Being successful in business is based on a very simple premise. You need to have more income than expenses.
While the concept is
simple, that does not mean that the execution of starting and operating
a successful business is an easy undertaking. Each day brings
multiple possibilities of challenges. How can your business increase
sales? Is your business experiencing an ongoing creep of new
expenses? Are new competitors entering an already saturated
marketplace?
Running a business
requires the owner to fill a variety of management roles, usually
requiring multitasking on a daily basis. Often, our clients tell us
that there isn't enough time in a day to do the things that need to be
done to be successful. Still, there is a difference between running a
business and just being busy.
Being self-employed
requires a certain amount of leadership and discipline. Measuring how
many hours you work at your own business is not nearly as important as
tracking the productivity and operating results. Answering the
question, "Is this the best use of my time?" during a busy day can often
help guide a better prioritization of your actions.
On a daily basis, you
should be aware of the productivity of your efforts, and if applicable,
your employees. Each business transaction brings an opportunity for
analysis and the more successful business owners possess an awareness of
what I like to refer to as the "profitability of the moment." They
maintain an active thought process of evaluating transactions and manage
towards better performance.
Effective business managers
have the ability to focus their attention on the areas where they can
influence more profitable performance. They delegate "busy" tasks
whenever possible so they can focus on business development activities.
They are quicker to adapt to changes in the marketplace, make process
improvements and bring new innovations to their product/service lines
based on observations of consumer behavior.
