Three Surefire Tips to Grow Your Business Without Chasing Your Tail
Maxwell is my ten-pound Shih Tzu who comes to the office with me nearly every day. We call him Chairman of the Bone and he loves all his co-workers. Even though he has plenty of toys and treats at the office one of his favorite things to do is chase his tail which provides a lot of entertainment. He runs in a circle at manic speeds until he finally gets tired and stops. Although this exercise never produces any results, it doesn't stop from trying agian.
Maxwell's tail chasing activity reminds me of a lot of business owners I know. There's lots of activity with no results. I bet you know people who seem to be busy all the time, but they never get anywhere. They're burning time and resources chasing their tails. Because they keep repeating the same activity over and over again, they get the some old results -- nothing.
So if your business isn’t going in the right direction, take an close look at yourself. Are you chasing your tail? How many times are you running here and there doing lots of different things, but at the end of the day you haven't accomplished a thing. Well, here are a few surefire tips to help you grow your business so you don't wind up chasing your tail.
- Keep your eye on the ball. When you start a business money is always tight and that's particularly true in today's economy. New opportunities may come your way that seem to offer a quick way to bring in a little cash. Tempting! Before you decide to go for it, think about the ramifications, How much of a distraction is this going to be? One of the biggest reasons many small businesses fail is they try to be all things to all people Stay focused on your core business.
- Set Milestones. Create a business plan with a timeline and milestones. Without established benchmarks, days, weeks and months can pass by while you talk, talk, talk about what you're going to do, but you never get around to doing it.
- Take Action every day. Never let a day go by in your business where you haven't done at least one activity to help you reach your business goals. Business success requires discipline -- the discipline to practice those things that are instrumental for your success. One thing that works well for me is creating a list of top priorities – “the must dos” – for the day and getting those items completed first. If you'd like to sign-up for my free daily text tips to help you stay focused simply click here or text 35350 and put Biz in the subject line.
Starting and growing a small business isn't easy. Make sure you work smart and use your valuable time productively. Don’t chase your tail. Leave that up to Maxwell.
