The Blog

04. Get your life back by working ahead | How to work Productively

In my decade as an entrepreneur, I’ve seen businesses start and stop, launch and fail over and over and over. 

People say one in five businesses fail in the first five years, and then 90% after that. And the 90% the year after that. And the 90% the five years after that. Blah blah blah. Basically – in the first 10 years of business, a lot of businesses fail. And I’m starting to see why.

They aren’t failing because they’re bad at what they do.

Nope, they’re failing because they stopped showing up.

Businesses aren’t failing because they are bad at what they do.

I’m not the best at what I do. I’m not the best photographer, best business mentor or best business owner or best podcaster. I’m not the best at what I do, but I do not have to be the best. And you don’t have to be the best at what you do to succeed.

All you have to do is show up every day.

That is all it takes, because 90% of your competition won’t. They won’t do the work. They will stop showing up. They’ll stop posting on Instagram. They won’t blog. They will stop networking. Your competitions will stop doing the work and their business will fail.

Show up every day.

A few years ago, I joined an MLM company called Maskcara. And I am still a part of that Maskcara company, which is funny because you probably haven’t seen me post about it in two years. In the first year in the makeup business, I got awarded for the top 20 enrollees in the company.

I stopped showing up because I have a lot of other priorities that kind of took precedence over Maskcara. I run the Kylee Ann Studios photography team, education, speaking, now podcasting. I mentor people. I have three kids. I am a full time brand photographer on top of running the Kylee Ann Studios team.

The makeup kind of fell behind and it didn’t become a priority. And while I didn’t completely kill my business and I do still get paychecks – now it’s like $200 a month versus the thousands I was making before. 

Did my skills change? Nope. In fact, I got better at everything. I got better at marketing, better at makeup.

Did the makeup change? No, the makeup got better. There’s more products, more colors, more everything. The trainings got better. The leadership got better.

I went from making thousands of dollars a month to hundreds of dollars a month because I stopped showing up.

You want your business to grow? Do the work. Daily.

Wherever you’re showing up, keep showing up. You have to be faithful in the small things until the big things come.

Seven years ago, I started blogging on KyleeAnnphotography.com three to five times a week. I have not stopped since.

Remember, be faithful in the small things until the big things come.

My number one secret to real business success is being consistent daily.

Being consistent, showing up, doing the work every single day.

There are lots of reasons to work ahead in your business.

First of all, when you’re intentionally doing the work, it’s better. Think about it. When you do something last minute, it’s lesser quality.

Second, having things done and off your list will bring you peace of mind. I am someone that struggles with anxiety. And if I have things hanging over my head, to-do’s and things that I haven’t got done, then I’m feeling stressed.

Third, you will love what you’re doing more because you can actually focus on it. Working ahead means less time dreading work and less time working around the clock.

Lastly, You’ll get your life back by working ahead.

How I work ahead in my business

1. Email templates.

Every time I answer an email, I save it as a template.

2. Schedule Social Media

It is hard to be consistent. It is hard to be on social media, intentionally posting things that you know are meaningful and fit your target audience if you’re not scheduling your social media ahead of time.

3. Hire Help

I hire help before you don’t have time to train them. I look ahead at each quarter and schedule in house cleaners, babysitters and assistants in times where I know I’m going to be extra busy.

4. Use a calendar.

We can’t always control when we work, but we can control when we don’t work. I use a calendar to schedule everything including my to-do list, days off, meal planning, and more.

working ahead

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