6 Steps to Running a Business & Running a Marathon

You might be asking yourself, what on earth do these things have in common?

Why are you writing about running and then running a business?

Well, the two are actually paired together beautifully like cheese and crackers, like a horse and carriage! Here’s why, it takes:

• Dedication
• Commitment
• Perseverance
• Endurance
• Strength
• Determination

You will not always be motivated, both in life and with work commitments, so you must always be disciplined. And as one famous actor said “dreams are built on discipline, discipline is built on habits, habits are built on training. And training takes place every single second of your life.”

When the founder, Sophie, first started running (she previously only used to run to the fridge!) her target was 5k. She then got the bug and aimed for 10k, raising money for Cancer Research UK. And shortly after Sophie’s mum died, she went in for her first half marathon (13 miles) and raised £1400, again, for Cancer Research UK. Shortly after a couple half marathons, Sophie decided to go for it, take the plunge and do a full marathon (26 miles) After all, what does she have to lose?

The training is hard, but the learning and achievement will last forever. When running a business, you aren’t in it for the sprint – you’re in it for the long haul. You may start off with a concept which then leads to brainstorming, and then this is where the magic happens. You then put people, processes and systems in place to deliver your business plan. And as people, we all go into business to succeed and success looks different for everyone. The same applies to running – we all measure ourselves differently, be it pace, time or distance. For Sophie, it’ll be a combination of all three!

There are days when you don’t want to work, and there are days when you don’t want to exercise, but you will never regret lacing up your trainers and going for a run. You will never regret turning on the computer and researching the competition, networking for new leads, signing new clients or reaching new markets to grow sales.

So how does Sophie manage running multiple businesses, marathon training and the never ending commitment needed to raise a young family? Here are Sophie’s top tips below:

Plan, organise, deliver.

Plan your diary, meticulously. If this is something that doesn’t come easy to you, then reach out to us – we are experts in diary management.

Organise your jobs or tasks and prioritise so you don’t feel overwhelmed. If there are jobs you can’t do (or don’t want to do) and they keep falling down the list, then outsource to a VA, we’d be happy to help.

Deliver your goals and strategy. Sophie has been working with a running coach to keep her accountable and keep her focussed – the same can be applied to working with a VA or OBM. We don’t just do the admin of a company, we work strategically with you to reach your goals and can hold you accountable to deliver.