If being an entrepreneur coach is all about helping people make the changes they’d like to make in their business, then there’s one question that I’m asked more than any.
“How?”
Most business owners – in fact, most people – already know what changes they’d like to make if they could. Whether it’s “I’d like to be more pro-active”, “I’d like to have more clients”, or “I’d like a better work/life balance”, we usually already know which change we’d most like to make.
But getting to that change can feel much, much harder.
An entrepreneur might be able to work unblinkingly on a client project, or designing a new logo. But creating a plan to make a more fundamental change is, well, harder. Just like saving up for that bright pink, sorry ‘champagne rose’ Rolls-Royce you might be dreaming of.
So, to get the business owners I work with from where they are now to where they want to be, I focus on forging great habits.
By making small changes, and sticking to them, the entrepreneurs I work with find they can build the future they want. With clarity, commitment, and focus.
So, in homage to that oh–so-influential book, here’s my 7 habits of highly influential… entrepreneurs.
Habit 1: Only Controlling What You Can
Let me be blunt for a moment: You’d be hard pressed to find an entrepreneur or small business owner who is good at letting go.
The chances are, you got into business because you have the drive, passion, commitment and vision to bring something to life.
Those are remarkable skills, but they don’t make for a great tendency to delegate.
For certain tasks, that’s fine. After all, the success of your business is built on your shoulders. But sometimes, it can leave you with far too many things to worry about.
So next time you’re wrestling with a business problem, or something that feels too vast to begin to tackle, try asking yourself this: “What can I control?”
Immediately, it should activate your problem-solver brain, and help you hone in on the things you can affect – rather than the things you can’t.
Habit 2: Charting A Course
Time and again, business owners – including seasoned entrepreneurs – set off without a clear direction.
Their energy, enthusiasm and drive makes them reticent about stopping for a moment to plan, so eager are they to set off towards the horizon.
But without clear goals, and a clear strategy, all that effort and activity could easily be wasted.
What if you realise in six months time that you’re trying to sell to the wrong audience? Or that your core messaging is off the mark? Or that you’re failing to do one little thing that would boost referrals?
That’s why having a clear destination is crucial. Read what I’ve written about the importance of a business plan, however brief that plan is, and make sure you’re heading the right way.
Habit 3: First, Prioritising
As a solo entrepreneur or small business owner, there are a lot of demands on your time. You are responsible for:
- Developing new products/services
- Delivering those products/services
- Marketing and brand building
- Infrastructure and operations
- Finances and budgeting
- Strategic planning
- And so much more…
So it’s not unreasonable to expect that some of these are more likely than others to drop off your list. The least desirable tasks, perhaps.
It’s also not unreasonable to suggest that each of these activities requires a different type and amount of your resource.
Delivering your product, for example, is likely to be a dominant, and regular task. Conversely, strategic planning demands short, focused bursts at relatively regular intervals to make sure you stay on track.
Deciding how much time you spend on each aspect of your business is almost as important as the time itself. Which is why the most successful entrepreneurs quickly learn to prioritise their tasks, and allocate their resources accordingly.
That way, you can be sure to work on the important things, as well as the urgent.
Habit 4: Looking To The Outside
A brilliant idea for a business is a great starting point. Scratch that, it’s a thing of beauty.
But it’s far from enough. And it doesn’t mean that your business will be viable, let alone successful.
That’s why keeping a firm eye on what’s around you is so important: in terms of the marketplace and demand, as well as the competition.
- It allows you to identify ways to differentiate yourself from – or improve on – the competition
- It helps you spot untapped demand in the market, and form a strategy to supply it
- It makes sure that you’re serving your customers’ true needs, and speaking in their language
Start with the outside, with the needs and perspectives of your prospective customers, and you’ll find most of the answers you need.
Habit 5: Turning To Your Teachers
Many of the business owners I work with are either sole traders or the primary decision maker at their company. That can make things pretty lonely. Even a life partner, however close, will never truly be able to understand what it’s like.
So, the most successful do what they can to break out of that isolation. They make the most of the skills and expertise of the network around them.
And they build that network, through collaborations, events, and good old fashioned conversation.
When small businesses work together, or when small business owners open up and let others in, they’re always stronger for it.
Next time you have a big decision to make, try asking yourself: “Who could I bounce this off?”
Habit 6: Playing To Your Strengths
We’ve already discussed just how valuable your time is.
(And just how short the supply is).
That means that every task you carry out is potentially costing you money. And costing you the opportunity to have spent it elsewhere.
And in a small business, there’s more often than not a drastic imbalance between intended output and capacity. Leading to a day-to-day scramble to stay afloat, rather than performing the kind of longer-term (or even medium-term) planning that creates real business change.
So how can you make time?
Just like Turning To Your Teachers, above, it’s important to focus on the things you’re best at.
To use myself as an example: it would take me hours to build a website. A lot of hours. (And I’m not convinced the end product would be all that convincing.) It would be a highly ineffective use of my time, which is far better spent working with clients, building up my network or spending time with family.
So instead, I call in an expert. They can do it faster, better, and – when you factor in the opportunity cost – a lot cheaper than if I did it myself.
Successful business owners know that you’re never too small, or too big, to ask for help.
Habit 7: Having A Regular Check-In
Time goes past so quickly. Before you know it the plans you’ve made for next quarter, or even next year, have been and gone.
When you’re juggling the day-to-day, keeping an eye on the big picture as well as the small is remarkably difficult.
A regular check-in, for example with a trusted business coach can be a powerful tool. They can hold you accountable for your goals, help you keep your work/life balance in check, and ask you the questions that there may be no one else to ask.
And a regular check-in, even if only once in a while, can be a powerful thing as you build the success of your business.
It’s not for everyone (more on that here), but there’s a reason most people who want to be truly successful at what they do employ a coach.
Small Habits, Big Changes
After all’s said and done, big things are achieved by a series of small, sometimes imperceptible, changes.
By establishing habits, and reinforcing them day after day, week after week, you can do some amazing things.
Are there any habits you’ve built which contribute to your success? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Kind regards,
Chris