What does CEO time really mean and how to plan for it
'You should clear space in your calendar for CEO time', 'you gotta step into your CEO role', 'you have to stop working in your business and start working in it'
I got asked a question on instagram about a week ago:
"How do I structure CEO time. What questions should I be asking myself?"
If you are also struggling to understand what 'CEO time' really is and how you should get started, keep reading. Let's divide this into 2 steps.
01. The role of the CEO is to have a vision for the business.
Imagine getting in your car to go to a friend's house, except you don't have her address. You keep driving aimlessly without knowing which house she lives in, wasting time and energy, and eventually giving up. To find her, you would first need to get her exact address, then set your GPS to know exactly where you are going. Right?
It's the same in business. Since you're no longer 'just' a designer, but also the director of your company, it is your job to set 'money goals': you have to set an intention of where you want to be 6 months from now and then understand:
1. What products/ services you will offer
2. How many you will need to sell to reach the new money goal (this actually helps make it more attainable in my opinion) and
3. What you should focus on each month/ week working backwards from this goal.
"Imagine getting in your car to go to a friend's house, except you don't have her address. You keep driving aimlessly without knowing which house she lives in, wasting time and energy, and eventually giving up."
02. Time for strategy/ planning
Once you've decided on the direction, you should look at the systems/ resources you have in place and see if they are right to help you reach your 6-month goal.
For example, ask yourself:
✔️ Will I be able to take on more projects by myself?
✔️ What support do I need to reach that goal?
Sometimes, we want to invest in something that we feel we 'need' and, although it might be a good investment, it might not be the right time. And, when financial resources are limited, all your efforts and investments should be directed towards reaching your next money goal.
To put this into context, here is an example of me two years ago:
My goal was to 'remove' myself from the client/ project management because I had no time to be a CEO (improve my offer, build a strategy, understand my ideal client) and I was completely burned out. I also wanted to double my income (working less) so I had to stop earning based on the hours I put in but build something more sustainable.
I remember that I was stuck on getting a new website, which, although it was a way to improve my brand identity, it was not related to my 6-month goal. So here is what I did instead:
Month 1: I spent the first month focusing on having an organized and clear process, creating SOPs and getting my business ready for delegating.
Month 2: I decided what position to hire for that would be helping me remove myself from the day-to-day operations. I decided to hire an operations manager and a project manager and spent time looking for the right members.
Month 3: I focused on onboarding them and training them to follow the processes I had set up during month 1.
Month 4: I learned to be ok 'doing' less but doing more of the right (CEO) tasks. At this point, to reach my goals, I needed more clients or recurring clients so I needed to spend more time talking about my offer.
And so on...
Does it make sense?
Remember:
Being a business owner isn't about doing more, it's about doing more of the right tasks but less overall.
Do you know how you start a business because you want more freedom and more time with your family but then you end up glued to your phone worrying about deadlines? KVM is committed to supporting interior designers with tasks that sit outside their zone of genius so that they can focus on what matters most to them. The result is that they can grow their business without the cost and hassle of having full-time employees. And we can help you do the same!
Kristell Valentina Mouries
Director, KVM Design