Being an entrepreneur is quite exciting but sometimes it is just very intimidating. There are so many things to consider and often as the founder or solopreneur, you realize that most of that rests on your shoulders. Where do you even begin? What steps do you need to first focus on? Where do you invest your time and money? What do you outsource and when? and countless others.
While all of these are extremely valuable questions, there are some that are more important than others and we want to break down some of these key elements that every entrepreneur should focus on, based on the conversations we have been having as part of Season 02 of CulturallyOurs.
#1 A brand focused on serving rather than only selling
A business or a brand is so much more than just a logo, a cute name, website or even design aesthetics. None of that really matter if you are not focused on the end user. Who is all this for? and how can you serve them in a way that they consider you an authority in on the subject. The whole client experience needs to be centered around serving instead of selling.
Here at CulturallyOurs, our main goal is to provide a platform for our customers, our listeners and our readers, to connect with people all around the world using various forms of media like audio (podcast) and visual (blog) so that they can really get to know one another. The more inclusive and diverse the content, the more our customers, i.e. you, will trust us to provide informative content free of bias, prejudice or political agenda.
This has been our goal from the start and is something we keep going back to with each podcast episode and each blogpost.
Similarly ask yourself what opportunities do you have to serve your customers and potential customers? How can you go the extra mile? How are you creating an experience that eliminates the price question because your clients know with confidence that you are the only person they will choose?
#2 A strong accountability and support system
No man or woman is really an island. Behind every individual there are many people and sometimes groups of people who help, cheer and motivate them to keep going. And this is not just in business. We all need that support system to get though life and this crazy ride of entrepreneurship. Sometimes it is a family member who drops off food, sometimes it is your neighbor who picks up your kids from school when you are running late, sometimes it is that phone-a-friend who you call at 2.00am because you cannot sleep with all the ideas brining in your head. No matter who or what the situation, make sure you have a good reliable support system to help you get though your life and your business.
Do you have a small project someone could take off your plate for a small cost? Can you sign up to get a mentor so someone who has been in your shoes can help with more business related tasks and ideas? Or maybe support simply looks like connecting with other like minded businesses.
Whatever you need, make sure you are open to asking and accepting help. Saying yes to doing everything in your business often means consequently saying no to something that is actually more important to you.
#3 A set of established processes and systems
Ask any entrepreneur and they will tell you that even 48 hours in a single day is not enough. But the key to being productive is not in doing more and more. In fact it is in working smarter and not necessarily longer.
One of the best ways to work smarter is to create automation in your business to not just free up your time but to create a consistent, repeatable process so you don’t feel like you’re constantly creating the same thing over and over again. Create resources that can help with FAQs, templates that can be reused for same or similar situations or even automate frequent touchpoint so there is consistency in your business.
#4 A focus on self improvement for yourself and your staff
As business owners, our business is often, our passion and we almost effortlessly invest all of our time in perfecting our craft. We love what we do and cannot think of doing anything else. This can be a very strong motivator for us to just keep going, doing, creating and being 1000% committed in our work. But the reality is that often we wear too many hats, stretch ourselves too thin and feel overwhelmed and deflated when even one thing does not work like it is supposed to. There are things we can do to do things better and more efficiently. Sometimes that means investing in ourselves to improve our skills, and sometimes it in developing our staff so that they can be the best they can be. Innovation is constant in today’s world – there is always a better more effective way of doing things and the more we focus on process improvement, the better it will be in the long run.
Whether this means reading a book, listening to a podcast, enrolling in a class or attending a workshop, make it a priority for yourself and the business to continuously improve.
#5 A positive attitude to keep moving forward
All said and done, this is one of the best things you can do for your business. When the going gets tough, and you know it will, keep moving forward. Done is always better than perfect. You will have an opportunity to make it better down the line once you take that initial first step. Don’t let perfection stop you from moving forward. Don’t fall victim to analysis paralysis or let fear take over. At the end of the day, businesses that take action, make mistakes and pick themselves up again are the ones that move forward and go places.
Let’s face it. Entrepreneurship is a hard road to travel but by focusing on things that really matter and letting go of other things, we can become effective and efficient and open ourselves to more exciting opportunities in our business.
Work smarter not harder! That is the key! I’m striving to put systems in place that work for me and don’t “work me”! Great tips! Thanks!!!
Thats perfect Stacy! – definitely work smarter not harder. And processes and systems are such a life saver.