It’s Time to Make SHIFT Happen
Contributed by Idea Collective Member:
Julie Miller Davis
Productivity Coach | Corporate Speaking | Productivity Training
Lately I've been reflecting on the journey of my business and how I ended up where I am after seven and a half short years.
From the very beginning, from when I had the IDEA of what I wanted to bring to potential followers and clients, I have not wavered. I knew I wanted to bring new perspectives on being proactive and taking actions. I knew I wanted to help offer solutions to people by digging into their habits around time. What I have created through the years has taken on many iterations that have grown from one to the next. I have not CHANGED what I train on. I have SHIFTED based on my foundational tenets how and what I offer. Shifted. Not changed.
But what, you may ask, what the SHIFT does that mean?
When I look at CHANGE, I see that there is a complete undoing and re-doing. Like a change of clothes or a change of season. Many times, businesses fail, or goals are not met, or projects are not completed because people are too quick to CHANGE. They throw it all away to start over. They try to reinvent the wheel rather than trying to improve upon what has been started.
I did make a change eight years ago when I left what I was doing and started my own business. I took my passion and my gifts and talents and created something completely new out of those. However, since I started JMD Productivity Training, I am continuously evaluating what is working and what is not and I am SHIFTING the way I will offer and deliver what I’m doing. I continue to educate myself and to ask questions of myself, and potential clients and these are helping me create something better for me and my clients without compromising what I’ve created or throwing it out with the dishwater so to speak.
Over the years I have gone from a one-day workshop to a multi-month program. I then added a three-day live event, and then a few years ago added two six-week deep dive courses to supplement it all. As well, I added a retreat into my six month program. Everything I do is adding depth and value to what I already offer. Everything has been calculated and evaluated and offered because of a need I saw either in me or in my clients. And everything has added up to me doing the things and living the life I love best.
Can you imagine if every time something wasn't working for us that we just started over from scratch? Or just keep trying to do it the same way (definition of insanity)?
How stressed, frustrated, and unhappy would we be? Or are you already feeling this way because you’re stuck in a pattern? Let’s start with this:
How do we SHIFT?
Ask questions of yourself and others
Why are you stuck? Unhappy? What kinds of things do you keep changing? How is what you’re doing or not doing hurting growth in your business? When I added my two six week courses (prioritizewithpower.com and solveunsolvableproblems.com) I did it because I didn’t feel that I was able to go deep enough into the foundations of what I teach and train on. So I created a way to take people deep and into ACTION with immediate results and shifts in their own behavior to do the most important things in their businesses.
Talk to others
Listen to what others have to say and assess what IS working and build from that. For me, I found that my clients were struggling to master one section of my UNSTUCK program. Although they were doing the work, it wasn’t having the impact I wanted it to have, and they weren’t getting through some of the material on their own. At that point, I didn’t extend the program, I created a retreat to bring them all together in one space for a concentrated amount of time to work on their values, vision, and more. The results have been through the roof over the last 3 years because of this SHIFT. I didn’t CHANGE anything. I shifted and enhanced what was working!
Take the power back!
Take the power back in your business by asking yourself what you can do differently – many times ONE THING can be done differently to create that desired result! This is so important. What can YOU control and do differently? I was in control of what I offered and when. I was/am also in control of reading my audience and knowing what they needed or were frustrated by. I also know how I want to serve and am looking for ways to keep going to higher levels of excellence. YOU have the power! No one else does.
This process is so much easier, quicker, and less stressful than starting over or banging our heads against a wall or spinning our wheels. What all of this really comes down to is a growth mindset – acting out of faith rather than fear and having the desire to not stay where you are or to start over. If you want more on a growth mindset, check out this article in Inc Magazine.
Here’s what I’m doing at JMD at this moment…I have noticed places I’d like to improve over the last several months, and my business has not quite had the reach I want it to have. So, I have been asking myself and my coach what I can do differently. I asked others their thoughts and experiences, and I HIRED others to help me position myself to make the shift happen expertly, smoothly, and with finesse. I continue to add to my team, to rework some things that don’t quite seem to be hitting the mark in my marketing or other places, and I’m shifting what we’re putting out there. And there is more shift for me in the future! There should always be, or we’re stagnant.
And now I ask you, what needs a SHIFT in your business? What are you not quite content with? What can YOU do differently and who can help you? My guess is that you have the answers to these questions and you have the POWER, and if you don’t see it, we’re here to help you tap in the Idea Collective.
So go ahead, take the power back and make SHIFT happen! I look forward to seeing what happens for you.
Contributed by
Julie Miller Davis
Productivity Coach
Julie Miller Davis is a driven entrepreneur who serves others by helping them reach their own levels of excellence. She works with business owners and leaders to get them laser-focused and efficient at conducting their daily business and working through their current roadblocks.
