I’m going through a lot of changes in my business lately and implementing so many new things with my team! Today I’m writing to tell you about JUST THREE of those things, so that maybe you can implement them, too.

My core business focus for 2018 is to create structure and grow my team so that I can pull myself out of the day-to-day activities more and more.

Maybe you didn’t know this about me, but I hate meetings! (Like, really hate them.) And in the last half of 2017, my team actually didn’t have any meetings, because I was just so busy! I was doing the day-to-day tasks, working with clients, and checking email every day.

I never had time for meetings before, but recently I’m learning a whole new system for meetings: The Daily Huddle.

That means every morning at 9AM, I begin with team meetings. I have one 15-minute meeting with my ads team and one 15-minute meeting with my strategy team. The goal is to create a more cohesive team culture.

Together, we look at the overarching goal of the business and our critical numbers for the day, plus I ask my team members: What are the core tasks I need to focus on today? 

A lot of people think meetings are a waste of time (and when you do them the wrong way, they truly are).

But now, when I start my day with The Daily Huddle, my team can tell me exactly what they need from me, all in one place, in only 10-15 minutes.

I’m saving so much time, because now I know exactly which tasks I need to focus on every day and I’m eliminating so many back-and-forth Slack and Voxer messages.

The best part of these meetings is that we’re creating a space for the team to really feel like they’re parts of the business in a big way.

I’ve started spending one hour each Friday going over weekly reports submitted by team members (each team member is reporting something different). This brings important notifications about my business all to one place, so that I can strategically look at how my team is spending time, which deliverables were met, and any issues the team is having.

And that’s the thing: As the CEO of your business, your time is incredibly valuable, especially as you move to new levels.

You started your business as a solopreneur, doing everything on your own. And it’s so easy to get stuck there, even when you’re wanting to grow your business into a bigger company with a team.

...unless you become strategic about it.

As the CEO of a 7-figure company, a lot of my time will be spent overseeing the rest of the company, organizing my team inside productive morning meetings, and making sure my team has what they need to get the job done.

I recently lost my phone and was without it for a week, and I quickly realized how often I refresh my email: a lot.

Now that I have my phone again, I’ve taken email and Slack notifications off, so now I spend just an hour of my time checking and responding to emails every morning. This is helping me in my business, but it’s also offering room for personal and mental clarity, meaning more focused time with my kids, too!

I’m more focused on exactly what I need to do every day.

What changes are you implementing for your business this year? I would love to hear; hit reply and let me know!

Happy New Year!

xo,

Emily Hirsh