Preparing for a New Phase: The DIY Workshop for Entrepreneurs

These 12 reflections form a mini- workshop you can do with yourself. It is a gift from the digital agency o8 to you ?. They had first been published on our Instagram Account to provide guidance into an exciting 2020. Of course, you can use them whenever you feel like you need a break from the past deliberately creating the future of your company. In that case, simply replace “old” and “new” year with the periods of time you’re referring to.

The first 6 triggers are about wrapping the year up.

1|12

?? What lifted you and your company up last year? ?

Who or what really helped you get things done? Was it a thought? An inspiration? A certain person? A book? A movie? A great marketing automation tool… All of that?⁠

Just jot them all down… the more the merrier. Only criterion: It should make you feel lighter about your work and reaching your goals.⁠


2|12

?? What dragged you and your company down last year?

Was it a certain behavior? People? An event? What felt heavy on the shoulders – and why was that the case?⁠

You don’t have to fix that now, just jot those topics down. Make a line underneath and write there:

“I am open to finding solutions to take that weight of my / the company’s shoulder.”⁠


3|12

?? What were real roadblocks last year?

De facto – and maybe mentally? How did you deal with them? In which cases are you proud of what you made of it… and in which ones would you have wished that this had worked better?⁠

Forgive yourself – you definitely did your best with the info and resources you had at that time. Also, “what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”⁠

Feel free to share with us some of your thoughts so we can share some empathy or chapeaus for you!⁠


4|12

?? What are the main achievements of last year? ?⁠

Think… things you dared, first-timers, things the team learned, ideas that came up, ideas that became reality, not only numbers!⁠

?? Why not share some or at least one of them so we can celebrate with you? ?⁠

? Cheers to your achievements!⁠


5|12

?? Which things started to grow last year?⁠

This is about the idea that great business building, of course, means that you think big and act big. This might mean that some projects and goals are simply too big to be tackled within one year. If we are not aware of that we might easily get frustrated… but remember: You grow a ? not a ?. This is about something that lasts – and it might simply take some time.⁠

For which projects would you like to be provided with a bit more long-term patience? ??‍?⁠


6|12

?? What are things that happened in 2019 you will rather leave behind you? ???⁠

?? Take note / indicate with your adequate number of ? emojis how much trash you’re going to leave behind! Feel free to add some other emojis symbolizing what you want to leave behind. And then let’s imagine to be done with those forever. ??? !⁠


The next 6 posts are all about getting prepped for a great new year. Here we go!⁠

7|12

?? What are your BOLDEST dreams and wishes for your company for 2020?⁠

Take this literally:

Make it bold, make it a lot, make it challenging.

And then… ok, have some of the smaller ones, too.⁠


8|12

?? The wishes you just wrote down (yeah, the bold ones!) –

NOW you might want to filter them for the ones you would to a) turn into goals and b) work on them this year.⁠

How to go about this?⁠

Do 3 rounds:⁠

  1. mark all of those that make you feel excited ?⁠
  2. give another ? to those that seem feasible / or at least figureoutable⁠
  3. and now add another star to 3-5 of them you really feel drag to ??? (make this choice from a bold point of view!)⁠

?? What made it on your shortlist for 2020? ??⁠


9|12

?? So this is where the rubber hits the road! ?️⁠
This step is SUPER important! Do this diligently otherwise you might easily become stuck!⁠
So… take the first of your goals. ⁠?⁠

Take a piece of paper, put it horizontally in front of you. On the very right edge write down the goal. Now think backward… what would have to happen so this goal is achieved? Once you have some things put down there, ask again… Could I start there? If not, what would have to happen to reach that milestone? Trace the road back until you have found some starting points.⁠

HINT: If your goal is about something you haven’t done before / lack the expertise, it will in most cases need more research, input, making connections, asking people… and these are your starting points. We know – this does not sound so groundbreaking or sexy – but that is fine and absolutely ok. The only thing that matters now is to find points to start working on and to break them down in a way you can schedule them.⁠

____⁠
Next: Do the same thing for the other goals.⁠

Then play around a bit doing scribbles on paper or on a calendar – are those goals connected? Would having done the one make it easier to do the other? Arrange them accordingly and please be aware of the nr. 1 mistake: Intending to do them all the same time. Not helpful as well as not necessary. :)⁠


10|12

?? Business plans are the ONE side of the coin… how you feel about things, that’s the other side. Because entrepreneurship can be so challenging – we need to make sure our motivation doesn’t get destroyed over time… ⁠

How do you want to feel about your business in 2020?

How can you provoke this? How can you build in more of that every day?⁠


11|12

?? What will you do differently in 2020 vs. the years before?

What will you do more? What will you NOT do anymore? What will you do in a very different way?⁠

Write it down so you don’t forget it again! ?⁠

?? What’s on your list? And why??⁠


12|12

?? How can you build on the existing strengths and assets to leverage the process of working towards your goals?⁠

How can you make things easier for you and your team? ?⁠

Which strengths ?? and assets ? will you use more?⁠


12|12 BONUS!

We are nearly done….! Hope you enjoyed it! If yes, let us know and feel free to point other entrepreneurs to our channel.⁠

?? Last but not least… let’s

leave a bit mental space for those great unexpected things that are even better than we ever had dreamed of… ? ?⁠

?? How was your experience with this mini-workshop? Leave us your thoughts below.⁠


COMPLETE! ⁠

We hope this sequencing of coaching prompts has helped you get an easy and creative headstart. ⁠

? Lots of success and luck to you and your plans! ?⁠

May the power of the paw be with you! ?? ⁠

⁠(Remember: the paw is from the beckoning cat, the Maneki Neko – and she is supposed to bring lots of luck!⁠)

 

Kristin Reinbach

As the owner of agency „OVERW8“ and building on more than 20 years experience in marketing, Kristin is consistently thinking along the terms of ‚customer value‘, ‚brand value‘ as well as business models. Consistently meaning when she’s out for dinner, sitting in a cosy ski hut as well as having a sundowner wine at a vineyard. Like this, it’s simple logic that her primary job now is to support entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial teams with this know-how to create more brand value, more customer value and thus more company value. She’s sharing some of these nuggets here on OVERW8’s blog.

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