I’m a bit emotional as I write this. I’ve just spent the day clearing out my desk in preparation for moving it to my new office. I went through tons of old papers and notebooks that I hadn’t looked at it in quite a while (when we moved to NC in July, we hired packers so I didn’t get to do the whole sort and toss process). I came across all kinds of stuff like old business cards and notebooks filled with early notes for SBB and my first business plan.
One of the things I found that made me particular weepy was this old pay stub from the only law firm I’ve ever worked for besides my own. I did not enjoy this job and was building my practice from 6am-9am and 5pm-8pm during the week and on the weekends. I made $28 per hour and had big dreams of doing so much more, financially and impact-wise. Over six years later, I've accomplished so much more than I was dreaming of then. My current state of being is beyond what my wildest dreams were in 2010.
That is the beauty of going down memory lane, reviewing all the plans made, the projects accomplished and where things fell short can illuminate the path forward and, so importantly, shows us how far we’ve come. Spending the day re-living the history of Rodgers Collective has reminded me that my dreams can and do come true, which means my new goals and vision are totally possible, too. Not only possible, but very likely to actually happen. Yippeee!!
To that end, I have spent the last couple weeks preparing for ALL THE THINGS I want to happen in 2017.
I want to be ready for all my blessings and miracles to show up. So here’s what I’ve been doing to get ready:
Physical space: In the space of about a week, I secured a new office in downtown Greensboro, furnished said office and had it painted. It’s been a busy week but so worth the effort. I have one big ass goal that I want to accomplish in 2017 and I need a quiet, organized, inspiring place to do it. As I learned from Claude Monet at MADE, it is essential to prepare your workspace for your great work to come pouring out of you. That office will be the reason why my book proposal gets done, I have no doubt. Here’s a peek at my favorite spot in my new office.
Financial + legal bidness: Now that Rodgers Collective is transitioning out of law firm life, the structure of my company needed to be revisited (since we no longer need to be a “P.C. which stands for Professional Corporation). We had some other big changes last year that triggered a tax and legal checkup: we moved to a new state and switched up our team. So I had two very thorough end-of-year calls with both my CFO and my tax guy (not the same person). Armed with their financial advice, I went about making the necessary changes to my business structure, payroll, and insurance. Soon Rodgers Collective P.C., a New Jersey company, will become Rodgers Collective Inc., a North Carolina company. It’s amazing how much lighter I feel after taking care of these things. As I have said for a long time, creating the right legal foundation for your business really does bring in an influx of positive energy and prepares you for your company’s wild growth and success.
Calendar space: Your time is everything. It is not a renewable resource and therefore you must be intentional about how you spend it. That’s why this year I pre-gamed the hell out of my calendar. I started by blocking off the time I want to take off; adventures with my loved ones won’t happen if I try to fit them in later. Then I penciled in all of our retreats, events, and launches. I also created more thinking space in my calendar. Following Tim Ferriss’ advice, I have reserved one week out of every month to be free of appointments. This will allow me the space I need to push important projects forward. Last year, I coached 60 clients in total through my various programs, launched several new products and completed a whole lot of legal work for our legal clients. Das a lot. Needless to say, the calendar was not my best friend in 2016, which is why I put so much effort into mapping out how I will spend my time in 2017.
Personal life: My personal life needed a bit of work. With both my hubby and I working in the business full-time and raising three kids, we desperately need to secure some help. So we finally put in the effort to find a part-time nanny. We haven’t found her yet, but have several potential candidates we’re interviewing this week. In addition to the child care, I’ve also spent a lot of time making my home more comfortable. I practically lived at Pottery Barn during the holiday break and all of our kids got mostly furniture for Christmas. I want my home to feel like a haven for relaxation and major bonding with my babies. Not only have I prettied up my home, but I have also prettied up myself by acquiring some lovely loungewear to take me from the office to the carpool line, comfortably but also chic. Chic is important. Getting dressed casually had been driving me nuts. I have gorgeous clothes for conferences, date nights, speaking gigs, etc., and nice workout wear but practically nothing in between. I’ve finally filled that gap. Hallelujah!
Vision: Without a vision, nothing will happen. So after spending several weeks in reflection mode at the end of last year, I set out to create a 2017 vision for Rodgers Collective and my personal life. I mapped out all four quarters of 2017, then got to work on my vision board. I am so happy with how it came out. Every time I look at it, I feel lifted and like everything I want to accomplish is absolutely going to happen.
So that is how I went about preparing my life and business for a completely kickass 2017. The prep work isn’t done yet but will be in order in the next couple days. Then I will be ready to go all gladiator on my 2017 goals.
So let me ask you this: are you ready for your blessing? Are you ready for 2017 to be an absolute miracle? If not, sister-girl, you need to get ready. Take a look at your physical space, your legal and financial status, your calendar, your personal life and your vision and consider where you might need to make some changes to make your 2017 goals happen. Then do not hesitate to do the prep work, so you can make the space you need to create the life and business you want.
