Have you ever asked, “What did I accomplished today?”
I came across an article, How to do more in less time. The article had some good advice for small business owners on how to be productive. These tips could be valuable, but the starting point, like in all projects is to have an attainable goal. I have found that a small business owner can accomplish a lot if he/she just make a list the night before of what they want to accomplish. Now, in some small businesses, that may not be too easy if the business is ver volital. For example, if you provide a service, your client’s schedules can alter your own schedule. That is ok, you are the business owner, remember? Put it on the list. Are you going to do some social networking pushing your small business? Put it on the list? Are you cutting payroll? Put it on the list. Then, reorganize your list by priority.
The secret is to create a list of attainable goals and cross them out as you do them. At the end of the day, you will feel more like a small business owner, and not a small business slave, because you will have taken charge of your own time.
Don’t waste time on a business social network, but enter it on the list. Choose something concise that you would like to do on your social network(like write an article). In doing this, you have a deliverable that will benefit your small business down the line.
In my small business (CPA firm), I have been writing these articles for about nine months. I list this chore twice a week, no excuses, no inefficiencies. I just get it done. I don’t have an ROI because that is irrelevant. I provide information and build relationships. That is all part of being in a small business. If I did not list it, then the relationships would never be built or nourished. Small businesses, even e-businesses are built on relationships, and we all know that if you don’t have time for your relationships(even the important ones), you will not have any relationships.
Lastly, as a small business owner, you must know that your list must progress to higher levels. For example, later this month, we will be launching our monthly blog videos under our new banner THE LA CPA. It will be similar to these articles, but will have a visual and audio component. The result will be to more information, better information, in less time for our readers.
So, as a small business owner, or any kind of business person, create your list, execute your list, and then evolve your list. You will find more control of your time and life.