Start It Right! Blog

“So You Want to Be Your Own Boss…                

8 Tips to get you going, even if you don’t know where to start…”

image source

Inc.com highlights the top traits of a successful small business owner:

“The Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute report hopes to explain why only 1 in 2 small businesses will survive more than five years…”

“Being self fufilled. Good small business owners put a high price on the fulfilment their companies provide them, relish being their own boss, and enjoy being in control of their personal income…”

 ”Future-focused. Small business owners who thrive are good at both short and long-term planning…”

 ”Curious. Good entrepreneurs are always reading and asking questions…”

 ”Tech-savvy. Perhaps not surprisingly, the best small business owners invest time and money on their company’s website and are likely to “‘rely a great deal on technology to help make our business more effective and efficient.’”

“ Action oriented. Successful founders are proactive and always “‘differentiating ourselves from our competitors…’”

Click here to read further about this article from Inc.com.

E-Myth.com’s article, 5 Ways to Eliminate Time Bandits by Erin Duckhorn, has some useful tips to help you utilize your time more effectively.

5 Time Bandit Busting Tips

1. Prioritize and Stay Focused Evaluate your daily tasks and prioritize. If nothing else gets done today, what are the one or two items that absolutely must be done? The most successful CEOs of Fortune 500 companies only focus on one or two priorities for a given day.
2. Delegate as much as you can. Let go of the idea that nobody can do what you do the way that you do it! With the right systems in place, you can properly delegate the tactical work that keeps you from working on your business. There is critical distinction however, between delegating and abdicating, and you can read more about that here.
3. Set and meet deadlines for yourself and your employees. Set reasonable deadlines for all jobs and stick to them. Hold yourself accountable just as you would an employee. It’s true; work expands to fill the available time so set expectations.
4. Don’t postpone unpleasant tasks. Those “bitter pills” that you put off can come back to haunt you in so many ways. A situation may become more acute with time, not to mention the fact that it will be sitting in the back of your mind (or somebody else’s mind) becoming a distraction. It’s best to take care of important matters that are unpleasant immediately. Resolution is so much better than wasting precious time wondering “what if…”
5. Learn to say “No.” Beware of over commitment! You are the only one who can truly protect your time. Learn the art of saying “no” politely. If this seems daunting, try this: when confronted with an opportunity, don’t commit immediately. Take a moment to listen to your intuition and refer to your schedule; you may find that declining is the reasonable answer. People know you’re busy, it’s okay to set boundaries.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE BY CLICKING HERE.