You are the proud owner of your small business. So you wake up early and you're the first to go to work.
But as soon as you walk through the doors, there is a fire in all parts of your business …
Your marketing systems broke down, there were upset customers who phoned all night, taxes were due today, the inventory was undercharged … and what's more, your two best employees called to say that they would not come to work.)
So you had to take your hose and put out the fires.
The time has passed. It is now 23 hours. You go back home. And tomorrow, you must do the same thing. It seems like a difficult battle.
I know what it's like because I've been there. (Answering customer calls at 11 pm? Yes, doing that.) And even today, a few days ago, I continue to go through the mode of "firefighting & # 39; ;.
But that does not have to be that way. You can stop being a firefighter, and start becoming a successful small business owner, the chef you always wanted to be … right now. Yes, you can actually find the time to think in your business and make the best decisions to develop it. I guarantee you that it is possible. As long as you understand this key difference …
Good leaders react. Great leaders act.
Here is the genius of understanding this difference:
To act is a choice. React … is not it.
How does this translate to what you do as a business leader? When you work in the company, you react to all the problems that people have thrown at you. When you work on the company, you are the one who decides where to spend your time and what are your priorities.
The mentalities of small business owners to adopt
To stop being in a reactive mode and start taking full control of your business, here are the four main states of mind you should adopt:
1. Stop chasing bright objects and focus on what you're great at
With the Internet, there are now more possibilities than ever before. That's when you could make a dangerous mistake. You pursue a hot fashion after another instead of focusing on what you are good at. I call it the brilliant object syndrome. This destroys all the momentum you have accumulated for your business, since you will have to start from scratch. To stay focused in business, here is a story I always remember. Ten or fifteen years ago, I met an entrepreneur and I told him, "I like to put my eggs on a lot of baskets." He immediately called me, "Tommy, slow down -you. Put all your eggs in one basket and this basket will give you more eggs than you have ever seen. "So, you should ask yourself, what is the best thing that no one can replace you with?"
2. Empty poisonous apples, hire and retain only the best people
You need people to fill your positions. You hire like crazy. But then you realize that some of your hires are poisonous apples! For me, I learned it the hard way. It is almost always best to hire slowly and quickly. Regardless of the quality of an employee, if it is toxic to your crop, show them the door immediately to protect your business. And, never hire the best people you can find in your industry. It takes time to hire this way. But, once you hire the A + players that also fit your culture, your business will grow more than ever with the average employees around. That's how we grew up in 9 states and counting.
3. Stop working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, take a break and do the hard work
The more things you can do (read: react), the more money you have in the door, is not it? Well, you can work only 24 hours a day at most … if you really push yourself that way. But that only means one thing: burnout! I really have tons of things to do on my desk every day, and I work hard. But I assure myself that I get at least a little time each day to relax and have time for myself. Without that, I would not be able to function well as a leader. On top of that, I choose the most important things to work on (with the help of my assistant Breanna – she's amazing), so I'm not just doing "busy work".
4. Empty complacency and think long-term
Now, I'm going to contradict myself a little. Yes, you should continue to do what you do well. But the thing with the disruption is, it could kill your entire market overnight. I'm not saying that you should react by jumping. The key is to think long term. Take a step back. Look where things are going for the company in which you are. Then start planting the seeds, in other words, try small experiments with different customer segments, markets, etc. In this way, you get the right data to know if you should invest more in another place or not. When you focus on the future of the market, you will get a business for today.
Are you ready to become a successful small business owner?
Look, I'm not perfect either. As I mentioned, I spend days or weeks "playing ball", that is, reacting to the millions of problems that arise on my lap. But when I practice these key mentalities, I lead my team on the right track to grow our business. This will be the case for you too. To summarize, here is how they all work together.
When you can be world class in what you do, customers will come to you. When your business has a world-class reputation, you can afford to hire superstars and pay them above the market rate. With the best people on your team, you'll have the time to think strategically. And this will lead to the smartest long-term strategy you can do for your business.
Just remember: you have a choice in your small business. And your choice should always be excellence long term. Start acting and stop reacting.
Photo of butterfly through Shutterstock