I’ve been working on a few eBooks this week, and one is about marketing tactics.  (my list is up to 140 Marketing Tactics and Tools for Interior Designers, so it may be 150 by the time I’m ready to publish it).

Tactics are great – they are the activities you perform.  However, they are useless unless they are part of a clearly defined bigger picture.

Whether you’re starting a new business, or you are a seasoned pro, tactics are toward the bottom of  the list.  As a business owner, if you really think about these in order, your business will fall into place more easily.

1.  Determine your why…your values…what is most important to you in your life.  It could be your family, your faith, your friends…anything that makes you tick.

2.  Your passions - the things you love that feel like fun and not work.  It could be painting, fabrics, cooking, construction…whatever you could spend hours doing and not get paid for it.

3.  Your dreams - what you would love to accomplish if there were no limits…something you can see, feel, taste, touch, imagine.

4.  Your legacy for yourself personally, and then professionally.  What do you want to accomplish or give that is lasting?

5. Your vision for yourself personally, and then professionally.  What do you see yourself doing, being and creating?  If you were to start with the end in mind, what would that include?

6. Your mission for yourself personally, and then professionally.  What are you determined to accomplish – what one thing would be meaningful for you personally and in your business?

7. Your plan starts with the long range first – your lifetime plan could include children, grand children, philanthropy, building a successful business, etc.  Then go to 10 years, 5 years, 1 year, 90 days and 30 days.

8. Your goals are the intermediate steps in the process.  What do you need to achieve specifically and how will you measure it…when will you complete the goal?

9. What is the strategy to achieve those goals?  What will it take to achieve the big plan?  Will you need education? Do you need to market? Do you need to hire people? Do you need to be in a certain place to meet the right people?

10. Now you determine the tactics or activities that it takes to accomplish your strategy.

Your tactics are part of the big picture…they are important, but if you use tactics without knowing if they will really help you accomplish all of the levels above, then you may be spinning your wheels.  Does that make sense?

I encourage you to use a nice journal, start with #1 and work through the list and hopefully, by the time I finish this eBook, you’ll know exactly which tactics and tools to use to accomplish your why.

It is important for you as a person, an interior designer and an entrepreneur to understand what motivates you at your core.  Clarity reduces indecision and stress.  You’ll achieve more in less time and have less stress if you know what matters in your life.  As my husband says to me, ” I do what I have to do and what I want to do…nothing else.”  His life is simple and serene.  He knows how to balance his priorities, and his life is uncomplicated (except for me .

Please leave your comments with your web address in the email so you get “search engine love.”  I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!

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