When becoming an entrepreneur, you quickly realize the perks. You make your own schedule, your passion becomes your work, and there are no barriers to your income.
But, with time, you will also realize that the perks can be downfalls.
Being your own boss will expose all of your weaknesses, and if you don't take fast action to fix them, they can bury your business alive. Lucky for you, you can catch all these bad habits and terminate them before they terminate your business.
Here are six changes to make to your daily life that will directly translate to business success.
1. Know when to shut down for the day- As an entrepreneur, you could work 24 hours per day if you really wanted to; there will always be something to do. But don't make the mistake of working until you drop. It may sound "noble" to be the stereotypical businessman that never sleeps, but in reality it's idiotic. Lack of sleep will blur your decision making ability, kill your enthusiasm, and lead to burn out. Don't get me wrong, there will be times when 12-14 hour work days are unavoidable; but make them occasional and get your eight hours of sleep.
2. Delegate what you're not good at plus all remedial tasks- Your time is better spent working on the things that are going to grow your business. This includes any creative work, marketing, relationship building, and product creating. If there is anything that you need done and you don't have the knowledge to complete it, don't waste countless hours trying to learn; hire or find someone that already has the skills to get it done fast. Also, get someone else to do all remedial tasks, like running the front desk or providing basic customer service. Like I said, your time is better spent elsewhere.
3. Simplify your life and your business- Bruce Lee put it best when he said, "Simplify. It's not the daily increase, but the daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential." There is an unmatched beauty when you can do so much with so little; in art, in business, and in life. So constantly be hacking away at the non-essential. Get rid of anything in your life that distracts you, is a negative influence, or simply takes up too much space. You will find that it feels as if a weight has been lifted from your shoulders; you will have more mental energy to put towards the things that matter. Remember to put this to use in your business as well; instead of looking where you can add more products or services, look for more ways you can expand an existing product or service.
4. Make helping others a larger priority- The fastest and best way I know to become successful is to help people solve a burning problem. But don't limit yourself to only helping people in your business. I recommend going out of your way to help as many people as you can in your daily life. Get used to constantly thinking of ways you can be of assistance to strangers, family and friends. You want to beat the concept of putting others in front of yourself in to your subconscious, so you will be in the proper mindset to help your customers and clients better than anyone.
5. Go out of your way to talk to strangers- A while back, I was deathly afraid of speaking to others. I was one of the shyest people on this planet. But I had dreams of running a thriving business, and I knew that building relationships and communicating effectively with others was key. So I put myself on a mission; everyday, I would bring my dog to the dog park and I would start a conversation with a complete stranger, and I had to keep the chat going for at least 10 minutes. For someone as shy as me, this seemed damn near impossible. But every single day, I brought the dog down to that dog park, walked up to the first person I saw that I'd never talked to before, and introduced myself. My heart felt as though it was going to explode, but I did it anyway. And now, no one can get me to shut up. Do whatever you can to become more comfortable approaching people. Remember, the person that wins in business, is the person that's the best communicator.
6. Read more books- I really shouldn't have to include this one, but I feel as though I have to. Everyone I know seems to avoid a book like some viral disease has leached to its pages. Unfortunately, I was one of those people a few years back. I now read at least one book a week, and from personal experience, I can tell you that it's changed the way I live my life and conduct my business. Whether its non-fiction or fiction, reading has stimulated me with a new outlook on life and new ideas for my business; when before, I would lack insight and my ideas would be stale and stagnant. So read to make your products better, read to better be able to help people, and read to improve your quality of life.
Do you have any lifestyle hacks that make you a better business person?
To read more business tips from Jeremy Sandow, visit jeremysandow.com