As business owners, we tend to do allot!  During the start-up phase it’s called ‘boot strapping’ and it is essential if resources are tight.  Once established, the need to do it all stems from the feeling that no one else can do it as well.  Likewise, a general lack of planning and discipline can have you holding the ‘task bag’ more often than you’d like.  Suffice it to say, most business owners would think twice about having their owner companies if they realized how difficult it can be to get the important things done. 

Business is a continuum.  Time waits for no one and you are either moving forward or you are losing ground.  In either case, a lack of focus can inhibit one and accelerate the other.  It’s not a matter of having more time to get everything done; it’s a matter of doing the right things at the right time.  If focus has been a battle for you, here are six of the most common reasons why business owners can’t stay focused and what to do so you can get the kind of results you want.  

1.                   Lack of a Clear Vision: 

Neurologically, focus is a contest between your conscious and your subconscious minds. The conscious mind is in charge of communications, logic and decision making. It controls about 6% of your total brain activity.  The subconscious, on the other hand, controls all of your bodily functions, your feelings, emotions, thoughts, behaviors and habits which make up the remaining 94% of your brain.  Everything you have experienced in your life is stored in your subconscious just waiting to be recalled as a recognizable experience shows up. 

For this reason, having a clear, complete vision of what you want your business to be is essential to keeping your mind focused on activities that lead to that end result.  If you do not have a vision statement with all the relevant specifics (time frames, revenue levels, profits, brand, identity, facility and staff needs and size of client base, etc) you are allowing your focus to be swayed by a multitude of distractions and false opportunities.  Once you write out your vision, create a bulleted list in large letters and display it everywhere you work.  Seeing it on regular basis will train your subconscious to start looking for things that will support good focus habits. 

2.                  ‘Screaming Baby’ Syndrome- A Constant State of Overwhelm: 

Overwhelm stems from 2 things; not knowing what to do and having too many things demanding your attention.  It’s one of the most arresting feelings I know of and if left unchecked, it can paralyze you from making any decisions or taking any action at all! 

Having a clear vision will at least give you a sense of direction but until you become confident in what you need to do and eliminate the ‘screaming babes’ from your daily routine, not a lot is likely to improve.  Start by recognizing that you can’t do it all.  Multitasking has its benefits but in business it’s generally unproductive in the end. 

Get help from someone outside your business who can help you objectively determine which tasks are priorities and which ones can wait.  Consider hiring people for the most important areas requiring special knowledge or skills.  Look for people in your surroundings that might be willing to barter services if finances are tight.  You can also visit your local college to see what intern programs are available.  You might have to pay something for their time but most college students are more interested in getting meaningful experience.  Once you have identified the sources of your overwhelm and engages people/ services to handle them, you will notice a tremendous change in your level of focus. 

3.                The Debilitating Effects of Environmental Clutter: 

Most of what we react to are things we see or hear.  A work environment that is unorganized or loaded with clutter can be an ongoing reminder that things are out of control.  Stop telling yourself, ‘I know where everything is’.  The moment you see something that you tossed aside a week ago, the tendency to deal with it happens quickly, pulling you off task and in many cases, dropping the work you intended to finish. 

The only cure for clutter and disorganization is to strip the environment (your office, your car, etc) of everything and start fresh.  The reason this is needed is so your mind understands that the old ways have come to an end.  Start by forming 3 piles; things that most be urgent, items that can be addressed in 30 days and everything else.  Then toss the ‘everything else’ pile.  Fact is, if it ends up being important, it will come back to you but for now eliminating as much volume as possible is critical to organizing the rest.  If you don’t think you can do this, bring someone in whom specializing in organization.  Believe me; the cost will be worth it.  In the end, eliminating the clutter and organizing the rest will help you stay focused on the important plans and projects. 

4.                   The Lure of Shiny Objects:  

Ever notice how you can get charged up over a new idea?  One minute you are hard at work, the next you have a brain storm that is so appealing you immediately abandon your work and begin a new direction.  I call this ‘the lure of shiny objects’ and it’s a huge problem for many entrepreneurs.  It’s caused by engaging in mindless activities which allows your brain to drift.  At this point, you become susceptible to other influences which manifest thoughts in your subconscious.  Without warning, out pops a latent great idea.  Now you immediately shift gears and start working on your new idea leaving your prior endeavor for another day.  Trouble is this new idea will probably be replaced several times during the week with other great ideas.  Bottom line- nothing ever advances past the initial thought stage.  

Now, the shiny object interruptions don’t seem to happen when the task in front of you is meaningful and vital to the growth of your company (new revenue, new client service, next phase of marketing plan, etc).  The shiny objects usually appear when we’re doing rote, menial tasks that put our minds on autopilot.  I have colleagues for which this phenomenon is so powerful, they literally go through withdrawals trying to fight the lure and stay on task. 

Use this technique to wean yourself off the endless merry-go-round of chasing shiny objects.  Jot down the idea.  Put the note in a folder marked ‘Great Ideas’.  Place the folder in a draw and go back to the task that is directly connected to your vision and growth plan. 

5.                   Making the Mistake of not Delegating:  

Delegation is a skill that can be learned.  Effective delegating is an art that requires practice and involves foresight, communications, planning and a defined level of expected results.  If you have employees in your business, ask yourself two questions before taking on a task that is not supporting primary goals:  1). Who can I get to do this? and 2). If no one knows how to do this, who can I train to do this?   

The more routine tasks and responsibilities you can delegate, the more your focus will stay on things that get you to your goals.  If manpower is an issue, look for outsourcing options.  There will be an initial cost involved but the benefits of staying above the minutia and connected to your growth objectives will more than pay for the it. 

Business owners are a proud bunch by nature and we like to think no one can do it better than us!  The daily mantra usually is- by the time I explain it to someone else I could do it myself.  Break this habit.  There is no better feeling than having things get done by others while you attend to the important stuff. 

6.                   No Awareness of Boundaries: 

I suffered from this early on and it caused more problems than just focus!  Maintaining a healthy level of focus requires being uninterrupted at certain times.  It also means knowing when to put work down and focus on family, relationships, hobbies, charity work, whatever re-energizes you. 

If your employees know that during certain times, you are not to be disturbed, they will learn to operate and make decisions without coming to you all the time.  Likewise, your customer’s will accept a reasonable amount of time to receive return calls from you.  Planning to tackle an important task and then having your time repeatedly interrupted by questions and phone calls will grind your focus down to a tiny nub. 

Set boundaries that are reasonable for your business and stay consistent with them and you will love what you get done with the uninterrupted time. 

 

Being focused enough to grow your business at the pace you want and move in the direction that reaches your ultimate vision is the best way to use two of your most valuable resources- your time and your sanity!

 

 

More Business Growth Resources:

If you would like more information on various topics having to do with small business growth strategies, tune in to Steve’s weekly Radio Show on BlogTalk Radio- ‘The Small Biz Growth Show’.  Each Tuesday at 11:00am (PST) and Thursday at 1:00pm (PST), Steve and his co-host, Cash Miller, discuss specific business building topics that small business owners can take action on.  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-small-biz-growth-show  

If you need help to figure out where your best sources of growth are, sign up for my free business growth guidebook and learn where to look and what to do to improve your revenue, clients and overall health of your business.  http://www.growthsourcecoaching.com/business-growth-strategy-guidebook.html 

Originally posted 2011-09-08 18:03:07. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

In the midst of the stock market’s recent downturn Warren Buffet was quoted as saying, “when the market gets greedy, I become fearful.  But when the market becomes fearful, I get greedy”.  In other words, finding opportunities to grow may mean doing things that the majority of people are not doing.  Many times, going in a different direction can yield significantly better returns.  This principle holds true for small businesses trying to get ahead during this protracted economic recession. 

Stepping out from your competition and trying new things, however, can be somewhat scary and carry new risks that many established business owners might not be familiar with.  So, while other businesses are cutting back, down-sizing, reducing staff or eliminating marketing budgets, business owners who want to seize the opportunity for growth and future market dominance, should consider doing the following: 

• Avoid ‘The Vanilla Syndrome’.  Evaluate your product or service position to separate and distinguish yourself from your competition.  If you look and feel like everyone else who provides a similar offering, that’s how you’ll be viewed by your customers.  Determine whether you are faster, environmentally safer, more knowledgeable, etc. until you figure out what makes you different.  Having a unique point of difference will convey value in the consumer’s mind and make you less reliant on discount pricing schemes to compete for sales.

 

• Determine who your ideal customer is.  Not everyone wants what you have to sell and the ones who are lukewarm will put price at the top of their decision-making list.  Know exactly who your ideal customer is and what they want. Your unique offering and the marketing message that conveys it will resonate with these customers who in turn will pay your price, stay with you and refer others to you.

 

• Increase your personal market exposure.  Do more networking in your local community.  Find events to attend that will expose you and your business to potential customers and others who may refer friends to you.  People do business with people they know and like.  Delivering your marketing message during these events will enable you to explain why you do what you do so uniquely.

 

• Tune-up your website.  Make sure the message and content of your website reflects the uniqueness of your business and the ‘wants’ of your ideal clients.  People visit websites today as much for validation as they do for information.  A poorly designed or dysfunctional website will throw up red flags in the minds of customers who don’t have any experience doing business with you. 

 

• Spend you time on your highest revenue producing activity.  When business is slow, it’s natural to want to stay busy by doing routine chores or mundane activities.  Delegate these tasks to others who find them rewarding and spend your time marketing your business.

 

• If you are unsure, get help.  Don’t continue doing the same things and expecting the results to be different.  Seek out help from trusted colleagues or business services that can assist you in executing an effective business strategy.  The economy will recover and being ill-prepared for the upswing is an opportunity truly lost.

 

In today’s market, it’s less about what you know and more about what you are willing to take action on that enables a select few businesses to take advantage of this kind of market complexity.  Until you decide to take action on the things you know you should be doing to grow your business, your results will be no different from the businesses who decide to hunker down until the economic storm passes”.   

Taking action on the above points is the best strategy for pursuing growth in your business.  Best of all, your financial investment is minimal.  Conversely, taking no action will only create a sense of dependence on the economy and continued focus on what the rest of the market is doing.

Originally posted 2011-11-30 12:49:01. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

After attending more than 300 networking events in the last 5 years, I have only met a few business people with introductions that caused me to want to know more about them. It’s not that they were not good people; they just could not entice me based on what they said during their introductions.  If you could put a price on all this lost opportunity, millions of marketing dollars have been wasted! 

Ten seconds is more valuable than you realize:

The typical marketing pitch or elevator pitch as they are sometimes called (the approximate time it takes to travel on an elevator down 10 floors) attempts to cram in as much detail about a person and their occupation before the elevator door opens.  The reality is most people have an attention span of about 5-8 seconds so if you do not get their attention quickly, they can zone out before you get through your last name. 

Creating an impactful and memorable introduction is not as easy as you may think.  Go ahead, try one on someone you know causally.  Deliver your best elevator pitch and then ask them what they think you do and why they would do business with you.  The responses will shock you most of the time.  But shock is good because if they don’t get it, real prospects are not getting it either.  The big mistake most business people make is assuming that what they have to say is important to the recipient.  Now you might have important things to tell people but if your delivery blows the opportunity, you have just bought the equivalent of TV time at 2:00 AM! 

All pitches are not alike:

An elevator pitch is not a sales pitch.  Sales pitches are designed to sell someone something.  At most networking events, the purpose of an elevator pitch is to make connections that will lead to referrals or a business relationship down the road.  If everyone you meet thinks you are trying to make a sale, you will think you have contracted a contagious disease that everyone can see from 15 feet away.  An effective elevator pitch should also quality the people you meet so you do not waste too much time with people who are not interested in who you are or what you do.    

So how do you deliver a compelling, engaging introduction that will have someone you have never met to say “wow, how do you do that?” Keep in mind that people tend to focus on what is important to them.  Does your pitch convey a benefit or a possible issue right from the start?  If you are a Chiropractor and someone asks what you do, what sounds better; “Hi, I’m a Chiropractor” or “Do you know how it feels to have to sit on the sideline because your back is out of whack? I help people get the most out of their leisure time”.  At the very least, your new contact is probably going to say; “really, how do you do that?”  Your follow up should be something like; “I identify alignment issues before they become major physical problems”.  The point is, you may be in a networking sessions with 5 other Chiropractors.  What makes you stand out is how you introduce yourself from the start. 

If its natural, people will respond to it:

So, before you attend your next networking event give serious thought to your pitch.  Once you fine-tune it and have a trusted friend review it, practice the heck out of it.  It should come out reflecting your style and be on a conversational level.  After all, the real reason people go to networking events is to make connections that will lead to eventual clients.  They do not go to be sold something they do not need or want.  If they understand the benefit of what you do, they are more likely to engage you to find out more.  

Do not leave a prospective client wondering what you do for a living. 

More Business Growth Resources: 

If you would like more information on various topics having to do with small business growth strategies, tune in to Steve’s weekly Radio Show on BlogTalk Radio- ‘The Small Biz Growth Show’.  Each Tuesday at 11:00am (PST) and Thursday at 1:00pm (PST), Steve and his co-host, Cash Miller, discuss specific business building topics that small business owners can take action on.  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-small-biz-growth-show  

If you need help to figure out where your best sources of growth are, sign up for my free business growth guidebook and learn where to look and what to do to improve your revenue, clients and overall health of your business.  http://www.growthsourcecoaching.com/business-growth-strategy-guidebook.html

 

Originally posted 2011-09-19 16:28:28. Republished by Blog Post Promoter