There’s a lovely little rural reservoir near my house where I go walking twice a day. Depending on the season, it’s filled with wildflowers, geese, frogs, and poison oak. (Hector and his gal pal, Licorice, are very lucky dogs.)
It’s also apparently filled with business ideas because invariably, when I come home, I’ve got lots of them roaming around my brain.
New ideas are like bright, shiny pennies to the entrepreneurial mind. They catch our (mind’s) eye and divert us from whatever project we may have been working on.
Now, I would never tell you not to pick up a bright, shiny penny – or to ignore a seemingly brilliant idea. After all, it’s law of attraction staring you right in the face. However,
not all ideas are created equally. Nor can the typical entrepreneur actually follow through on every idea they have; our creative minds are just too prolific.
This means you have to be selective in deciding which ones are best. You need a system for filtering out those ideas and projects that may be good but won’t take you and your business where you want to go.
What you need is an Investment vs. Benefit Filter or as I like to call it, an IBF.
Your IBF is how you can know with certainty if the time, energy and money you put into a project is worth the return you’ll gain. Sounds pretty technical and “businessy,” I know. It’s not.
An IBF consists of the 5 criteria that need to be met for you to say “yes” to any idea or opportunity. Criteria are those things that are important to you in a specific context - in this case, your business. Values are what’s important to you in life – across all contexts. The criteria of your IBF will support you in growing a business that’s in alignment with your values.
What are those 5 criteria? Well, that’s up to you.
My IBF most likely won’t be exactly the same as yours. Because my business goals, personality, talents and values aren’t the same as yours.
To discover your IBF, ask yourself,
“What is most important to me in a business project? What conditions will support me in growing my business?” Keep asking those questions until you have a list of at least 4 criteria or conditions. If you come up with more than 5, pare the list down to the top 5 or 6. Too many criteria can over-complicate things.
For example, my IBF looks like this:
ü Fun
ü Creates income or qualified leads
ü Is in alignment with my 1-, 2- and 3-year goals
ü Matches one of my marketing channels (speaking, writing, alliances)
ü Fits into my business-building activities (coaching, seminars, info products)
Once you’ve developed your IBF, use it to simplify your decision-making. If you can’t answer “yes” to each question, you need to let that idea or opportunity go with a Thank You and a kiss.
Here’s where some of my clients start to hedge. “Well, I need money so even though this doesn’t match my criteria, I think I should go for it anyway.” My coaching question to them is the same one I’ll pose to you here:
- Did you go into business for yourself just to make money?
- Or was it to make money doing what you loved in a way that supported your independence and creativity?
Being very clear on your IBF will absolutely allow you to make the most of your “bright ideas” AND grow your business at the same time.
And I guarantee you’ll enjoy it more!
