Savor the Success - The Premium Business Network for Women Entrepreneurs.

Did you create your Money Map? If so, SELLEBRATE!! If not, be sure to read my last blog before you read this one.

Once you have your map in hand and you start working your plan, you will need to do what most big businesses do: compare your estimated sales to actual sales generated.  OK, I know. Before you roll your eyes ask yourself how committed you are to making that number you wrote down in Step 2 of the Money Map plan.

This step will make the difference between wishing you could make that much and making that much. 

Each month, look at your plan and compare what you planned to sell to what you actually sold.  When you do this, you become mature in the way you run your business.  You start to notice where you are in the overall scheme of creating money.  Even better, you start to find new fruitful ways to nurture your business and overcome slumps. 

Another thing your comparison tells you is where you need to correct your course.  As you examine your numbers, consider these questions: 

Did you notice any trends?  Were you above or below your monthly goal?  If you were below, what happened to make that so?  Do you need to do more of something or less of something in the next month?  What change could you make so you can exceed your number and make up for the dip?  How could you make next month more profitable?

Were you above your planned number?  What do you think contributed to increased success this month?  How could you repeat that next month?  How could you use the momentum from this month to increase sales in a low month?  What are you going to do to celebrate this positive outcome?  Do you want to change anything so that things are easier in the future?  What did you learn that you could use to your advantage later?  How are you feeling about your plan?  Do you need to tweak it or revamp it?

Keep doing this on the last working day of each month.  I promise you it will be rewarding and the best education you will get.  It will also translate into easy growth the following year.  You will know more about your business, including its strengths and weaknesses.  You will find income you didn’t know was waiting to be discovered. You be able to see the future much more clearly and know undoubtedly what is the next natural growth phase for your company.

Once you start tracking your business this way, you won’t be able to operate without it.  Big business follows these routines daily because they know getting to the ultimate goal doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, care, attention and course correcting to realize your large goal. If you fall off the wagon and skip your plan for a few months, dust yourself off and start using it again. 

Finally, here’s something to think about: If you neglect to review your numbers, it sends a message to the universe that you don’t truly care about the monetary intention you set.  Taking this step and being willing to course correct when you get off track is game changing.

And you don’t want to repeat the cash-quickie cycle again, do you?

Julie Steelman sold her way out of Corporate America after generating over $100 million in revenue. She retired in Hawaii and now helps entrepreneurs build lucrative, soul-satisfying businesses from the inside out. Julie is known as the entrepreneur’s selling mentor and the bankability guru. Her book, The Effortless Yes, is due out in June 2011