Are You in Busy-ness or Business?

Have you ever worked with someone who constantly complains about how much work he or she has to do, and spends so much time on this activity that it’s no wonder why?

In the corporate world, this is the person who travels from cubicle to cubicle, dropping a trail of laments behind her. Or the one who can be counted upon to organize the next staff party, knows exactly who to call in the maintenance department, and whose Monday morning catch-ups last all day.

There’s nothing wrong with being helpful and sociable, whether in the 8-to-late environment or working for yourself, but there’s a world of difference between busy-ness and business.

Many business owners are stuck financially because they never learn this essential difference. So they’re continually busy, but their business doesn’t grow in spite of it.

When you’re in your own business it’s deceptively easy to be in busy-ness and not realize it. After all, there are so many moving parts that come with operating your own business, that you can be consumed daily with all of the little tasks that quickly add up.

When you’re busy, you’re most likely spending most of your time fulfilling client work and going from task to task on your to do list. One day tends to slide into the next, as you carry over items and find yourself fully occupied with correspondence, checking your email, dealing with phone calls and jumping in on the latest Twitter or Facebook stream.

Occasionally, you’ll vow to get serious about the “shoulds” on your list, like, planning ahead, working on your new website, and attending that upcoming networking meeting you’ve been too busy to attend for months.

This sporadic approach just isn’t going to get you where you want if you have goals of growing your business, getting more clients, taking regular vacations and making more money.

Successful business owners have mastered the art of getting the right things done, as well as knowing what those right things are. They’ve also put in place the kinds of structure necessary for their business. This allows them to focus on what is really important, as well as taking care of the day-to-day running of their business.

Many corporate fugitives, especially fresh out of the cubicle ones, shun structure as they see it as a flashback to their employee life. But the right structure is what will take you from busy-ness to business. Here are some examples of structure that make a big difference:

• Systems or procedures to handle the repeatable, predictable aspects of business in a consistent fashion (customer inquiries, sales, invoicing, are obvious examples)
• Delegation of work that can be done faster, better, cheaper by someone else, or that holds you back from the work that only you can do
• Automation of administrative functions like email and appointment setting – with the tools available today, you can save a ton of time by being more efficient
• Time set aside each week to work on business growing activities
• Clear areas of focus, week by week, month by month, year by year
• Specific and measureable goals

When you combine the use of systems and delegation, with a solid strategy for your business, you no longer wonder where the time goes, because you know exactly what you need to do and when. You spend a portion of your time working on client projects, and the rest of your time of activities that move your business forward, like developing new products or services, marketing, meeting with potential partners and new clients. Best of all, you aren’t left wondering where your time went, or what you need to do today!

If you’d like to learn more about building your business in a way that will get you these results, book a complimentary strategy session with Sherri today.