Coco Chanel Did Not Cook – How to Streamline Your Life To Grow Your Image Business

Coco Chanel Did Not Cook –
How to Streamline Your Life To Grow Your Image Business

By Caterina Rando, MA, MCC

A friend recently said to me, "Coco Chanel did not cook." I took this to mean she focused on what she loved and what she was good at – building a sophisticated beauty brand –and left the rest of what needed to be done to others to do what they loved and what they were good at. Perhaps this is what allowed her to become a legend in her industry and an icon to women everywhere.

The image consultants who plan, project, analyze, organize, and execute everything to do with their marketing, branding, product development, operations, and servicing clients, are frequently the same people who are not getting ahead in their businesses. They spend too much time on the minutia of their business – the process – and not enough time on the passion. Life is for living – not sacrificing your soul doing those things that suck the life out of you.

If you are feeling mired in the minutia of your business today, then you are not thinking and planning bigger for tomorrow.

Use some of these tips to get unstuck and get out from under. Doing so will allow you to start to increase your revenue and have space for what is next in your image business.

Get Clear On Your Priorities
We only have so much time in a day. We often forget that our mental and physical energy is limited as well. When you spend your mental and physical energy focused on a project, it drains your resources and leaves less for what you are really interested in achieving. Plan your day based on your priorities, both personal and professional. This will increase your productivity.

Say No to Anything That Does Not Interest You
Often, we get invited to a personal or professional event and if we have nothing scheduled at that time, we plan to attend. Sometimes that's fine. It is good to network, socialize, or help out friends. What is not good is to fill your days with "filler activities." Filler activities are any activities that you are not really interested in, that waste your precious time. When you are presented with an event, activity or opportunity, ask yourself: "Does this situation truly serve me and my priorities?" If the answer is “yes” go for it. If no, decline.

Make Space in Your Day for Thinking and Planning
Any success speaker, author or expert you have ever heard going all the way back to Napoleon Hill, who wrote Think and Grow Rich, will tell you the same thing – that an important factor in being successful is taking time every day for thinking and planning. This is time when you review your goals, create and revise your action plans and ponder how you are going to find solutions to challenges.This is a key part of your day that allows you to be pro-active and not reactive. Also when you take time for thinking and planning, your subconscious can always be working for you in advance of when activities and projects are due.

Get Personal Support
When you have your own business, your whole life affects your energy, positive attitude and productivity at work. You will find when you have someone else take over many household responsibilities and other personal things that need attention like making travel arrangements, gardening and running errands, that you not only have more time, you free up more mental space for more creativity.

Get Professional Support
There are things in your business only you can do, like meet with your clients. There may be lots of things you are doing that are not a good use of your time. As you go through your day, ask: "Do I need to do this? Is there someone else that would be better at doing this?" If you are not an expert at it, do not do it. If someone else would be better suited for it, get that someone else’s support.

Get a Business Coach
Every image professional needs a business coach unless they are only interested in having a hobby that pays a little. Your image business coach will be a sounding board, see new possibilities for you, provide support and some even include consulting in their coaching so that you learn a lot as well.

Pick one of the ideas mentioned above and get started on it today. Who knows, if you do, pretty soon we all might be buying a bottle of perfume or a purse with your name on it.

Caterina Rando, MA, MCC, shows image professionals how to build thriving, profitable and sustainable businesses by establishing themselves as experts in their fields. Caterina is the creator of the Image Business Breakthrough Program. Visit her website at www.imagebusinesscoach.com to download your free copy of her ebook “How to Create An Image Business Breakthrough.” She can be reached at (415) 668-4535 or via email at cat@imagebusinesscoach.com.