One of the biggest problems that Independent Business Owners struggle with is making a change in the contributions they make towards their business. They spend all their time on operations, juggling everything to keep the business functioning.
“You can’t make $100,000 a year doing $10 an hour work.”
Know The Value Of Your Time
Download our Time Calculator to see what your time is worth per hour. Once you know that, keep your hourly rate at the top of your mind when you are deciding which tasks you are going to complete in a day. It will help you determine what is the most valuable use of your time.
This change involves a shift in mindset and a change in the way your time is spent – both of which will seriously increase your productivity.
Productivity is the deliberate, strategic investment of your time, talent, intelligence, energy, resources, and opportunities in a manner calculated to move you measurably closer to your goals.
With some simple strategies to help, you can distinguish between the activities that you do, the activities that you should be doing, and the activities that you need to delegate to other people. Overall, it will make you more productive.
The higher your hourly worth, the less tolerant you should be of people misusing your time. That’s like people reaching into your pocket and stealing from you.
Your time is your most precious commodity. If you don’t have the necessary tools and procedures in place, you won’t be able to capitalize on making the money you want. It will be taken away from you by your own inefficiency and from people stealing time from you. You must be ready for it. Harvest it when you can.
Find Your Focus
Spend your time on high value activities. Juggling work and personal responsibilities can be stressful and overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are some proven strategies that will help you reduce stress, have more time off, and focus on what matters.
- Delegate, delegate, delegate. Delegate to others who are effectively able to handle the tasks you assign them. Give clear directions, a specific goal and a deadline. If you don’t have enough employees, outsource some of your work to freelancers, outside experts or virtual assistants. Give clear instructions, provide guidance, praise, feedback, and reassurance along the way.
When you delegate, focus on the RESULT, not the process. The recipient doesn’t have to do it the way you would do it, they just need to get it done to your satisfaction. Relinquish control of the process – all you need to do is monitor progress and outcomes. - Set priorities and focus your efforts. Know what’s most important and focus your time and energy on those things. Make a list of your goals and priorities and refer to it often. This will help you stay on track and make the most of your time. If an activity does not move those goals forward, how can you eliminate it or delegate it?
- Take breaks and schedule time for yourself. When you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a step back and relax. Make sure you schedule time for yourself every day, even if it’s just a few minutes of fresh air and a walk around the block. This will help you recharge and be more productive when you’re working.
- Create a system that works for you. Everyone is different, so there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Find what works for you and stick to it. Whether it’s using a planner, setting alarms, or making to-do lists, find a system that helps you stay organized and on track.
- Protect Your Time. The more people are taking time from you, the tougher you need to be. Instead of an open door, create a steel curtain. Make people batch their questions of you, have them book a set time to meet and limit the meeting time.
Make it difficult to waste your time.
- Communicate your time values to others.
- Create a good defence.
- Have Zero tolerance for abuse.
- Avoid people who waste your time.
- Block time when you are NOT available.
- Say NO
- If they can’t find you, they can’t interrupt you.
- Refuse to be easily derailed
- Have integrity that matches your position
If you have the desire to make more money from your business, then your business needs to make more money. And no one is more valuable, invested, and skilled at doing that than YOU.
That means spending your time on high value activities that will result in growth. By working towards continuous improvement to implement time-saving strategies, you can reduce stress, get more done, and enjoy a better work-life balance and start living the lifestyle you dreamed of when you started your business.
One thing you can delegate to experts is your marketing. And that’s where we come in. We’ll get to know your business, customize marketing for you, build a customer list and communicate to your customers to create increased visits and higher spending. We take marketing off your to do list. All you need to do is tell your Coach what you want done, and it will happen. Click the button below and set up a call to find how we can help grow your business with marketing that works AND free up your time.
Choosing A Loyalty Program
Learn what makes customers stay loyal, how to pick a program with the right features, and how to give your business that extra edge.
Are You Leading the Way… or Just Catching Up?
Imagine you’re at the start of a race. You’ve trained, mapped out the course, and can practically see the finish line. You start strong, you’re ready, and you’re in control. Now picture jumping into a race without any training or map. You might catch up, you might miss a few turns in the road, and each step feels like a scramble to keep pace.
This is exactly how marketing can feel when you’re either taking action with a clear plan—or just reacting to whatever happens.
Engaging with your Community
You and your team live and work in your community, you can form deep relationships with local customers, charities, schools, community events, sports teams and other businesses, leading to strong word-of-mouth marketing and local support. This idea is very strategic because in addition to benefiting the community – it gives you a reason to create a lot of effective marketing and encourage new and repeat business.
