Let's face it. Time management is one of the challenges faced by all small business owners. If starting a business of your own were easy, everyone would do it. As it is, those who even attempt to start their own businesses are rare, and those who succeed are even rarer.
There are many reasons why people fail, and most of them are addressed throughout this site. This page is devoted to time management.
Most people who start small businesses throw their hats in the ring part-time, while they are still working another job. As you know, there are some serious time management issues related to operating a small business while you are still working for someone else full-time.
Some people jump in with both feet and start full-time. They, too, have time management issues to content with - some of those issues are the same as the part-timer, and some are different.
I am going to focus this set of tips on folks who are starting their businesses part-time. If you are full-time, keep reading, you'll find something for you, too. Here are some solid time management tips:
1. Do something to move forward with your business every day. Yes, I said every day. That means weekends, too. And it means putting in time every day after your day job. While there are many factors that will contribute to your success, the most important one is activity. the more you find time to work your business, the more successful you will be. Simple.
2. Set some goals. I'm not talking about activity goals, but outcome goals. Determine how much in sales you are going to accomplish within the next three months, month, and week. Establish a one year goal, too. If you're in a network marketing business, include goals regarding the number of prospects you will recruit each month. Write your goals down and post them where you can see them every day. Many new business owners make the mistake of setting activity goals, focusing only on the things they are going to do each week. Real goals focus on outcomes.
3. Make an activity plan each week. Decide what you are going to accomplish with your business every week. Break that down into daily bites. Then do it! Hold yourself accountable and share your plan with others so they can help you hold yourself accountable. Time management is about managing your time (That was profound, wasn't it?). The only way to avoid default, non-focused uses of your time is to have a plan. You may not follow it exactly, but you should have one.
4. Make sure that the activities on your activity plan are all linked to one of your goals. Many people spend aimless hours organizing supplies or other things that are not directly linked to their goals. Sure you can do those things, but make sure that the precious time you devote to your small business each day is tightly connected to your goals. If you have extra time, go ahead and alphabetize your supply cabinet. I'll bet you don't have that time.
5. Turn off the television. If you are like most people, you waste more hours than you care to admit "relaxing" in front of the T.V. Try this experiment. Turn it off completely for one week or one month. You will be amazed at how much more time you have. If your spouse objects to this drastic measure, remove yourself to another part of the house to avoid the television distraction. I have worked in the kitchen, the bedroom, and even in the backyard to avoid the television at my house.
If there are some T.V. shows you absolutely can't miss, schedule them in and leave the T.V. off the rest of the time. If you do this, I suggest you hold your goal list in your hand while you are watching those favorite shows. I want you to consciously know what you are putting on hold while you watch American Idol. When I say it that way, the T.V. doesn't sound so important, does it?
6. Get up an hour earlier (or stay up an hour later). The one your choose depends on whether you are a morning person or a night person. Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, believed strongly in what she called the "5 o'clock club." She believed that gettingup at 5:00 a.m . and getting an hour or two of focused work in before the rest of the family got up was the best way to maximize your time and make your whole day mroe productive. While I am not a morning person, I agree with the concept. I work full-time at my business, but I put in an extra hour or two every night after my youngest child has gone to bed. You can carve out an extra hour in the mronign or evening, can't you?
7. Track your activity. Remember that activity plan you created? Every day, track which activities you completed. How many contacts with prospects did you make each day? How many sales calls did you make each day? How many emails did you send each day that were targeted toward sales. Sometimes, when people don't meet their goals, it's easy to see why when they start tracking their activities. The plan may be good, but the execution could be lacking.
8. Take some time for learning and skill-building each day. When you're new, this is especially important. If you joined a network marketing company, study the training materials and participate in the training conference calls. Read something motivational. Educate yourself about sales, marketing, bookkeeping - whatever skills you need to help you reach your goals. This is time well spent.
The bottom line is this: Be aware that you will have to work, and work hard, to be successful with your new business. Thinking about doing it won't work. Doing a little bit today, then nothing for the rest of the week won't do it either. You won't solve all of your time management issues, but you can make progress. Focused, consistent effort is required for success.Â
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