How often do you hear the comment from business owners – “I’m so busy that I don’t have time to………………..” I had just such a comment made to me this week by a client as an excuse why he wouldn’t be turning up to our regular coaching session.
My response to him was “That’s great that you are so busy as that means money is coming in through the door. However, if you are too busy to work on your business because you are busy working in it then you have a different sort of problem that will eventually stop your business growing”.
If you as a business owner are spending more and more time on the tools then who the heck is running your business?!
The reaction that most people have to having too much work is to bury their heads in the belief that the only way forward is to keep on working, and hope like hell things will quieten down so they can catch their breath eventually.
Hoping that business will eventually slow down is not a constructive way to run a business! The aim of all business is to grow! More work, more money, better lifestyle, more freedom. Hang on – how can you have more freedom if you’re running yourself ragged just to keep up?
Okay, so from whatever angle you look at it, working longer and harder in your business is not the answer. In fact, the only answer is for you, as a business owner, to not work so much and to let others do the work for you!
If this all sounds familiar to you then take a step back from what you’re doing and ask yourself some really important questions (here are a few):
- Can I currently service the work I have on the books now with my current resources (excluding yourself)?
- If not how can I remedy that in the short and long term?
- What jobs are a priority?
- How can I better manager my customers expectations?
- Do I have the necessary levels of management and systems in place to handle the current level of work? If not what can I do to resolve that?
- Do I really want to be spending long hours on the tools? Is that cost effective and even practical?
- Who can help me with these questions?
Proper resourcing is essential. In the current market there has never been a better time to employ the right people who can help you explode the true potential of your business. You can’t do it alone. At the end of the day the more you can organise your business to run without you the better off you will be. Not only will you be able to enjoy greater freedom and balance in your life but you are also creating a more marketable business which can stand on its own feet and will be far more sellable when you want to retire.