The 1977 Granada
With traveling so much
in May, the weeds got ahead of me. Way ahead of me! Weeding is not a chore I
enjoy. I'd much rather sit outside and enjoy the fresh air and read or take a
walk. About this time I found a note from a young man in my neighborhood looking
for work so I gave him a call. He was off from college and wanted to earn extra
money. He has a big goal. He was the recipient of a 1977 Granada, a classic car.
Only problem was the car needed some cosmetic work that he and his dad could do
and he needed to buy insurance.
What did I learn from
this young man?
1. Knowing your why is
huge. Tim, that's the young man's name, said he needed the car because it would
make the right impression. It was an impression that he wouldn't get with the
family's old pick-up truck.
2. Create a plan and
work the plan. Tim showed up at my house with calendar pages for May through
August printed out. He knows how much money he needs to make to maintain the
car. He has the calendar filled in with odd jobs ranging from yard work to dog
walking so he can accomplish that.
3. Set deadlines so you
can work toward your goals. Tim plans to take a "lovely young woman" out on June 16th, so he's got a deadline. He wants that good impression. He has other
deadlines along the way, but that's the first one.
4. Look for options and
ask for help. Tim has outlined how much money he needs to make, only it will
take the summer to make enough to pay the insurance. (That's not counting on the
money for gas!) To meet his goal, he had to look at other options. His older
brother, after reviewing the plan, is loaning Tim the money for the insurance.
The older brother considers it a good risk.
5. Don't forget
yourself. When Tim was setting his calendar, he put in the fun activities he had
planned so that working toward his goal didn't consume all his time. It's easy
for those of us who work for ourselves to finish one task and then jump right
into the next.
While I could see all
the specifics of a good business plan here, what was most fun for me was the joy
that Tim had in telling me about the car, how he was fixing it up, and the
impression he knew it would make. It was a good reminder for me about looking
for the joy in my goals.
Now I've got to keep a
lookout on the 16th to see the car tooling up the road.
Morna
McEver Golletz is the founder and CEO of the International Association of
Professional Quilters, an association to help quilters, fiber artists and other
creative arts entrepreneurs build business success. Her weekly e-zine offers
tips, techniques and inspiration to help you craft business success from your
creative arts passion. You can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://www.professionalquilter.com.
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