Working On Your Business Not In Your Business
OK, OK, i'm done with the cliché's. For the last two weeks I've been putting off writing my PeC blog, because frankly we've been crazy busy on our end getting ready for our national users conference here in San Diego next week.
Normally I like to write about things I've gone through in our business that remind me of tips I can pass on to other e-commerce merchants to help them grow their business and it took me a while to figure out how what we've been working on the last 6 weeks applies and then it dawned on me...
EVERYBODY needs to find some time to work on their business while being outside of their business.
The everyday life for most entrepreneurs is one of juggling multiple responsibilities from sourcing products, to website design and maintenance, customer service, accounting, you name it, you probably do at least some of it and oversee the rest.
While this is generally what it takes to succeed as a small businessperson, it's all too easy to get lost in the details of your business and forget that as the boss you're actually free to take a day or a week to go away and look at your business from a new perspective (make sure you take at least a day, less than a day and you can't come close to being objective)
Normally just getting away from your business long enough to clear your head is incredibly useful, but here are a few things you can do while outside your business to maximize your benefit:
1. Goal Setting. Do you have a direction set for your business and know where you want to be in 6 months, a year, etc... The best goals are definitive and measurable, so things like in one year we will double sales to $587,000 per month and then include an action plan on how to do it.
2. Improve efficiencies, this is one of my favorite things, all too often we figure out a way to do something and then stick to it like it's the gospel without analyzing if it's really the best way to do something. I recommend making a list of all the major moving parts of your business, essentially anything you or your staff spend multiple hours per week doing and then thinking through the purpose of that action and the result. Consider if anything's changed since you setup that system and ask yourself if there's a better way. You'll be amazed at how smart you are :)
3. Meet with other entrepreneurs, or in other words cross pollinate your business with other like minded people. There are business meet-up groups, industry conferences, civic organizations, etc... and all of them usually provide excellent ways to meet other people like you who've solved some of the problems you face in your business today. Going to at least a few of these type events a year can provide fresh insight and allow for huge breakthroughs in your business.
4. Read, listen, watch experts in your space, this can be done on audio book, real book, e-book, in person at conferences and trainings. While most of the ideas you'll hear will require some editing and massaging to work in your business, this is a great way to look for that seed idea that helps bring you to the next level.
5. Go for a long walk or a hike (or sailing if you have that option), this one is a little more woo woo but I know for me personally I seem to have my clearest thinking on a 3 mile plus walk or hike or if I'm out on San Diego bay in a sailboat. If I can do this one after I've done any of the above 4 ideas, I seem to get the most out of it.
1 Comment
harryche says:
I agree with especially 1, and 5, though rest of the tips are also great.
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