Monthly Habits for success. EP #231 - Shorty

G', day, guys. It's Dan here with episode 231 of the how to Scale a Video Business Podcast.

Today we're talking habits, and those monthly habits that you want to be developing to create consistency in your business to have the success that you want. Now, as with most things in business, everything's actually relatively simple, but it doesn't mean it's easy to implement. And sometimes the simplest strategies are actually the hardest to implement.

We often try to find complex ways to solve simple problems, just the human condition.

So I want to remind you that.

You want to focus on what you can control.

And ask yourself, is this situation something that I can influence or I can't influence? For example, you can't influence a lockdown, you can't influence the spread of a virus, but you can focus on how you respond.

So you've always got to assess, is what you're about to do worth the effort? So every time you're confronted with a situation.

It'S really important to answer honestly, you know, can I actually influence this, or am I going to waste my time getting frustrated with something that I actually can't control? And so if you create a habit around this, you'll move from being the passenger to the person in charge. And so, you know, what we do every month in the VBA is we remind ourselves, you know, of the things we can control and the things we can't. And we're at the beginning of a new month, and so we are into planning for November, and we do this every single month. And the reason we do it is to build rhythm, is to build habit, to build consistency. Because the biggest. The big difference between being creative and being a business owner is that being creative needs variety. It needs new ideas, it needs fresh ways of doing things. But business needs consistency. It needs things to be done consistently. You can't just, you know, sort of waft in and decide you want to do some LinkedIn marketing this week and then next week get bored and not do it and be like, oh, it doesn't matter. I did it last week. It needs systems for delivering that LinkedIn marketing. Every week we have systems in place for this podcast.

We have a team in place who. Whose role it is to take what I record.

Upload it, transcribe it, check the transcription.

Build the graphics, distribute it on the platforms, push social media contents out. And we do that every week, twice a week. We're up to, what, 231 episodes now. That is a commitment to consistency. And so no matter what. And look, some weeks I don't feel like recording a podcast. I'll be honest with you.

Some weeks I have to dig deep. But I made a commitment to doing this two episodes a week so that I could share with you information, insight, and provide you with valuable perspectives that, you know, I can't influence whether or not you implement them, but I can influence sharing. And. And so I feel it's my purpose and mission to help as many filmmakers as possible through this podcast, through the other channels of opportunities we have to work with people in the video business. So when it comes down to planning, it's all about being very clear on your destination. Do you know where you're trying to get to? Now? I have spoken to hundreds of filmmakers over the years.

In person, probably thousands when it comes to speaking at events. But when I talk to filmmakers individually, the thing that's usually missing is real clarity on exactly what success means to them. Oftentimes, I'll talk to people and they'll be like, well, like, how much do you want to make next year? And they're like, well, you know, they sort of pluck a number out of thin air and ask, why? Why is that important to you? And they often don't know it's just a number. And so what I want to kind of share with you in this episode today is that if you don't get specific about what that number means in terms of freedom, lifestyle choices, and get very tangible about it, then it's just a number for numbers sake. And that's not a very motivating factor. Money is not a very good motivator, but a freedom, a lifestyle is. I was talking to my members last night in the UK and they had a pretty crazy few weeks, but they still managed to take three days off last week for half term.

And spend time with family. And there's a kind of common theme throughout the VBA members, which is freedom. They take time off, they go and play golf, they go fishing, they go spend time with friends. They're not tied to the office. And he can take time off. In fact, Chris took a week off to Scotland, had a production manager and editor running things while he was away. These are true freedoms when the business is no longer relying on you and you've got a team, and so that makes everything amazing. So, you know, for this podcast, for example, all I have to do is record the episode. That's all I have to do. My team does everything else. Now, right in the beginning, I was doing everything myself, and it's an enormous amount of work hours of work for each episode. So, you know, we do that because we want to provide the value. So when it comes to planning any outcome, you've got to be clear on what that destination looks like. If you don't, you're just going to be wandering aimlessly around hoping that you get the result you want. And the truth is, you know, hope is a terrible strategy.

So, you know, think about where you want to get to. Are you really clear on what you want your outcomes to be? Because I can tell you this, you can have whatever you want if you focus on it and you have a strategic plan in place and you have a commitment to the discipline required to execute on that on a weekly basis and are patient. That is going to take somewhere between, depending on where you're at in business.

12 months, 18 months, 2 years to achieve all your goals. But that's worth it, right? You know, if I could tell you that in two years time, you could double or triple the revenue you're currently in, you'd be working three to four days a week, you'd have money in the bank. What would you say? Is that something you'd be willing to work for? Is it something you'd be willing to be patient for? Oftentimes we are impatient and unrealistic about what we can achieve in a short period of time, three months, for example. But we are.

Over optimistic what we can say rather, we're over optimistic what we can achieve in three months, but we undervalue what we can do in 12 months. And so without strategic planning, without a goal, it's just going to be a mess. And so when you're looking at the top of the mountain, you've got a number of choices of directions you can go in. How do you know which is the right direction? And that's where the VBA comes in. Because we have, you know, numerous businesses around the world who have already climbed the mountain. And so you can sit on the outside and go, well, I'll just try and figure this out myself. Or you can invest in yourself and get there faster by getting advice from people who've already been there and done it. And the great thing about business is you don't have to reinvent the wheel. You don't have to make stuff up and go, well, how do I do this? Because it's all been done before. So that's what I've got for you today, guys. I hope you have an awesome week. I've got an amazing episode coming up for you on Thursday about how to systemize your video business. But until then, have an awesome day. Ask yourself this has owning your own video business been everything you dreamed it would be when you first got started? It might be hard to admit, but think about whether you're genuinely achieving everything you set out to when you made that decision to grab the camera and go it alone. Are you really working less? Are you really earning more? And are you really in control? Chances are you're bloody good at what you do, but you're having to work like a dog, 70 plus hours a week, whether it's filming, editing, marketing, or any of the other jobs that come with being the big boss of your own video company. When you're managing projects, constantly searching out for new clients and worrying about cash flow, it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture or make real progress. Let's face it, that stress is the last thing you need when you're trying to run a profitable company that supports you and the people you care about. Truth is, a business that provides financial, professional and personal freedom really is achievable. But maybe you've got that nagging feeling that you're overworked, lacking stability, and struggling to get to where you really want to be right now. It could be that you just don't know how to make a positive change on your own. So I created the Video Business Accelerator coaching programs to really supercharge your video business. With these unique coaching programs, you'll learn all the tools you need to get complete confidence in the success of your video business. You can take the first step on your journey to a successful business that doesn't control your life. Let me show you how. Head over to Denlany.com and click on Accelerator.