my two businesses – www.LagunaBeachBest.com and www.ArmitageInc.com – in the year ahead. Not just logical progression, but really big quantum leaps.

What I came up with was a leaning tower of tasks, a veritable compilation of everything I do for clients that I don’t do for my own business … or at least, not until now!

You should see the big poster-size Sticky notes I have on my living room wall – it’s ridiculous! There’s one “Working on Business for Armitage Inc.” and one “Working on Business for LagunaBeachBest.com” and every time I finish another task, I trot over to the wall and write it down. It’s the only thing that keeps me motivated because there’s so much to do!

What an amazing progression this Work Sabbatical has been, though, not only for my business but for my HEAD. For the first time in years, I’ve been fully immersed in the blueprinting and architecture of my business dreams. It’s a powerful gift to give yourself and your business.

 

A few take-away lessons I’ve learned from Working On Business:

1.  If you don’t work ON your business, your business will stop working. Thank heavens I’ve managed to squeak a few hours in here and there every week to work on my business, or I’d really be up a creek. Thank heavens I’m in a weekly mastermind group that keeps me accountable to working ON my business … but even the little bit I was allowing was not sufficient for real creativity, mind expansion, business growth and residual income. Yes, because I allow myself some work on the business, I keep bringing business in the door, and I’m very grateful for that. But it has to stop being ME bringing business in the door … I want business to come in the door WITHOUT me!

2. Doing a full-time Work Sabbatical ONLY once a year can be overwhelming and, frankly, you’re already behind the 8-ball at that point.

Instead, scheduling one full day every two weeks to work ON the business is the smartest thing in the world you can do. With today’s Internet demands and social media pushes, you have GOT to stay on your game; it’s far too easy to drop off and drop to the back of the pack.

3. When you allow yourself to work on your business, you’ll find yourself reviving and getting enthused again, I guarantee it. Granted, you’re WORKING, and there’s administrative stuff involved here that might feel a bit laborious, but you’re working on your DREAM, and that changes everything!

4. Help is out there everywhere. Use it.  Do you think I know how to program a Facebook Fan Page? Do I look like someone who knows how to take on a video editing studio? Did I just wake up one day knowing how to research and write painstaking page titles, keywords, and meta descriptions for each of my blog entries?Absolutely not. But, I know where to find the experts who can teach me how. And YOU have ME!

Note:

Remember, what I’ve been doing in this Work Sabbatical is exactly what I do for my clients. My consulting packages allow me to work with you on overall marketing strategy, Internet strategy, content direction, social media ins and outs and more so that you continue to move forward at an accelerated, highly leveraged pace. So, if you’re starting to feel as motivated as I’ve been this last week, Contact Me directly at Diane@Armitageinc.com for my 2-Week Consulting Packages, and I’ll give you a discounted fee on a strategy plan that will set you on an accelerated path in just two weeks’ time.

P.S. I have a few more take-away lessons and tips to share from this Work Sabbatical that might come in handy for you … but this blog has gotten long enough. Check out “Take Away Lessons, Part II” here.