It is easy to become overwhelmed by the daily administrative tasks of owning your own business. The typical business owner spends a majority of their time doing 95% of the tasks that have the least impact on their business.
The successful entrepreneur focuses entirely on the top 5% of tasks that directly impacts her revenues and growth because she has implemented reliable systems.
Here is the difference:
A business owner simply processes "transactions"
- Administrative transactions.
- Marketing transactions.
- Sales transactions.
- Social media transactions.
An entrepreneur knows she has a deep-seeded purpose
- Has a vision and purpose.
- Focuses 100% of his time on the top 5% of tasks that has a direct impact on revenue, the growth of his business, and the number of people he can reach.
- Partners with qualified people to process the business "transactions."
- Invests his time in creating and implementing effective systems so he can focus on his "5%" and not be bogged down by daily business transactions.
- He commits to surrounding himself with other success-driven entrepreneurs to help lift him to the next level.
- He takes risks with confidence.
Define what directly impacts your business vision
Here is a quick checklist that will help determine what actions you should be focusing on (you and only you) and what “else” can be delegated or outsourced. Initially, this may be difficult, especially if you’re just starting and may feel as though you don’t have the resources to hire an assistant. I learned the following system from one of my most influential business coaches and it has continued to have a direct impact on my business and has given me the ability to spend more time on what matters: changing my clients’ lives.
- Take one week and write down every task you do from the time you begin work each day until the end of the day.
- Include emails, phone calls, social media, finance/money/AP-AR, sales, follow-up, client communication, writing, marketing/advertising, web/blog updates, relationship building.
- At the end of the week, circle what tasks ONLY you can complete without compromising the value of your product or service and that have a direct impact on the long-term growth and success of your business or venture:
- This is the 5% of responsibilities that should be the entire focus of what you do daily.
- The REST needs to be delegated or eliminated.
- Achieve this through effective systems that you can train someone else to do.
- Post your 5% next to your desk or where visible so you can constantly evaluate whether the task you are doing should be done by you or should be delegated/outsourced.
- Avoid too many “good opportunities” that detract you from your long-term vision.
- Schedule specific times for email, social media, and other tasks until you can outsource them effectively.
This is just the beginning to get you in the mindset of focusing 100% of those tasks that have the most impact on your business and you can gradually start outsourcing the other tasks that, though important to your day-to-day business, have very little impact on the long-term growth and success of your vision.
