Part 2: The DWMQA Cadence: How to Prevent Your Business from Breaking
By Cara Silletto, CSP
“I’ll make the sales calls after I update my website.” Those are the famous last words of a struggling business.
The problem isn’t that you don’t know what needs to be done; it’s that you don’t have a set and prioritized cadence for doing all your work, so you get distracted by less important to-do items. A more foolproof approach centers on a simple acronym that could change your entire professional life, if you’ll let it: DWMQA.
Breaking Down the DWMQA
To build a well-oiled machine, first list all your tasks in a certain area of your business from high-level strategy to in-the-weeds tactics. And then categorize your tasks by frequency – Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, and Annually. This planning prevents the, “Crap, that’s due tomorrow,” panic. Below are a few examples from the finance, sales, and content management side of the speaking business.
Frequency | Task Examples |
Daily | Deposit checks (mobile), update CRM notes, respond to inbound leads |
Weekly | Send invoices, complete sales follow-ups, prep PPTs for upcoming gigs |
Monthly | Pay bills, review income/expenses vs. budget, review the sales pipeline |
Quarterly | Pay taxes, reach out to past clients, watch a video of yourself to improve |
Annually | File taxes, set next year’s projections/goals, “re-audition” your content |
Don’t Forget to Space Tasks Out
A common mistake is stacking all the “Monthly” tasks on the 1st of the month. This is a recipe for burnout. Instead, spread them out. Maybe the first Tuesday is for bill pay, and the third Wednesday is for reviewing your last month’s income and expenses.
By spacing these out over your 160 business days, the work becomes manageable. You’re not “fixing it when it’s broken”; you’re putting preventative maintenance in place that provides loads more stress relief.
The “Parking Lot” Strategy
As a creative, you will always have more ideas than time to execute. To keep your foolproof flow from getting clogged, you’ll need a Parking Lot, or several. If you don’t already have one, make a Parking Lot for various parts of your business, i.e. marketing ideas, blog/content ideas, future projects.
When a new idea strikes, write it down in the Parking Lot, and get back to the work that actually moves the needle today. Then, the key is setting one of your recurring reminders to review your Parking Lot and pick your next great idea to move to the front of your project list!
Read the 7-Part Series:
Part 1: The Solopreneur’s Paradox: Why Discipline is the Only Path to Freedom
Part 2: The DWMQA Cadence: How to Prevent Your Business from Breaking
Part 3: Your CRM Is Your Satellite Brain
Cara Silletto, MBA, CSP, has been a speaker/trainer focused on workforce retention for nearly 14 years. She loves using her unique mechanical mindset to help speakers create a well-oiled operations machine and find a foolproof flow that allows them to be successful and still spend nights and weekends with their family and friends instead of their laptops!
Terrific advice Cara! Thank you for sharing your expertise with the NSA community.