Four Great Ways To Keep Your Business On Track
October 29, 2009
Solo professionals need a strong vision of where they’re headed and an internal warning system that tells them when they are getting off their game. Here are four ways to make sure you are keeping on track.
1. Take a look at your to-do list. Put a star by anything that has been on that list for more than two weeks, and look at those starred items with an eagle eye. Chances are, you are procrastinating on those items. Take the starred items and list them out on a separate sheet of paper, and out beside each one note what the very next step is to move that item forward. Now, either schedule it in your calendar for THIS week, or hand it off to an assistant. Often, entrepreneurs procrastinate because they are unsure how to proceed. If that’s the issue, call a friend, talk to your Mastermind group, put it on your coaching agenda – take an action that will get you out of “not knowing how.”
If you get into the habit of regularly scanning your to-do list and noticing what hangs on there for several weeks or more, you’ll develop the strong habit of pushing yourself out of procrastination.
2. Get yourself a timer. As you sit down to work on the task at hand, set the timer for half an hour and pledge to work ONLY on that task, with no interruptions. I often tell my clients that the world actually can live without them for 30 minutes at a time! Don’t check e-mail, answer the phone, Tweet about what you are doing. Stay right on task until the timer goes off. Using a timer to create concentrated periods of work teaches you focus. Entrepreneurs are well-known for having “bright shiny object syndrome” (also called fuzzy focus.) The more you train yourself to focus for short bursts of time, the more productive you will be.
3. Remind yourself of your big vision at least once a day, and tell someone else at least once a week. It’s easy to get discouraged when obstacles get in the way, and discouragement can lead to self-doubt. Regularly reminding yourself that you are doing your business for an important reason, and that you have every capability to succeed is critical. And about once a week, it’s good to hear that from someone else who is a supporter. Creating the habit of keeping your vision in the top of your mind fosters a strong faith in yourself and what you’re doing. It drives self-doubt out the door.
4. Get yourself into a Mastermind group, meet regularly, and don’t skip. You didn’t decide to be in business for yourself to play small, did you? Developing a strong relationship with other solo business owners who can encourage and support you creates a habit of thinking big. And that’s what you want to be doing, thinking big, thinking out of the box, thinking in ways that most people don’t think. A good Mastermind group will both encourage and challenge you to get out of your comfort zone, keeping you from thinking too small about yourself and your business. It’s a safe place to test out your most outrageous business ideas and get help in shaping those into reality. Develop the habit of thinking big and out of the box! It will help ensure that your business flourishes.
Using these four systems fosters four good habits that keep you right on track. And in the end, those habits lead directly to a better bottom line.
(c) Sue Painter
How Putting Off Planning Costs You $$
October 25, 2009
Something I often encounter from budding entrepreneurs is strong resistance to spending the time and money to slow down, sit down, and seriously dig into their financial situation and future planning. Two people I worked with not long ago give me great examples of the high cost of putting off “taking a good look” at how things are and could be.
Entrepreneur Number One (we’ll call her Melinda) has been in business a few years now but finds herself unwilling to face the new skills she needs to learn in order to handle the big growth that could come her way. Eventually, the pain of not looking became stronger than the pain to look, so Melinda booked a day with me, fearful though she was. One of the costs of her waiting was that her energy, enthusiasm, and belief in her business success had flatlined. Melinda had taken on some debt to grow her business, but then because she felt guilty about the debt and didn’t really want to face it, she’d failed to keep up her bookkeeping and had no idea where she was in terms of sales, expenses, and accounts receivable. Her guilt drove her to describe herself as “in debt and making no money.” Yet she really didn’t know if that were true or not. As we talked about this, her emotions came to the surface and she realized that constantly telling herself that she was in debt and a failure had drained her faith in herself – a far greater cost than actual financial debt. Melinda needed to step up and act like the successful entrepreneur she is. In her case, that means getting a weekly cash flow statement from her bookkeeper, keeping her pulse on her true operating costs, and letting go of trying to do everything herself in a wrong-headed effort to save money. As we developed a comprehensive list of business systems that Melinda will put in place, she came up with an idea that not only would save her own staff production time, it could easily be a product that she could sell to others in her industry. This one idea will more than reimburse Melinda for the day she spent with me – and more to the point, with sales to others she can probably erase at least half of her debt. Melinda paid dearly for putting off this day – in energy, self-doubt, overhead that was increasing because it wasn’t being watched, production time for her staff, and a missed opportunity to sell to others.
Entrepreneur Number Two (we’ll call her Amy) mentioned to me that she had been wanting to go on a personal retreat to do business planning for a long time. “How long,” I wondered out loud to her. “Six months, at least,” she replied. Amy’s willingness to let everything else come first before she took personal time for herself and her business came close to costing her the chance to more than double her income. It’s not what you will SPEND on your personal retreat, it’s how much it costs you to remain in the same place and fail to take action for moving ahead. Amy tole me that she wants to hit six figures in a year. She has the capability to do that, but not if she doesn’t change her mindset and her business model quickly and drastically. For instance, one reason she has put off going for a 3 day personal retreat is that she doesn’t want to lose work that in essence pays her about $25 per hour. But during her “business makeover” retreat time, she can easily generate ideas and plans that pull her up to an average hourly fee of $100. Until she plans it, that higher hourly fee won’t happen, and neither will her six figure income. It COSTS MONEY to stay stuck. Doing what you have always been doing is only going to get you the very same result you are getting now. So, if you want a different result in your business, take the time for that personal retreat. Set your goals, make your plans, and get on down the road. Your bank account will thank you in the end!
(c) Sue Painter
Carol Gets Internet Marketing Tips
October 21, 2009
Guest Blogger Amy – How Focus is Changing My Business
October 19, 2009
My colleague and friend Amy Franko wrote this after listening to James Roche talking about focus. Thanks, Amy, for sharing this with my blog readers!
In listening to James Roche in our Four Ways to Flourish Telesummit, he said something that really stood out to me. He sees 1 quality in those who are able to move from some success in their business to truly growing – 6-figures, 7-figures and beyond.
What is it? Focus.
That ability to hone in on only the most important, income-producing elements of your business, and seeing them through to completion. I’ll be honest – I consider myself only a practitioner on this one, but working each day toward excellence.
Here are a two things I’m doing that have me squarely on the path:
I’m putting my team together. First I created a list of the tasks and services my business needs to run smoothly. Next to each task or service, I’ve listed 1-2 people or companies that can provide that service. I’m also in the process of hiring my first assistant to ultimately become the “point person” for daily operations, so I can focus on the creative side.
I’m creating my business and life schedule. If you’re anything like most entrepreneurs, your calendar has appointments and commitments spread all throughout the week – but no true focused blocks of time on revenue-generating activities. And you’re working late hours to finish what you’re not getting done during the day. I’ve now committed each week on Sunday evening – creating my schedule for the week and creating blocks of time dedicated to focus time, flex time, and open time so I can better manage my business.
James has achieved excellence in focus, and openly shared specific strategies and tactics with our listeners. To learn more from James and our other speakers, order the Four Ways to Flourish Telesummit Package. For only $47, you’ll receive mp3 files and professional transcripts from all of these amazing entrepreneurial leaders.
How To Surf To Success in Your Biz
October 18, 2009
3 Ways to Get A Broader View of Your Biz
October 16, 2009
How To Talk About What You Do
October 15, 2009
Two quick tips that will help you succinctly describe the benefits you offer to potential customers. Enjoy!
3 Ways to Become an Entrepreneur Even If You Work for Someone Else
October 10, 2009
I’ll bet you have known people who are very successful in their work, even if they work for someone else. Maybe the person is a hairdresser working in someone else’s salon, but over time that person has created more following than anyone else in the salon and has a good reputation around town. Maybe the person is an administrative assistant and you notice that the office she manages seems to answer requests faster than other offices in the organization. There is finally a name for this type of person, and the name is intrapreneur. Intrapreneurs thrive and are highly successful in an organization. They like and need the structured system, and they don’t want to assume risk. Yet they add value over and above what their job description says. They improve systems, service customers well, or are extremely creative about solving problems within the confines of what the organization will allow.
Many entrepreneurs hone their skills within an organization before going out on their own. I did, and I know hundreds of others who have done the same. The confidence built by working with a structure encourages some entrepreneurs to decide to leave the structure – they become willing to take on the risks themselves. If you are an intrapreneur right now, and you’ve decided you want to leave the organization and do it yourself, here are three ways to make it work.
- Start saving at least 10% of your money so that you’ll be able to monetize your new business when you go out on your own. In other words, tithe to yourself. Keep your job while you build funds to carry you through the opening months of your soon-to-be business.
- Develop a “leave the 9 to 5″ work plan. Set a date and then start working through the details. Build your plan for your new business, for sure, but also build your exit plan. The two plans should be seamless and supportive of each other.
- Start an informal advisory board for yourself and your new business. This can include supportive family members, friends, other successful entrepreneurs, or a coach. Share your plans and get feedback.
There are dozens of other ways to help yourself toward becoming an entrepreneur. But these three things are a great start and will give you structure. As an intrapreneur, you are used to structure. Make it and take it with you, and you’ll be firmly on the path to success.
(c) Sue Painter