No matter how long you’ve been an entrepreneur or what type of business you have, one thing is for sure. You’d like your business to be more profitable and more successful than last year. As entrepreneurs, we all want to be progressive and accomplish our goals.
It takes more than good intentions to do that. Success as a small business owner requires that we be willing to make adjustments, work through challenges and improve our habits. How do you ensure that you follow-through on your good intentions and achieve your goals?
Here’s how:
- Commit to building better habits – Make the decision to identify and act on your marketing priorities EACH day. Tomorrow you will be gifted 24 hours. Let’s say 8 of those are dedicated to your business. How will you spend them?
- Will you give in to distraction or focus on ONLY your priority tasks.
- Will you allow email, the Internet, unimportant tasks, phone calls or other distractions to consume your day?
- Or instead can you, WILL YOU, take complete responsibility for how you choose to spend your time?
Of course there will be things that pop up that are out of your control. Even so, you can still take control of your time and choose to focus on taking the necessary action to grow your business.
- Stay in your POWER zone – Perhaps you are great at networking, but the thought of writing a blog post or an article makes your head hurt. Maybe it’s the other way around. You love to write but you’d rather eat nails than go to a networking event. If you are looking for a quick way to jumpstart your marketing efforts and increase your profits, focus on these three things:
- What you enjoy doing
- What you’re good at doing
- What has generated the best results
That’s IT! If you aren’t too excited about a particular marketing strategy, don’t force it! Trying to convince yourself to do it creates unnecessary pressure and drains your energy, which guarantees that the strategy won’t work well anyway. Instead, strive to ENJOY (wow, what novel idea!) growing your business and focus on the things you do best.
- Ditch your “superhero” cape and get some help! – A lot of entrepreneurs find a sense of satisfaction in being a business martyr. If you have ever found yourself thinking:
- “If I want it done right, I have to do it myself!”
- “If it’s not hard, it must not be right!”
- “If I’m struggling, I must be on the right track…”
- …Or something similar.
You may be guilty of trying to be a business martyr. I have one thing to say to you about that. STOP! 🙂
There is no glory in making your journey more difficult than necessary. And there is no shame in reaching out for help. It’s simply what smart entrepreneurs do.
Have you been working solo for a while and find that you consistently don’t have enough hours in the day to get through your task list?
Hire an assistant.
Are you not sure what step to take next to get more clients and increase your profits?
Did you have a coach before, and then decide you could “do it” on your own, but now find yourself floundering?
Investing in yourself is the BEST investment you can make. It’s guaranteed to pay off. How much more would you get done if you had someone truly holding your feet to the fire and guiding you by the hand? Wouldn’t you be more focused and less distracted? What kind of affect do you think THAT would have on your bottom line? Choose today to leave the excuses behind, and reach out for the help you need. It’s the one thing that all successful entrepreneurs have in common, so come join the club!
Achieving more success in your business doesn’t necessarily require a massive overhaul. By taking charge of your time, focusing on what you enjoy doing to market your business and getting help where and when you need it, you’ll get further than you’ve ever thought possible! Isn’t it time to end the struggle and start thriving in your business? Yes, I think so too!
What first step will you take to break through your current marketing struggles? Share your thoughts with me in the comments!
YOUR “TAKE ACTION” PLAN FOR THIS WEEK:
- Take control of your time – Plan out your work days so you know exactly what you’ll be doing and when. Minimize distractions by only checking your email at specific times each day and turning off your phone when it’s time to focus on your work. Tackle one project at a time and resist the urge to multi-task.
- Make a list of what you enjoy doing to market your business. Plan out time each day to work “in your power zone.”
- Get help in your business in the one area where you need help the most. If you are struggling to get everything done each day, hire an assistant. If you need direction and accountability, hire a coach. Invest in yourself to make sure the important, profit generating tasks in your business are being handled properly.
Gina Bell says
Hi Sydni, GREAT advice… My favorite tip is “Ditch your “superhero” cape and get some help!” There are so many ways we self-sabotage and almost all of them stem from operating on default and the mind junk/limiting beliefs we’re holding onto. Your post is a great reminder that we get to choose how it all unfolds and with a few shifts in the right direction we can realize a bigger, better business reality in no time. xo
Sydni Craig-Hart says
Well said Gina! You’re so right…a simple shift in one’s thinking can have the biggest impact! Thanks so much for your comment!
Andrea Costantine says
Great post – your 3 tips are spot on. I see so many people trying to do every marketing tactic, and it just can’t work. One, it’s not sustainable, and two you dilute your efforts.
I also love how you bring up the point of results. I notice that somethings give me better results than others, yet I spend less time on those strategies. It’s the 80/20 rule, I if spent 80% of my time on where 80% of the business comes from, then I’d greatly increase my business revenue.
Thanks for the reminder!
Sydni Craig-Hart says
Thank you for your input Andrea! It’s so true…many folks are shooting themselves in the foot trying to do WAY too much. It’s so much easier (and less stressful) to narrow your focus to just a few strategies and focus on giving those your best.
Brenda Stanton says
Another great post Syndi!
You really did nail it in terms of the main areas to incorporate in order to have any type of success in life. Being able to self-manage while also doing what you love and having support around you really is so fundamental.
I really love that you – as a marketing expert – teach that you don’t have to do things you don’t enjoy – actually do the opposite and you’ll get the results you’re looking for.
Once again, another great article!
Cathy Alessandra says
Love the #3 – Ditch the super hero cape! If all of us would try to stop doing everything and get some help, we wouldn’t suffer from what i call “SuperWoman Fatigue!”. That goes for business (VA, bookkeeper, etc) to home (housekeeper). Love that!
Sydni Craig-Hart says
Right Cathy! We all need help…none of us have enough time with today’s busy lifestyle’s to truly get it “all” done. Smart, sane folks get the help they need! 🙂
Jennifer Bourn says
Sydni – I LOVE that you put “Commit to building better habits” first on the list. This is so critical to creating a successful business. Your habits are a reflection of your commitment.
Sydni Craig-Hart says
I love that Jen, “Your habits are a reflection of your commitment.” Well said! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Kristi LeGue says
This is great Sydni. I love the fact that you not only give us permission, but TELL us to do what we love doing when it comes to marketing our business. I cannot tell you how many entrepreneurs I have met at networking events that tell me they would rather be hung up by their toe nails than to be at the said event. What they don’t realize is that people can tell that even if they don’t say anything to them. Me personally, I am a networking butterfly. I absolutely LOVED networking when I had my CPA practice. Best part of owning a business if you ask me. However, I completely respect when others are out of their comfort zone.
I also love your reminder about being a business martyr. I was definitely guilty of that. I finally hired someone and she was phenomenal! One of the best things I ever did for my business.
Thank you so much for all the fabulous information again this week.
Kristi
Amy Kinnaird says
Sydni, Here is what I have done recently: hired an assistant to help me in my office locally. She’s a professional organizer now, which is why I hired her. She is going to help me a couple of hours each week to stay accountable to my tasks and make sure my systems are in place and working well.
I also commit to time blocking my calendar again. It worked well before and I have gotten lazy about it. Thanks for reminding me to commit my time completely to work during those hours.
Sydni Craig-Hart says
Love it Amy! Don’t you find that investment in your Assistant to be priceless? So many folks resist getting the help they need and hide behind “I can’t afford it”, when in most cases they can’t afford NOT to get help. Thanks for sharing your experience and dispelling this myth!