Episode 475: What's on your wish list in business?
In this episode you'll learn:
How to transform your business dreams into actionable goals by creating a specific, meaningful "wish list" that excites and motivates you
The importance of visualizing your goals through physical reminders or vision boards to maintain focus and momentum
Why breaking down seemingly outrageous goals into three small, manageable steps can make them more achievable
How to leverage unexpected opportunities (like a simple email) into potential business growth and expansion opportunities
The value of taking immediate action on your goals, even before the new year begins, rather than waiting for the "perfect" time to start
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Fiona Killackey: Do you love your life as a small business owner? Let's be real. Sometimes we just don't. It's my hope that this My Daily Business Podcast helps you regain a little of that lost love through practical, actionable tips, tools, and tactics, interviews with creative and curious small business owners, and in-depth coaching episodes with me, your host, Fiona Killackey.
With more than 20 years' experience in marketing, brand, content, and systems—and having now helped thousands of small business owners—I know what it takes to build a business that you can be proud of and that actually aligns with your values, your beliefs, and your hopes for the future. So much of our daily life is spent working on and in the businesses and the brands that we are creating, and so it makes sense to actually love what you do.
So let's get into this podcast and help you figure out how to love your business and your life on the daily.
Hello and welcome to episode 475 of the My Daily Business Podcast. Today, it's a Quick Tip episode, and honestly, this one might just change your life. I know I'm smiling when I'm saying that because it comes off so cheesy, but honestly, I'm really excited about how I'm going to implement today's Quick Tip.
So let's get into it.
But before we do, let's, of course, stop and acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of this beautiful land on which I am lucky enough to be living, and that is the Wurundjeri and Woiworung people of the Kulin Nation. I pay my respects to their elders, past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty has never been ceded.
Alright. Let's get into today's Quick Tip episode.
So if you're listening to this in real time, it is Tuesday, 24th December 2024. Now, you could be listening to this some other time, and that's completely fine. So don't switch off, going, oh no, I've missed the boat. No, you can listen to this anytime, anywhere, and today's tip really can come in handy anytime.
I'm going to be talking about it, though, in relation to what I'm feeling right now, which is quite excited. I have two young children, and I have to say that my mum—who passed away in my 30s—my dad's also passed away, but my mum really did make Christmas such a magical experience, and I love doing that for my kids too. I love it. We go all out, we do all the things, and I just love it.
Now, I was raised Catholic, so I do celebrate Christmas. I do understand that lots of people don't celebrate Christmas, and I also understand that lots of people might be celebrating something else, like Hanukkah, which I think this year starts on the 25th of December. And, you know, there's gift-giving in that as well. There may just be people that are like, let's just celebrate getting through the end of another year. And that is completely fine.
So nothing I'm going to say today has to be specific to any particular religious or belief system group.
But I wanted to talk about really getting clear on what is on your wish list. Now, with my children, they, you know, they write their letters, and they talk about what they want for Christmas, and, you know, it's such a wonderful time. We actually try and do it in October because I'm all about organisation, and I'm always saying, you know, Santa needs a lot of time to prepare, and imagine how full-on it must be to get all these letters from all these people all around the world. So the earlier we can do it, the better.
But what I love about that is hearing what's important to them, what they are excited about, and just seeing, you know, how excited they get.
And I also fully understand that that is a very privileged position to be in, to be able to create that experience for my children, and I do not take that lightly.
We also donate a lot at this time to families who do not have that level of privilege at the moment. But when it comes to business, you are thinking about—if you were to write some sort of letter to somebody magical who's going to grant you your wish—what would be on there? What is on your wish list?
Now, if you could just take one of those things and really, really think about it, what would it be? And what would it be that actually makes you feel super excited, that puts a smile on your face, that isn't just, well, I'd really like to just be able to pay the bills. I mean, that's great. But we are trying here to tap in, to kind of dream beyond your current circumstances and to see something that maybe you think is kind of impossible actually realised.
I mean, there are so many examples. I see it all the time. I have such a privilege of working with small business owners where something they thought was near impossible actually comes true. And yes, it's not just some manifesting dream. Yes, they manifest it and all of that, but they also work towards it actually happening. I always say you have to meet the universe halfway.
And so that's what I want you to think about: what would be on your wish list? Just one of those things. And then, how might you do a couple of steps towards that?
So let me tell you a little personal story of what's on my wish list for next year.
Recently—very recently—we got emailed from somebody in a different country who said, I am trying to find a copy of your book for my boss, and you know, we just can't seem to get it delivered to our country. Now, their country is not one of the ones that we published into. So, the book got published into Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the US. Now, from those places, it can obviously be bought by people all over the world. We have people in all parts of Europe that have bought it—South America, India, all of these places. So it's not saying you can only buy it if you're in those four locations.
But we had this lovely email from somebody who said, my boss is trying—I'm trying to buy it for the boss—and I can't seem to find it. I was forwarded that email by my assistant, and then I had a look at the link that they had in their signature. Again, really good reason to have a good email signature. I had a look, and I was fascinated by the company: what they stand for, what they're doing, where they're located, how beautiful their grounds are—just everything. I was like, wow. Have a look—they've been going since, God, for like 30 years. And I thought, this is an incredible company.
Now, we are actually going to send them a copy of the book. They're paying for the book, and we're paying for postage. So I'm more than happy to do that. But I actually thought, you know what, I am going to take a screenshot of their beautiful, beautiful location, which is on their website, and I'm going to put that onto a vision board. And I'm going to try to see how I could potentially work with this company—but actually in person.
So what would that look like for me to travel to work with them? Now, that is a wish list. I'm not saying, oh my gosh, this is definitely going to happen. Who knows? I don't know if they even listen to this podcast. I didn’t even think about that, actually, when I just started recording. I was like, oh, maybe they listen to this, and maybe it will actually happen.
But that's the sort of stuff where it's like, I'm actually going to see what other possibilities now in that country. I might be like, okay, well, let's have a look at what kind of conferences are coming up in that country, because maybe I go to the conference, and then I happen to also add on, you know, a meeting with them and seeing what's possible, or contact them to be like, I'm already coming.
So, hey, how could we work together or do some sort of workshop or presentation together to your audience? I think what they're doing is amazing, and I would love to work with them.
So that's the kind of power of this kind of outrageous wish list. Because this country is one that I've never actually been to, and I've travelled quite significantly. It's one that I was supposed to go to for work years and years and years ago, and I didn't. And so it's definitely somewhere I would love to see.
And so that's kind of this idea of, how do I get really practical? I'm going to print a photo of their headquarters—this kind of visualisation technique. I'm going to research their needs, their audience, what I could do with them, and then create targeted content that aligns with their mission. So I'm not just looking at the photo and going, oh yeah, it's all going to happen. I'm going to really look at how this could actually take place.
And also, I love that it comes from them wanting a copy of the book because I just love that the book is even on their radar. It just blows my mind sometimes, this sort of stuff.
So what I want you to do is think about what would be on your wish list and then choose one kind of seemingly outrageous goal. Now, I know going to another country and speaking with them and doing some sort of workshop or retreat or something else is not so outrageous, and it's not so outside the limits of what I normally do. But I'm just going to tap into this and see—could something happen from this outrageous goal?
So I want you to choose your own outrageous goal for 2025. Then I want you to create some sort of visual board or physical reminder of this.
Now, let's say you have your own goal around visiting some part of the world. Let's say something in Paris—you might have a little, you know, Parisian Eiffel Tower, a little ceramic thing that you see in some shop. Put it on your desk and keep it there and be like, okay, every time I look at this, I'm thinking about that. I'm changing up my mindset, thinking, how could that happen?
So you want to create this kind of visual board or a physical reminder of this goal. Now, that could just be a post-it note, it could be something else that you make in Canva and print out.
And then identify three small steps to move this goal forward. So three things that you could do.
So for me, I'm going to research this company in a lot more detail. I'm going to look at what they have previously done, what kind of outputs they have. They're very aligned to the sorts of work that I want to do and that I am doing. But also, they're very aligned to my values. I would say that we're very aligned in that capacity.
So I'm going to identify three small steps that I can do, and I want you to do the same for yourself. And then start working on these even before 2025, which I know is like a week away if you're listening in real time.
And if you're listening at some other time, you can do this any time of year. Doesn't matter if you're listening in 2028.
So I want you to choose the outrageous goal. Create a vision board or some sort of physical reminder. Identify three small steps that move you towards this goal and then start working on at least one of these before 2025.
So that's it. That is it. I am super excited about this, and I'd love to hear what you're going to do. What is your wish list dream? Because all of these big things that we can do in life start with just an idea.
I actually had the pleasure of going to a friend's—and they're a client's—space the other day, and I was in awe of what they have built. That business is Sage and Clare. They're just incredible, and their warehouse is next level.
And Phoebe is a good friend of mine, and I have said to her numerous times how incredible it is what she's built. But seeing it, I was like, this all came from an idea—just an idea that you had.
And I have that all the time with so many of my clients where I'm like, wow, look at what you're building for your family. Look at what you are doing. Look at what you're doing for the community. And all of that came out of a simple idea that you had in your head to start executing.
I mean, all businesses start that way. Pretty much. Most businesses start with somebody's random idea, and then they take small steps, and the small steps add up to big changes and big achievements.
So start your wish list. Think about what it is—one kind of crazy goal that you think like, I'm smiling right now because if my goal came true, this little small thing, seemingly small... I'm going to pinch myself if I find myself on a plane at some point in this year or the next 12 months going to this destination because of a random email that came in that I thought, "I want to work with them."
So that is it for today's podcast episode. You can find the link to anything that I've mentioned in the show notes over on my website at mysdailybusiness.com/podcast475.
And if you are listening to this in real time, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas if you celebrate it, a beautiful Hanukkah if you celebrate it, and just a lovely end to the year because it has been a big, wonderful, challenging, amazing year for so many of us.
But I am back before the end of the year. So the last episode comes out on New Year's Eve, and we actually don't take a break for the podcast. So it'll be there for you for all your road trips, anything else that you're doing over the end-of-year, new-year break.
If you're listening in real time, you'll just be able to have this lovely podcast coming out as usual every Tuesday morning and every Thursday morning Australian time.
Thank you so much for listening. I'll see you next time. Bye.
Thanks for listening to the My Daily Business Podcast. For a range of tools to help you grow and start your business, including coaching programmes, courses, and templates, check out our shop at mydailybusiness.com/shop.
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