Creating a business model that works

When I was in junior high, I had a book that was used in one of my classes for health or some similar class.  Anyways, it had pictures of a house with a white picket fence and the mom cooking meals and the family looking happy.  In my mind, that was exactly how my life was going to turn out when I grew up. 

My life today?  Not exactly what I had envisioned all of those years ago.  I don’t have a white picket fence and I do not cook every single meal from scratch.  I am lucky if I get a few loads of laundry done, the dishes make it into the dishwasher (even though they may sit there for a day), and we eat out only a couple of days a week. 

When people start their own business, they may have a vision of what they want their business to look like.  When they start running it for a while, reality sets in and their business model does not always match up to the vision.  So how do you create a business model that works for you?  You need to sit down and look at what you really want out of this business. 

Here is a quick checklist of questions to ask yourself:

1. Do I want to stay a mom and pop business forever or do I want to be on the same level as say a Circles or VIP Desk?
2. Do circumstances in my life, such as being a parent to small children, limit the amount of time that I can put into this business?
3. Am I looking to make enough to just pay the bills or enough to buy all of the luxury items that I have been wanting for a while?
4. Am I just a paper and pen type of person or am I open to trying new technology to enhance my business?
5. Would the IRS consider my business a hobby or a real business?
6. Do I want to only work with individual clients or do I want to eventually expand to corporate clients as well?
7. Am I willing to do any and everything that my clients request or do I want to limit the type of services that I offer?
8. Am I willing to work with different types of people or do I want to limit the types of people I work with?
9. Am I looking at only running errands or only providing virtual services the entire time I am in business or do I want to expand my vision to something else, such as becoming a wedding and event planner or full time pet sitter?

Obviously your business will evolve over the years, because circumstances will change in your life, such as children growing up and leaving the nest or grandchildren coming into the picture or a family member becoming ill.  But it is up to you to decide which direction you want your business to take. 

I have heard from plenty of people over the years who thought that when they got into this business that they would just run errands and ended up getting out of the business and starting a different type of service, such as a house cleaning business.  A woman in Canada went from operating a concierge business to being a speaker and author.  I know someone else who completely ditched the errand and concierge business to get into the organization business, while another strictly offers wedding and event planning.

I use the beginning of the new year to reflect on how my business did the year before and where I want it to head in the future.  My vision for my business model now is nothing like I had envisioned for my business when I first started.  I have gotten to experience so many wonderful things, meet many new people, and watch my business take a completely different path.  So, what does your business model look like?

Is your business ready to expire?

How are you treating your business?

Learn about the errand/concierge industry from home!

Have you been researching the errand and concierge industry and want to learn more?
 
Are you excited to open your business, but at the same time scared because you are not sure if you have everything in place?
 
I am excited to announce the re-launch of Concierge Online!  For those of you who don’t have the time or funds to travel to one of my seminars, I offer one hour sessions that you can pick and choose from to learn the steps you need to either get your business off of the ground or take your business to the next level.
 
The cost of each session is only $29.95!
 
If you would like more information about Concierge Online, what you receive, and the upcoming dates of future sessions, then click here.

The next Concierge Online call is Friday, May 15, 2009, 10:00 am Pacific.
“Errand and Concierge Service 101: The basics you need to get started “