Episode #28: How to Create Your Fast-Track Business Foundation with Terra Bohlmann

Intro (00:02): Welcome to The Fast-Track Entrepreneur Podcast with your host Terra Bohlmann. You are about to get filled with business strategies, advice, and motivation to get you prepared to fast track your five year plan in less than one year. So buckle up and let's create your first class business with clarity and confidence.

Terra Bohlmann (00:30): Hello, Terra here and super excited to talk to you about today's topic, which is all about building that business foundation. I know you probably hear it from me over and over again, but it is the most important thing to have a solid foundation in your business model so that you can build and get to that next level of success. I've seen it happen so many times when I'm working with private clients that look even really successful on the outside. They may even have a mid six figure to multimillion dollar business model, but when it comes to looking at their business foundation, something's missing or something's off, which then is making everything new that's being added to the company built on a shaky ground. So let me give you an example. So when you go to build a house, right? The first thing you're going to do is you're going to most likely create some sort of dream board.

Terra Bohlmann (01:31): A lot of people these days, I'm sure use Pinterest to come up with their inspiration and that kind of stuff, right? And then in a perfect world, you take this inspiration and you go and you meet with an architect. Or in some cases it may be a builder, you know, depending on the type of house that you want to build and whatnot. But then once you have your meeting with the architect, they're going to draft up prints and blueprints and a design that it's going to get to get your approval, right? Is this what you had in mind? Right? We're taking all this inspiration, but we're putting it together in a way that just gives us all commonality to what you want so that we can build that for you. So when thinking of that for your business, it's really about taking that time to plan out what you want in your foundation so that as you continue to grow your business, you're growing it.

Terra Bohlmann (02:22): On a much more stable ground. Right? So what I work with my clients on straight away is being really clear on the mindset shifts that need to happen, right? I don't go really, really deep and get into tons of mindset stuff. The main thing I'm most concerned with and working with my clients because I know my lane, I am a business strategist. That is, that's my jam, is to make sure that you have the right mindset so that you can build your foundation and the rest of your business model and run your business a way that prepares you for the things to come. Like a lot of other coaches, I mean we get zero joy out of having you say yes and commit to something, but then not putting it in to action like that's what breaks a really good coach's heart. Honestly. I mean there's, I'm sure there's plenty of people out there that'll take people's money but not care that they get the result.

Terra Bohlmann (03:21): I personally went into this because I want you to have the transformation. That's the most important thing to me and when the foundation isn't in place, but let alone prior to that, you have to be in the right mindset. I call it a mindset primer that I do with my clients. And then from there, once I teach you what it's going to be changing for you in the future, then you're going to be better prepared to know and recognize when the stuff comes up, right? Cause when you want to build something really fantastic because you have a really good, you want to make that an impact to the world, right? And so no matter if you have to go backwards because you have a company in place and you have to think, is my business foundation strong enough to withhold where I really want to go with this company?

Terra Bohlmann (04:07): Or you're transitioning from the corporate world into running your own business and you're like, where do I even start? The foundation is fabulous for that. This podcast episode is completely for you. So once we have your mindset primer complete, then from there you have to get really clear on what you want in your five year plan. So, you know, I mean there's a lot of people that would just give advice that say just go for it. Like just go all in and start doing it. You know, that's fantastic if you can do that. But what ends up happening later is you spend a lot of time, money, energy, stress, trying to fix the foundation. And so I'm saying, you know, let's take time to do it now and we can do it in a really easy way that allows you to build a company that is a hundred percent in alignment with you and fits your lifestyle so that when you are ready to scale it or even someday sell it, we have something in place.

Terra Bohlmann (05:02): So after we do the mindset primer, we come up with your five year plan, which is really what's life going to look like for you in five years? Right? I asked very specific questions, but it's a matter of what do you want your business to look like? And also what do you want your life to look like? Right? And so once we get on the same page with that, then it's like, okay, we've got the mindset ready to go. You've got your five year plan, the gap just becomes the foundation for your business, right? What's going to start to get you there? So I want you to even think in terms of what do you want in five years? And what I tell my clients all the time is, you know, take five years. Exactly to the day. So at the day, the day and time, I'm recording this, it's May 7th, 2020 so now thinking it's May 7th, 2025 you know, it's five years from now.

Terra Bohlmann (05:57): My son is 17 so now he's 22 years old. My twins are 15 years old right now they're 10 so I'm thinking, okay, they're in high school, they're getting ready to get their license. You know, Skylar, my Aussie rescue is two and a half. So she's seven and a half years old. I'm 47 years old. Like, you know, I've been married for 24 years. Like, I'm trying to put all of this into perspective just to instantly get our mind into what five years it feels like. Because when you say the words, it's like, wow, where do I want to be within my life there? Right? Where do I want to have traveled? You know, what do I want to accomplish? That kind of stuff. So we think in terms of fast forwarding that and then it becomes how do we reverse engineer to start building what we need to get there?

Terra Bohlmann (06:46): That's why I'm psychotic about my Business Map Method™, right? My step by step on how to build your business from start to finish, right? And having that plan and that pre-thinking, all those important components, the foundation is the step one for that. So in your foundation, it really becomes around getting clear on your business. I call them your business basics, right? And your operations and what that's going to look. And most importantly feel like, you know, from an operation standpoint it's like, do you want to be open Monday through Friday and off on the weekends? Do you want to be closed on Mondays? But work on Saturdays. Do you want to run your company and just have it be open three days a week? Do you want to be open seven days a week? You know, we got to really think through the basic things of operations, let alone what holidays that you want to consistently take off, how much vacation time you're taking off, and then anyone on your team is allowed to take off.

Terra Bohlmann (07:44): You know these, you know, what's your vision? Ultimate vision for the company, what's your, you know, the values that you want to put in place so that you're building a strong foundation as well. There's tons of things that really come up in your operations and your basics, right? So I'm also very crazy about core values. If I haven't done a podcast episode on it just in itself, that'll be coming next. But it's one of those things that when I put core values to work in my own business, my decision making became so much easier. I've seen it time and time again with clients. I've personally done at this time 110 business maps, which are what I've trademarked for the your entire business model. They're like a 50 to 60 page document of your tire business strategy out on paper. Right? You know, it's not something I can just do on my own.

Terra Bohlmann (08:36): I do it in conjunction with my clients, but it's also one of these things that says, okay, out of top thing in that the thing that really drives everything is the core values. So what I found is when you get out of alignment with a customer or you want to let go of a team member, even in your personal life, when you get angry about something, you know, it's because something is hitting against what you fundamentally believe inside, which is your core values, right? You're non-negotiables, you know your beliefs, your everything, right? And so that needs to be part of the foundation is getting those core values out of your head and onto paper. And it can't just be, this is how I'm going to run my business. The values on that stand behind, they have to be in alignment with how you show up if you're a mom or a wife, you know, friend, you know, from a personal perspective and a work perspective, it's been one of those things that when I was in consulting, I worked for a top consulting firm in my corporate career and what I found was I would show up to work totally different than I would be at home.

Terra Bohlmann (09:47): And that was so stressful for me. So I would have like my go to work uniform, the black suit, you know, the laptop bag, you know, this kind of show up with one persona. And I lived and breathed by a very like corporate set of values and whatnot. And then when I would go home it would be like, Oh, this is now I get to relax and just be, Terra. And it wasn't until one time I was talking to a client who I'd worked with for a few years. Like I, you know, as a recurring client that the company had. And, and at that time, my son, Grant, was three years old and I had said something like, "Oh my son" and she was like, "You have a kid?". And I was like, Oh my gosh. I mean that was the a huge aha moment as Oprah would say, of, wow, I just turn on business mode so much when I go into my corporate job that they didn't even know I had a child, which is the most important thing in my personal life.

Terra Bohlmann (10:47): And so I felt like I had to really separate things. And after that it started to become an aha for me around why can't I blend these, right? Because my core values are the same from a business perspective, as a home perspective, right? I'm not going to be shady at home, but like come to work and you know, be totally different. Like, you know, we all have this strong set of core values that we need to declare and we need to say these are non-negotiables. So it's super important for that, for your foundation, for your business. Because if you're not putting your core values out there and you're letting other people decide what that is, you're going to struggle with always feeling like something's off. You're going to struggle with. I'm trying to think of what else this can feel like for you, but if you're going to struggle with that feeling that something's just off or you know, people are building a business based on what they want, not what you want.

Terra Bohlmann (11:42): So we got to take time, even if it's an hour of our life to get really clear on these. And I tell my clients once we defined them, post them everywhere, share with your team to know this, people who you hire as contractors, your customers, your family, you, I mean I literally write mine down and I have a sticky note on my computer monitor because I was myself going, why is this? Something was bothering me recently and I was like, why was this bothering me? And I was like, Oh yeah, this is so hitting my integrity core value. And so I have to look at it and like just remind myself when I'm going to make a decision or if I'm going to give some thought energy to anything. Like if it's worth it because it aligns with my core values or not.

Terra Bohlmann (12:25): So we want to make decision making simple for you and your business because we've got a ton of things we need to like think about all the time. Let's just make that easier. So core values, super important in your business foundation then it's becomes about how do you have that foundation for your brand, right? I mean I've never claimed to be like you know a brand strategist. There's, there's people out there that can really do that well. But what I've also known as, I've been a brand consumer and I've paid a lot of money to people who are experts in this field and even though I had a great brand multiple times, it never truly felt like me. And when that happens it's like okay cool, like someone else's helping guide you through the process. But at the end of the day, you're still going to get a brand based on what they think is the right thing.

Terra Bohlmann (13:16): And there's always going to be that feeling of, well that's really cool. And you know, if you show up one way, especially online, and that doesn't really feel in alignment with who you are inside, then that's going to create what's called imposter syndrome. And you know, and it just plays into all these negative thoughts and things around our mindset that we're not good enough, that we're not showing up as that person. We're not, you know, people are gonna find us out. Oh, you know, that's the whole like they're going to think I'm an imposter. Right? And, but when you go back and go through building your brand from your foundation, that's an alignment with your core values and all this stuff builds upon each other, then you're going to have it just right where then there is no competition because only you can be you, right?

Terra Bohlmann (14:01): People can try to duplicate you, but they can never be you because it's your brand. Right? So we get really clear and your foundation about what your brand feels like. What are your signature colors, what are your signature fonts, and what are your images, the logos that you use, the textures, just everything that represents how you want to show up. And a lot of this is based off your core values as well. So from a brand perspective, you know, we have, you know, I've worked with some people that have amazing brands and this requires very little energy because they love their brand, they've worked with somebody amazing and it's perfect. And then I've worked with some people who have had brands where they've paid people to do websites and logos and graphics and whatnot, but it didn't still feel like them. And they start doing this foundation work and they're like, Oh yeah, this is something that's off, right?

Terra Bohlmann (14:51): So we have to bring that in alignment. And so that's super important for your foundation, for you, but also because your team needs to understand your brand guidelines so that they're not out going rogue and doing their own thing. They're doing it based on a system. Right. And that's really what we're creating in this fast track foundation really is about creating a system around how you're going to do your business. So it's really important to have your brand in alignment so that you have a brand system that works for you and your company that allows you to scale and then also communicate your brand system to anyone on your team. So after the brand I like some to do something a little different in the foundation, which is about strategic give back. So how can you feel good and give back using your business as part of your foundation that also aligned with your core values and everything else that you're building.

Terra Bohlmann (15:54): So that to me is something that I see happening when people build these multi-million and billion dollar companies and then they want to retire. So then they have a foundation arm that they'll go get involved in. And it's like why not just do it at the beginning so that we're building something in our business that really gives back and helps impact the world or a nonprofit or a cause in a positive way. Whether that's donating your time, your treasures, which could be your money or your talents could be some services or something you're really good at. Right? So feeling good and giving back in your business is super foundational and people don't realize that until later on and it's why not just do it upfront. Then also in your foundation, I think it's really important that every woman entrepreneur have a framework that makes you famous.

Terra Bohlmann (16:46): I like to call it so like what is your framework, which is your intellectual property, your step-by-steps of what you believe and how you deliver what you sell, right? So your framework shouldn't be something that is a sales pitch or your how to process necessarily. It really becomes that information and that education that you would give to anybody about what your secret sauce is, which I know is really scary. Like why would I want to give them away, give away all my good stuff, Terra? Because it creates amazing Goodwill and trust and I like to think about it in terms of, great, yeah, somebody could take my business map method and go try to do it on their own. And whatnot and cool if that's all they can do right now and they believe in it and that's all they can invest as their time and to reverse engineer and figure it out and whatnot, you know, like cool, like and if that helps their business and they can build a really strong business model from it.

Terra Bohlmann (17:44): Fabulous. Like who am I to like hold back my best stuff for free. Right? But then it also positions you to say, okay I get this whole business foundation strategy...I'm bought in. I think it's great. I'd like to work with you so I can go deeper on that and that you can maybe even review some of my stuff and I can get your feedback. I've done 110 plus business maps and if I can get feedback from you, cool! That's going to help you even go faster. So considering that your own framework, this is your step-by-step that you would tell somebody to do for free in order to get the result that they want. So that's your framework. And then once you know who you are, what you do, what your vision is, what your core values, what's your operations look like, you know what your strategic give back, how you translate your intellectual property from your head into some sort of branded system, you know, that would help somebody.

Terra Bohlmann (18:42): Then you get to say, okay, who do I want to work with? And I call these your perfect customers that you love, love to serve. So thinking in terms of that, some people call it ideal avatars. You've heard of target markets, you know this is an exercise. If you've been in business for awhile, you might be like, yeah, okay, I've done that like 800 times. And I did, too. But it wasn't until I did it in a certain way that it really stuck because it really becomes foundational and you have to make sure that who you want to serve, what customers you want to have, can afford to pay your value that are fun for you to work with. Because guess what? There they go. They need to align with your own core values too. So it becomes one of these things that you get to design your perfect customer.

Terra Bohlmann (19:26): And I know I've used this example before when I've done speaking engagements and stuff like that, but I did and I pre-thought my perfect customer a long time ago when I started my coaching business about 10 years ago, and I just had it mapped out in my head, you know, I always now I'm like, let's get it out of the head. You know, the Business Map Method™ wasn't born then, but let's get it on paper. But in my head I was like, I want to work with a woman entrepreneur, this and this and that. This is down to what she believes in and how many kids and where they live and like all that stuff. Not a range. Like some people will tell you, Oh, I work with people 30 to 55 you know, they're male. No, those are, that's just demographics.

Terra Bohlmann (20:07): We want to also include some of the psychology, I can't think of the other word, psycho graphics maybe that you really understand this person so much so that they feel like your imaginary best friend. Right. So one of my very first clients and might've been, I think my first coaching client had all the texts in the box for the most part. I hadn't named my perfect customer back then, but you know, tick, tick, tick. Oh yeah. This is the only thing. Even though I know my purpose is to serve women entrepreneurs, everything was checked except for my first client was a man instead of a woman. And so I was like, you know, I'm going to do this because everything else is 90% of it aligns. And, but lo and behold, you know, my first customer was a man, which was, and he was so amazing and he did all the right things and you know, he put God into action and did the, you know, everything I had coached him on.

Terra Bohlmann (20:57): And you know, his business really blew up. And it also taught me was let's not get so tied into our perfect customers in our head that we don't have that flexibility to be like, yeah, I mean my website at that time, the colors were very feminine colors and, but it was like, you know, cool, you have the answers of what I'm looking for, let's do it. So I use that as an example of like, don't be so tied into it, but also take the time to design it because I wouldn't have known that most of the, you know, the characteristics of who I went to work with, you know, that they could even show up if I hadn't take the time to even think about it. So now I just take it much further with my own client clients and developing a perfect customer that can afford them, but that they also love to work with and that they know where that perfect customer is hanging out so that they can get in front of them and you know, not putting their own money mindset and things and projecting on people that they want to work with that aren't there.

Terra Bohlmann (21:55): So it's just as easy to go find a perfect customer as it is to find somebody who just will pay you money. Right. So it's getting your perfect customer profile is really important. And I had done this exercise multiple times, but it never stuck and it's, maybe they did, but I just wasn't in a place to hear it. But it wasn't until I did the exercise myself that said, okay, perfect customer. I'm going to name her right. I mean, I know mine is Jillian and it's so funny because now I have a client named Jillian and we laugh about it all the time. My Jillian has in my perfect customer, my imaginary best friend, she has no E on it, but my client has an "e" at the end of Jillian, so it's funny. I mean you can literally almost manifest who comes into your life and mine was like down to the name.

Terra Bohlmann (22:42): She was so on point. So it was really cool when you sit down and you do this, it's good for you to do it because you know exactly where that person is hanging out and what they are relying on to make decisions and whatnot, what their issues are, all that stuff. So when you go to do marketing, it's so much easier and you spend less time and money trying to get in front of them because you're clear. You're not just throwing spaghetti against the wall and hoping it sticks as some people say you're doing a very targeted campaign. Right. And to a point where it's a lot of times it doesn't even feel like work like it just when I am doing quote unquote marketing, like it's fun. Like this podcast could be perceived as marketing, but it's something that is really natural and fun and easy.

Terra Bohlmann (23:27): And I enjoy sharing all this information with you because if I can help fast track you, it's kind of the purpose of the podcast, right? Is I want to help fast track women entrepreneurs and please learn from my 10 years of what I did right and definitely what I did wrong. So you don't have to go in those pitfalls. And then that is going to be what fast-tracks you is when you have someone in your life that is sharing. Yeah, go here. You know what, there's a shortcut, you know, giving that advice to keep you on track. So that is your perfect customer. That is your fast track foundation. Super important. You know, at the time of this recording, so I'm in may over the next few months through the summer, I'm going to be working with a handful of women entrepreneurs that, and funny I say that now I'm thinking of my male client, Stan, that I had and he was amazing.

Terra Bohlmann (24:17): But you know, I also know I've never worked with a male client after that. To me, one of the best ones right out of the gate. Yeah. So I can say with certainty, women entrepreneurs, you know, that's my heart. And as I've continued to do this work, it just continues to unveil itself. It's really cool how that happens. But I'll be working with a handful of women entrepreneurs to get that foundation in place. So before you can even go get going on your map and develop out, you know, the rest of the steps, the foundation is step one in my business map method. Got to have that in place before you can really go create in price your signature offers, which is step two. And then step three becomes, okay, cool. Like now how do I go sell those offers? And then step four is like, how do I get visibility around it, right?

Terra Bohlmann (25:02): And then we get into how do you deliver it and then who needs to be on your team so you can accomplish all this stuff, right? So before you can even go there, it's important to get that solid foundation in place. And so if that's something you're interested in learning more about, go to terrible men.com/foundation and I don't know how long this is. I'm doing like a beta program or case study program around this right now at a lower cost just to get this information and be able to guide women entrepreneurs through it with some of my one-on-one feedback and I record videos and you know, privately for people and whatnot, just so that you can feel that you are building the foundation that's going to last a lifetime for your business. Right? So and be there as your guide to do it. So you can check out my website, terrible men.com/foundation for more information on what this is.

Terra Bohlmann (25:53): And I'm doing a test right? And I've got a couple of women already signed up and ready to go and it's not necessarily, I don't plan to put it in a group, it's just going to be some one-on-one work that I'm going to be doing with some people and whatnot. But it's really important work because we get going so fast and especially now, like still in the midst of the quarantine and whatnot. It's one of those things that sometimes to go faster and further, you need to slow down and take a look at the foundation and do some maintenance and get really clear so that your confidence skyrockets, which is going to allow you to go faster and implementation as well. So anyway, if you want to learn more or schedule a quick call with me, just go to my website,TerraBohlmann.com And we'll go from there. So here's to having a solid foundation in your business and making amazing things happen. Take care.

Outro (26:45): There you have it. Another episode packed full of strategies and motivation that you can use every day to put your business on the fast track for a podcast recap and more resources, visit TerraBohlmann.com don't forget, subscribe to the podcast and get what you need to help fast track your 5-year business plan.