Don’t get us wrong: Owning a business is one of life’s greatest joys and is something that every owner should take a great sense of pride in; however, some days, being a business owner can feel extremely overwhelming. It can start to seem like every single project, from big to small, is in need of your expertise. We get it!
Today, we’re sharing five simple, yet profound, tips for busy business owners. Whether you’re hearing these for the first or the millionth time, let these tips serve as a friendly reminder that while you are certainly unstoppable and successful, it’s also true that you need a little assistance and advice every now and then to ensure all aspects of your business will run smoothly.
1. Wake Up Earlier
Maybe just the sight of those words makes you cringe, but it’s statistically proven that people who wake up earlier are more productive, not just in the morning, but throughout the rest of their day. According to this study, morning people are consistently shown to be more agreeable, proactive, positive, and determined individuals. Another study revealed that going to bed sooner and waking up earlier allows people to better deal with negativity.
So, skip the snooze button, pour a cup (or five!) of coffee, and get your day started early and on the right foot!
2. Limit the Multitasking
Ok, don’t laugh. We know that when you own a business, multitasking simply comes with the territory. But, we also know that research doesn’t bode so well for compulsive multitaskers. Did you know that only 2% of the population is considered to be “efficient multitaskers?” The fact is that when you multitask, each additional task added to your plate has 37% less attention devoted to it than the last. Yikes!
Having a single focus to ensure that you do each task exceptionally well is one of the main things that sets great business owners apart from mediocre ones. Think this sounds impossible? Read on to discover how to better delegate.
3. Delegate
So, we just got done explaining why compulsive multitasking isn’t the best approach when it comes to running a business. So, how can business owners who are used to being in control of so many aspects of their business learn to better delegate to others?
The fact is that delegating doesn’t come easily to many business owners. It can feel simpler to do things yourself than to allow others to assist. After all, will anyone really perform your business’ tasks as well as you? Well, they can!
Delegating is a skill that can be developed and improved upon; it just takes practice! There are several strategies that any business owner can embrace in order to help them on their path to better delegating tasks to their employees. Such strategies include learning to let go, establishing a firm priority system, always offering instructions and comprehensive training programs, hiring trustworthy individuals, and utilizing frequent feedback to correct mistakes.
Sure, this can take time, but learning to better delegate is key to taking an overabundance of tasks off of your busy plate!
4. Work From a Predetermined Plan
Whether it comes to your marketing or your daily business tasks, business owners must ensure that there are predetermined, goal-oriented plans in place for getting things done. This is especially true in marketing. If you make important advertising and marketing decisions on a whim, then you could be spreading your message too thin and wasting your hard-earned money.
For example, with inbound marketing, you should never simply start writing random, occasional blog posts. Your blogging must have an overarching, inbound marketing strategy backing it. You must know who your target persona is. You need to plan out your content campaigns appropriately. You have to have an understanding of the specific metrics you’ll track.
Resist the urge to make important decisions on the fly because it feels easier. This will end up causing a lot of unnecessary headaches in the long run. Not sure how to develop a predetermined marketing plan to work from? We can help!
5. Remember: You Can’t Do It All!
This one may sound obvious, but let’s face it: You’ve likely come home from work some days and thought to yourself that you’re the only thing keeping your company running. That’s simply not healthy. Your business not only needs solid employees to keep things going, but you need partners as well.
Who is helping you determine what your business goals are? Who helps you execute your marketing? Who advises you when it comes to lead generation and lead nurturing? Who helps you track ROI to ensure you’re seeing positive numbers? If the answer to these questions is, “Just me,” then it’s time to start delegating to outside business partners who you can trust. fuze32 is one such partner. We are in business to help your business succeed! Contact us today to find out how we can take some of the work off of your plate and bring some much-needed relief to a busy business owner like yourself.