It’s not a badge of honor to work sixty hours a week or more. Honestly, the beauty of being a business owner is that you should have more control over your time than you did when you were working 9-5 and commuting to and from the office. When I talk with entrepreneurs I tell them, “biz owners need to tame their time.” If a budding biz owner drives him or herself to the ground, the business won’t survive and perhaps the entrepreneur won’t either. That isn’t why you went into business for yourself is it? To work more hours, see your friends and family less and be so stressed that they don’t enjoy the ride, is it?
You need to take control of your time because if you don’t it will continue to control you. That also means you need to control client and customer expectations. If they think you are available 24/7 because you’re always answering email and phone calls and texts they will expect that. If, however you tell them, you answer the phone from X to X on this day and that and that you take holidays off, they will understand and appreciate it. Believe me, it’s easier to set expectations up front than it is to try and “take away” what they’ve grown accustomed to.
Biz Owners Need To Tame Their Time
Here are a few quick tips to help you get control of your time and enjoy being a business owner.
You can delegate tasks even if you don’t have staff. Are you good at blogging? No? Hire a copywriter. Do you love to crunch numbers and do spreadsheets and balance the budget? No? Hire an accountant. Could you defend yourself in court? No? Hire a lawyer. There are tasks that a business owner, no matter the budget, should consider the cost of doing business and plan for that. Marketing and web development is one of those tasks that an entrepreneur feels they don’t have to worry about and then wonder, “why don’t I have any clients” when they don’t have a website, social media presence or a blog.
Draw the line between business and personal. As mentioned, don’t work 24/7. Keep a calendar and make appointments with yourself –whether it’s going out for lunch with a colleague, taking a walk, going to the gym, etc. Also the line needs to separate your home life from your work life and this is especially true if you work from home. Close the office, or close the laptop at the end of the day. Make it a symbolic, end of the day ritual.
Just say no. I know that when you’re starting out it is hard to say no to a potential client or job but you need to. You need to be very clear on what you will do as well as what you won’t do. Don’t dilute your efforts because if an ideal client comes along and you’re so busy with tasks outside of your zone of genius, you will be frustrated and angry.
It’s a question I get asked all the time by potential business owners, “can introverts succeed as entrepreneurs?” The answer is yes. In fact, sometimes an introvert thrives because he or she isn’t afraid to be alone in the office doing the work that needs to be done. They don’t need to be out and about nor do they need to be the center of attention.
Introverts, by nature, thrive in quiet, solitary spaces but that doesn’t mean there aren’t entrepreneurial pursuits that will feed their physical and emotional beings.
What should an introvert who wants to start a business think about?
Choose a business that will allow you to work from your strength. If you don’t want to be in front of crowds hosting meetings, then don’t choose a career as a public speaker — makes sense, but some people let themselves get lured down a path that doesn’t quite suit their natures.
If you get drained by people, consider activities that maximize interactions while minimizing emotional energy drainers. Decide what kind of business you may be suited for that allows you to interact on your terms (or mostly on your terms because if you work with clients, you will need to accommodate their needs as well)
Start small, no matter which niche you pursue, to gauge whether being a business owner suits your personality. No matter what type of business you’re in you will need to sell — product, services and/or yourself and you need to be comfortable enough to do that.
Can Introverts Succeed As Entrepreneurs?
Look for business partners or colleagues who complement your introverted personality. If you need a boisterous sales person to reach out to potential leads and that’s not your forte — hire that out. You don’t have to do it all yourself, but you do need to know what you can and cannot do and recruit people to pick up where you left off.
If your company grows to include more than you, you have the luxury of setting up a work environment that suits you. Whether that’s an in person setting, work from home or a hybrid approach. Develop the environment that helps you thrive.
Coronavirus has made Zoom and online networking more than acceptable and that works to the advantage of the introvert. You don’t have to beg off of meetings – you can just send a zoom link.
Spread your wings and stretch beyond your comfort zone — you’re a business owner after all! Celebrate that fact in the company of others.
Covid-19 is still wreaking havoc in the economy. Many businesses will never recover, many are losing employees because they are mandating the vaccination. Still, others are losing employees because after having worked from home for so long and now that they’re accustomed to it and have an office set up, employees don’t want to go back. I have pulled together 3 tips for budding entrepreneurs, and I have many more on tap!
This is also leading to a rash of new entrepreneurs. Isolation may have anecdotally led to an explosion of business ideas, but no matter the reason, there are many entrepreneurs and as a business coach, I love seeing that entrepreneurial spirit!
If you’re new to being a business owner and not just pulling in a paycheck, where do you begin? First, stop thinking about your past job performance evaluation as a yardstick by which to measure your skills and talents. Many people thrive much more when they are doing what they love rather than working for a paycheck at a job that drains them.
3 Tips For Budding Entrepreneurs
Don’t ever say no to a learning opportunity. Whether it’s an in person networking event or an online seminar or webinar, there is nothing better than gathering all the knowledge that you can. You never know which nugget of information will give you an a-ha moment and help move your business forward. Also, networking and meeting people is one of the best ways to interact and find potential clients.
Always have a back up plan. If you had the luxury of being able to build a nest egg or a cushion in your savings account before you launch your own business, that is best because it takes away a lot of stress from a new entrepreneur. Have a back up plan until you’re making the money you need to survive. Plan to cut out your extra expenses, look for free entertainment instead of paying for premium channels, cook at home, swap or barter services until you can pay for them.
Keep your eyes open for opportunity. I love the word serendipity. When everything comes together, it is a beautiful event. Whether it’s an introduction to a potential client, or your ability to introduce someone to another potential colleague, successful people know how to recognize a potential opportunity and make the most of it.
Remember, not all ideas will be gold. Be willing to let some go and move on. Don’t keep clinging to a sinking ship just because you’re afraid to admit it didn’t work like you thought it would.
As a business owner, you probably take classes and courses and are invested in ways to incorporate new training into your daily life as an entrepreneur. Do you commit to your personal success as often as you commit to business growth and personal growth? how to commit to personal success is as important as committing to business success and growth.
We have put together a list of ways to commit to personal growth that I have found to be crucial to my clients as part of our coaching programs.
How To Commit To Personal Success
For many, they have to purposefully commit to their personal success. We tie our personal success with our business success but they may need to be separated in order for you to thrive.
Your business will grow when you grow and you will grow when your business grows. As entrepreneurs we are closely tied to the success of our business and that just might push us forward toward pursuing personal growth. Just because you work a 16-hour day doesn’t mean your business is a success, it just means you’re working a lot of hours. Just because you take a day off doesn’t mean you are growing personally. Focus on personal success to grow your business.
You cannot separate yourself from your business — it’s impossible so don’t try. That does mean that your business is a reflection of you, your morals and ethics and beliefs.
Don’t get bogged down in the tasks that you don’t leave the office. You need to network for business and you also need to take courses or pursue hobbies to grow personally.
Focus energy on core competencies. Don’t think you have to do it all. You won’t succeed if you try. You will only feel overwhelmed and burn out. Why do your own bookkeeping if it’s not what you know how to do? Why waste your time on this area if it’s not your expertise and you should be building the business instead.
If you don’t have a definition of what personal success means, you won’t know when you’ve achieved it. Do you measure success on your bank account or the number of new clients you sign up , the hours you put in at the office, or how happy you are?
In the customer service world, having an email chain of conversation can be helpful. It is a great way for the customer to have written instructions if that was the reason they wrote. Even for customer service complaints, email can be a helpful medium. That being said, you need to have customer email best practice tips in place to keep every one of your customer service reps on the same page.
It makes sense that at times your customer service reps may go off script so their emails don’t make them sound like robots. However, this can be an issue if the customer service rep is dealing with a disgruntled customer.
Whether you are dealing with supply chain disruptions and may businesses still are because of coronavirus or if a customer received a product they consider subpar, the emails your team sends can either calm a customer down or ruffle his or her feathers even higher.
Customer Email Best Practice Tips
Whether your customer is justified in their feeling, it is up to you to work with him or her to see what you can do to help address the situation. After all, an angry customer is more likely to take to social media and run your company down than is a happy customer.
Here are some best practices you should put in place.
Don’t be defensive in your email practices. Be proactive. Try to anticipate customer complaints with shipping delays and other issues. Don’t be patronizing and say, “all business is suffering slowdowns because of coronavirus.” They don’t care. They want to be taken care of and came to you to ensure you do that just.
Answer a customer complaint in fewer than twenty four hours. The longer a customer has to wait for a response, the angrier they will be. They don’t want to be ignored. Even if you don’t have any answer, let them know you received their message and that you’re working on it.
Remember that a “joking” tone doesn’t show through in the written word especially if you don’t know how high of a level of understanding the customer has of your language nuances. Stick to a friendly, warm tone and skip the jokes.
If you work in a small company, encourage the team to talk to the customer on the phone. It’s easier to send an email, but a phone call is so much more personal and the customer could appreciate that.
Keep i mind that just because you know something, doesn’t mean your customer does. Think of this in the tech realm. It may seem simple to you to hit “control, alt, delete” but those terms may not mean anything to the person you’re speaking with. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and address them from there.
How often do you review customer service emails and best practice tips with your staff and vendors? It may be time to review those now.
Rex Richard of Peak Dynamics has been quoted as saying, “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, knowledge, or skill, but rather a lack of will…” Willpower in work and life matters and there are ways to “get more” willpower. We’ve been told that our willpower is a limited resource and we only have so much of it to work with every day.
We know that willpower or lack of willpower comes when your self-control is ebbing and when you’re emotionally and mentally exhausted.
Can you improve or regain willpower and self-control? Yes!
Willpower In Work And Life
Rex Richard has compiled his top three ways to improve your willpower in work and in life
Know your triggers. What makes you lose self-control? Stress? Boredom? Because your self-control is limited and you deplete it daily, you need to save some or bank some for later in the day when you may need it most. If you know you have a challenging day or event ahead — or at the end of the day — you need to “save” your self-control until then. For example, if you’re hungry or angry or bored, don’t grocery shop — this is especially true if food is your trigger.
Keep yourself out of tempting or stressful situations if you simply don’t have the reserves to control yourself or harness your willpower.
Strengthen your willpower through exercising it. Willpower and self-control are muscles and the more you work it, the stronger it will be. What can you do to improve your willpower and self-control and find reserves of it when you need it? These may seem odd, but they work.
Watch a movie that makes you cry and don’t let yourself shed a tear
Watch a movie that always makes you laugh, but don’t laugh
Solve a hard puzzle — crossword, Soduko or others
Control your emotions when you’re in a situation that tries your willpower. Shop when you’re hungry and resist the urge to stock up on junk food
Drink juice. Whip up a green drink (kale, spinach, fruit juice). The glucose in the fruit juice will help restore your brain and get you back in balance and in control. Feeding your brain can strengthen your willpower and self-control.
