Step 1 of Building a Better Business

Anna Stubbs • August 2, 2023

Define what success looks like for you

What exactly does your better business look like? Be crystal clear on what you want from your business; it's there to serve you, not the other way around.

The average person spends 40,000 hours at work over their lifetime and life is simply too short to be stuck doing things we don’t enjoy. Make the most of your time and do what you love doing.

To build the vision of where you want to be in the next 12 months, answer the following questions on a piece of paper.

1. Who do you need to be right now?
Stop having a mindset of ‘when I have this, I will do that, and I will be this’. Instead, think about who you need to be right now and start acting in a way that’s consistent with that person - doing what you need to do to get what you want to have.

2. What do you love doing outside of work and at work?
Define the things that you love doing most. We all have tasks we don’t enjoy doing and put off for as long as possible. Determine which tasks can be delegated to free up more time to do the things you love.

3. How many hours will you commit to the things you love doing?
Write down how many hours a week you’ll spend doing what you love. Commit to doing this - tell someone so they can hold you accountable and block out time in your calendar. Setting aside time to do things you love doing is a great way to start taking back control of your life.

4. What holidays do you want to have?
Write down where you want to go and when. Be specific so the image is implanted in your mind. Block out the time in your calendar now.

5. How much income do you need to deliver on this new life?
Write down a figure. Don’t worry about how you’ll achieve this right now, just write it down.

You now have your own personal plan for what you want to get out of your business. Make this visible and start working towards it now.

“The first secret of getting what you want is knowing what you want.” - Arthur D. Hlavaty

The Man on the Moon Principle

By Anna Stubbs • October 22, 2025
In 1961, President John F Kennedy famously announced his goal of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth before the decade was out. As we know, in July 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to walk on the moon, and were brought back to Earth safely, achieving JFK’s goal.  At a time when most people hadn’t even been on an aeroplane, landing on the moon would’ve felt unachievable and overwhelming. However, such a massive goal united people with a purpose; the story goes that even a cleaner mopping the floor at the space station said his job was to help put a man on the moon. So, how did they make the goal achievable? They broke it down into milestones, with each one taking them closer and closer to achieving their ultimate goal. The first milestone was to achieve lift off. So, they set about resolving this challenge. The next milestone was to reach orbit, so they had a team working on this milestone. Then, they had to reach the moon’s atmosphere, land safely on the moon, take off from the moon, enter Earth’s atmosphere and land safely back down to Earth. You can see how breaking the goal down into milestones gave everyone a more achievable objective to focus on which was less overwhelming. Those milestones were then broken down into the actions which needed to be completed. Each action was essentially a small step towards reaching the ultimate goal.

5 signs you’re undercharging

By Anna Stubbs • October 22, 2025
Are you undercharging for your services? It can be hard to tell, particularly if you’re in a niche industry or you’re a contractor. Costs have been rising, so it may be time to rethink your own pricing.

Understanding your revenue drivers

By Anna Stubbs • October 22, 2025
For your business to make money, you need to generate revenue. You produce revenue through your usual business activity, by making sales, getting your invoices paid, or taking cash from paying customers. So, the better you are at selling your products/services and bringing money into the business, the higher your revenue levels will be. But what actually drives these revenue levels? And how do you get in control of these drivers?