Sunday 23 March 2014

In It or On It - What Grows Your Business Most?

Anyone who has ever listened to, let alone engaged the services of a Business Coach will have heard the instruction and guidance that "we should be working ON our Business, NOT In the Business" for us to achieve great Business Growth. But is this always the case?

If you are a sole trader, micro business or lower end SME, then you will know the pressures on your time and resources only too well. You end up being the Managing Director, Finance Director, Administrator etc etc, the list goes on - basically you do the lot!

You may have the luxury of having staff in the Business, but then you've got to manage the staff, task the staff, while still doing the sales and marketing, customer meetings, the exhibitions and of course the networking events!

It is not that straight forward to adhere to the advice to "Work ON your Business NOT IN your Business", especially when you ARE the Business!

Yet, over the 25 years I have worked in Business Development and Growth, from Corporate Organisations to pre-start Businesses, I have seen the casualties of NOT adhering to the Advice. I have seen what happens to great Businesses FULL of Potential when the driving force gets caught up in the day to day working IN the Business and loses focus on Where the Business needs to GO and they don't work ON the Business.

So what can Make A Difference for busy people, being all things IN the Business and how can they work ON the Business effectively?

There are 3 keys to solving this issue:

1. DECIDE to take time OUT of your Business! YOU need to make a conscious decision in YOUR Mind that you WILL take some time OUT of the Business EACH week to look at where your Business is AT and where your Business NEEDS to GO. ONLY YOU can make this decision and stick to it, so, the buck starts AND stops with YOU!

2. INVEST in half day events that will give you access to the Knowledge, Information and Connections you require to help you to GROW your Business. Time is precious, so start by committing Half a Day OUT of the Business to give yourself the time to work ON the Business. You WILL have to invest some money in this as you DO NOT get anything credible in life TOTALLY FREE. And watch out for FREE events, usually they turn out to be gatherings where you get SOLD TO, or you get PREACHED AT, neither of which will help your Business and certainly will NOT Build you as a person.

3. DEVELOP a pattern of continuous learning in life! Always be someone who reads articles, listens to successful people and fills your heart and mind with knowledge that you can apply in life and especially in your Business. As we live our lives we leak! Our education, learning and knowledge diminish unless we constantly REFILL ourselves with new learning and fresh knowledge. Linkedin is a great place to read new information, share articles, knowledge, expertise and through the groups to discuss with peers and learn from each other's experience.

If you follow these top three tips from my life experience and 25 years in Business Growth and Development I KNOW that you have the ability and resources within these tips to GROW Yourself AND GROW your Business!

Develop this as a habit and lifestyle and the combination of these three tips in an acronym will tell of your success because they make up DID - a statement of faith perhaps NOW but with application will become a lifestyle of SUCCESS and ACHIEVEMENT!

If we can help you to MAKE A DIFFERENCE, have a look at our website, www.makeadifference.org.uk and see some of the resources we have on offer that will Help You to Build in Life and Business.

Till then, DECIDE, INVEST and DEVELOP and see you soon amongst The BIG Businesses in life who DID!