There are always two questions I ask my potential coaching clients:
Where are your clients coming from and where is your time going?
For this blog, I’m going to focus on the second question, but stay tuned for a blog post dedicated to the first question!
So why should you care where your time is going?
Time is money. Time is valuable, and you can't get time back!
Many business owners are in the grind of their day-to-day business without regard for where their time is being spent. They are chasing from sale to sale, client to client, job to job, and task to task. What they fail to consider is what is valuable and focused activity and what is not.
For instance, if a business owner has the potential to earn $100 per hour, should they be spending their time picking up ink for the office printer? No! That is a job better suited for an office assistant so that a business owner can focus on the tasks that can help grow, develop and maximize the efficiency of their business.
This is how strategy and time management can play a crucial role in growing your business. Business owners must have time aside for working on their strategies as well as doing their operations. This is done through delegation. Through finding the help to get low and medium level tasks accomplished, an owner can avoid getting bogged down in the minutia.
Consider how you’re spending your hours each day. Then consider how much time you are spending on the following items because these will help you grow your business:
- Determining your Vision. Creating vision and building a strategy around that vision is crucial to growing a successful business.
- Improving employee processes. Giving focus and accountability to your employees will help to support a health company culture and give you more time to focus on higher-level tasks.
- Building strategic partnerships. By finding ways to partner with other businesses, you can grow your own business while gaining insight from other owners.
- Networking. They say "business is done on the golf course" but what that really means is business is done by socializing, building deep lasting relationships with other business people who can help bring referrals and visibility to your business.
- Business development. Think about how your business can be developed by looking at other profit streams, changing operations to create a better quality product, or researching other aligning business opportunities.
- Self-assessment. Assessing your own strengths and weaknesses can help you determine where you can improve as a business owner to ensure long-term success.
So how does the business owner do all of this? By making time that's how!
Stop saying "I'm too busy" (that's just an excuse to procrastinate) and start finding time, now!
Here's some tips for the entrepreneur to manage their time:
- Get a time tracking app such as Wrike. These apps operate from your computer or smartphone and allow tasks to be timed and logged so you can see exactly where time is going.
- Schedule time on your calendar. Pick a time each week to work on your business strategy and have it logged in your calendar so others know you are unavailable during that time.
- Create streamlined processes for accomplishing tasks. For example, use a spreadsheet to track a project from start to finish, and then train your delegates to update the spreadsheet so you can stay on top of your project timeline and deadlines.
- Track actions and assign priorities to ensure important tasks get done first. Don’t always jump into your emails to take on the first task that pops up, but rather prioritize the tasks for the day so you can make sure you aren’t getting behind on projects that can help grow your business.
- Hire an INFIX business coach to get you focused, keep you accountable, and guide you through time management. Regardless of what industry you’re in, a business coach can train you to maximize your potential as a business owner.
