Why a CEO Day Will Transform Your Business

We implemented something in our business last year that has transformed our growth. And thankfully this thing that we implemented is extremely simple. If you are a service based business owner, you likely struggle with the weight of client work vs. working in your own business. Sounds familiar, huh!? We felt that too. Your own business is important, just as important as your clients. Meaning it’s important to set aside time just like you do for your clients. Introducing the power of a CEO day.

A “CEO Day” has been a common trending term amongst entrepreneurs and freelancers. Maybe you’ve day dreamed about it or even tried it once or twice. Or maybe it’s a mythical day that you can’t imagine fitting into your existing schedule. Either way, I think we can all agree that a CEO day is a day that can benefit everyone when implemented correctly. So, let’s talk about that.

What is a CEO Day?

A CEO Day is everything that you make it. But what you need to know is that you absolutely must spend the day focusing on your own business’ internal needs. These needs can vary from business to business, and we’ll give you some later— everything from bookkeeping to content creation.

Here are a few CEO Day Rules

1. Remove any and all client work from your schedule.

On a CEO Day, you shouldn’t focus or work on any client projects. To avoid working on other projects, plan your CEO Day a few weeks in advance and make a note to keep your calendar completely clear. This way, your clients can’t request a meeting or phone call. We inform our clients that there are no working hours on that day.

2. Don’t forget about self care

Does this mean you should spend the entire day slouched over your computer crunching numbers? Of course not! Every CEO Day should have some time set aside for your well-being, whether you finish your tasks early or you plan for some downtime. Caring for yourself is caring for your business, and a lot of business owners forget that. You can’t perform if you’re not feeling 100 percent! We like to incorporate some self-care and relaxation into our CEO Days. 

3. Be consistent at scheduling your CEO days

How often should you schedule your CEO Day? It really depends on the amount of work you need to complete and what you want to accomplish. But the goal is to be consistent and hold yourself accountable. Are you going to implement a quarterly, monthly or weekly CEO day?

We think the best CEO Days have the flexibility for your business and personal life. These CEO Days allow you to prioritize your business while spending some time on yourself. We try to allot every Monday to this. We aren’t perfect, and some days get hijacked, but we try. And so can you!

4. Remove any and all judgement

You can’t be wrong in how you use your CEO day. For example, don’t feel bad for using your CEO Day to focus on your well-being. It’s the perfect time for you to reflect on your business. This can help make you feel more prepared for the days ahead. You’ll go into your next business day organized and refreshed, with a solid understanding of where your business is moving.

Doesn’t a workday invested in you sound more approachable when you know what to expect? 

What to do on a CEO Day

Alright, you know what a CEO Day is all about and most importantly some rules to follow when you are first getting started. Now, let’s chat about some actionable steps you can take for your CEO Day. These are just some ideas, but you can mix and match whatever you need to do so it can fit your personal (yes, personal, remember self care matters!) and business goals.

Batching Content

It’s no surprise that batching our own content is one of our favorite ways to spend our CEO day.

• Podcast recording and show notes writing.
• Plan the Instagram feed— everything from recording reels to creating posts or writing captions.
• Similarly to Instagram, do this with any of your preferred social platforms from TikTok to Pinterest.
• Writing weekly email newsletters— having a month’s outline is the most freeing feeling in the world, trust us!
• Writing blog posts.
• Creating video content for YouTube.

Finances

Feeling confident in your business finances takes practice. The best way to practice this, might just be on a CEO day. Plus some of these financial tasks are so quick and easy checks on your to-do list to help you feel more accomplished.

• Make sure your books are up-to-date. If you have a bookkeeper, ask to get a report before your CEO Day so you can spend the day with those numbers instead of spending the day waiting for them.
• Update your monthly profit loss statements.
• Update invoice trackers and expected revenue.
• Track your expenses and manage monthly spending. Budgeting is important friend!
• Complete payroll duties for you, employees or contractors.
• Manage your profit first distributions.

Review Your Own Analytics

Where do you love to create content? Instagram? Email? Blogging? How often are you checking the performance on this content? Checking your analytics is a must to understand how to continue growing and where to make shifts. Here are a few analytic reports you can consider reviewing:

• Email marketing analytics (open rate, click rate, email platform, etc.)
• Social media analytics (followers, engagement, views, etc.)
• Website traffic and acquisition— you can do this in Google Analytics!
• Google Search Traffic and indexing your new pages.
• Note the content that is performing well. What attributes make it popular? See if you can incorporate that into your future content plans and batching (mentioned above!)

Internal Business Projects

You have big goals for this year, right!? Are you setting aside time to work towards them? Whether it’s to launch a new product, course or service you need the time to build and craft a launch plan. Here are a few ideas to consider spending your CEO days on:

• Update your own website’s SEO— check for broken links, update your meta data, fix page speed issues and more.
• Do any of your freebies or email workflows need a refresh?
• Planning for a new program or course launch? Use this day to prepare your launch plan and content.
• Write sales page copy
• Grow your backlinks by pitching to be a guest on podcasts or write a blog for someone’s website.
• Focus on a brand strategy refresh from mission, vision, audience profiles and more.
• Are you launching your own podcast soon? Starting take the first steps to getting your voice out into the world!
• Write down your annual or quarterly goals and check in on your progress.

Cleaning Up

Let’s be honest, this category doesn’t get enough credit. And it can do wonders to refreshing your mind and creativity.

• Organize and delete documents on your computer— who else’s storage is getting full!?
• Cleaning out your inbox— be extra careful with this one. Your inbox can really take control when you don’t follow the rules above.
• Deleting text messages, photos, or emails on your phone.
• Clean up your desk space. Clean surfaces, vacuum, new decor, etc. It’s amazing what a fresh new space can do to your creativity.

Self-Care

This is an absolute must. Be sure you are choosing a minimum of one bullet below to incorporate into every single CEO day you have.

• Move your body with a workout or walk
• Treat yourself to your favorite healthy lunch spot to fuel your day
• Listen to podcasts (may we suggest this one? 😉)
• Pick up your favorite business book and read a chapter or two
• Want to write your own book? Spend some time writing or outlining and just get started!
• Choose anything from this list of ways to breakthrough your creative block.

What are the benefits of a CEO Day?

Okay if you’ve made it this far and we sure hope you are already feeling the motivation to add a CEO day in the near future. And if you are still wondering “why”, then this is for you. Here are a few reasons why we love a good CEO day:

• A CEO Day helps you understand the entire picture of your business and where you stand.
• It is excellent for managing stress and combating procrastination.
• It does wonders for your sense of accomplishment by simply feeling planned and ahead of all your content creation goals.
• Gives you a break from the day to day stress of owning a business.
• Allows you to be more efficient with your time with less distractions.

So what do you say? Have you tried to implement a CEO day into your business? Let us know in the comments how you spend your CEO days and how often you plan for them. And if you are looking for an accountability buddy, comment with your first CEO day date and we will check in to make sure you implement it!