Yesterday's post talked about the all-too-common problem that we business owners share..
Not enough TIME:
* Not enough time to implement all the things we KNOW we should be doing
* Not enough time to learn what new stuff we COULD be implementing
* Not enough time to even enjoy the fruits of our labor.
We get caught up in the daily grind of our businesses and often end up feeling like we have a J.O.B. in our own companies. And here's something that will make you depressed - You know all those endless hours you're spending feeling like you're rolling a boulder uphill day in and day out? Studies show that only about 2.5 of those hours are actually used for *productive work*.
The rest of our extra-long work days are spent with trifling distractions - a million tiny little things that seem like they constantly need our attention, and they need it NOW!
Today I want to talk to you about what you can do to start TAKING BACK those lost hours, getting MORE DONE in LESS TIME, freeing you up to spend *your* time the way *you* want to. Maybe that's having more time to get back to being the visionary you need to be to grow your company. Maybe that's spending more time with your family or taking extra vacation time. It doesn't matter.
----- You need to get S.A.D. -----
Systematize, Automate, and Delegate. That's how I personally escaped the grinding, boring parts of working in my business. And now you can too!
SYSTEMATIZE: First, we need to systematize some of the more repetitive tasks you do. Start by making a list of everything you do day by day. Get granular - break your list down into discrete tasks. Be as detailed as possible, and do this over the course of a week or so.
Then when you have your huge lists (and they will be huge, when I did this for one week I had 35 pages), you want to go through them and look for patterns. Look for the things you seem to do over and over, every day. That's what you want to target first. Your role in your business should be the innovator - find new ways to make more money. Find new stuff that WORKS in your business. If you find yourself doing a particular task over and over, guess what. It's WORKING. So it's time to get set up to hand that task off.
Next thing is we're going to repeat the same list process we just did, but now we're going to go microscopic. Break that one task down into every individual step that is required to complete it. Make the list as complete as possible. One thing I've done before is actually use a webcam or screen capture software and actually record myself doing the task and narrating each step out loud. The goal here is to create a set of instructions - a step-by- step guide to completing this task. Often you'll find that the routine tasks you do every day are ones that require no creative or input from you. They're just busy work, and that's NOT the best use of YOUR time.
Now it's time to decide if you can AUTOMATE.
AUTOMATE: This is where technology is your best friend. There are a TON of gadgets and software solutions out there designed to help small businesses like ours. Look at the task you've just systematized and consider if it's a task that could be completely automated. You might be surprised at how much stuff you find yourself doing every day could be eliminated by using an automated solution. I'll give you a personal example. Now, I do a LOT of video - you may have seen some... In this last campaign, I had tons of different videos, in a ton of different file formats and I needed to get them into a single unified format so I could assess the content easily. I used to load them all up into an application by hand, and wait for them to export, then do it again and again. That's a *lot* of work to do one at a time. It turns out that the latest version of Adobe Premier CS4 has the kind of batch encoding that I could finally use. The CS4 Media Encoder bactched them all overnight. AND when the encoding was done, it popped the shiny new files right into a project. DOUBLE Savings!
So decide if you can Automate your task. But you know, sometimes it's not possible. Sometimes you need a little human intervention and software or gizmos won't do the trick. If that's the case, we STILL might be able to get it off your plate.
DELEGATE: If the task requires a decision, does it have to be YOUR decision? Is it the kind of thing some else could evaluate and make a call on? If so, now it's time for the "D" in S.A.D.: Delegate. Hand that task off to someone else. It's possible some of you folks reading this might not even have any employees. Guess what? If you have more than 5 of these repetitive tasks in your day that you could delegate... It's time to hire some help or outsource your tasks. With the time you will save by eliminating your wasted hours, you could THEN focus on the things you would rather be doing - the things you SHOULD be doing. For me, that was getting back to being the "big picture" guy in my business. It was focusing my attention on the stuff that I could do to market better, get more traffic, make more sales, etc. It freed me up to GROW my business so much more quickly that the cost of the hiring I had to do was negligible. I was making WAY more profit and I had WAY more time. And that's what I got into business for in the first place. How about you? :)
So now that I've told you my story about how I was able to getout of having a "job" in my own business, I want you to check out Scott.
Scott spent 10 YEARS working on the part of his business that wasn't pulling in the sales. When he spent time focusing on really GROWING his business, he was able to escape. Now that he's freed up to spend all his time working ON his business and not IN it, he's going to add SIX FIGURES to his bottom line in 2009.
Check out Scotts story right here.
You don't have enough time. No one has enough time. Ask ANYbusiness owner - they'll sing the same chorus.
Our FormulaFIVE business growth program is helping other business owners like Darrin work more quickly and efficiently than ever before. In fact, the Fifth Module in FormulaFIVE, "Turbo Thruster", is designed specifically for business owners who struggle to find the time they want and need.
* Activate the 9-Step Strategy that can turn the most complex tasks into a paint-by-numbers process.
* Apply a Business Optimization Strategy to whisk away all but the most powerful profit generating activities in your day.
* Work so Smartly and Efficiently, you'll finish your day with time to spare - time for you, time for your family, time to enjoy the fruits of your labor.
* Derail the 80/20 rule that easily distracts people with the mindset that you can do everything because it only requires 20% of your effort. How does that usually turn out?
* Systematize ANY process, even if it's for a highly technical or complex activity, freeing you from being a slave to any vendor, employee or service.
FormulaFIVE clients have gained anywhere from 5% to 50% increase in NET profits by implementing JUST ONE of these action blocks - how big an impact could it have for you?
There's a ton more info about FormulaFIVE right here.
Hope that helps! Till next time!