I was recently listening to a podcast when the owner of a pretty happening biz said that she stopped doing her podcast because it took a lot of work. She didn’t feel the urge to continue and no one was pushing her to do so. It got me thinking…
If you are the alpha dog, who do you need to answer to? You don’t have a boss, although you probably have clients or customers. But there is no one truly setting the bar, except for you. Are you letting the bar slip?
Here are a few things that may keep you from being the most productive and profitable business owner you can be:
You’ve lost your sense of urgency or momentum. If your business is in the black, and you have been achieving your goals (yay you!), it’s easy to become complacent. The sense of urgency you once knew is no longer there and may dilute your “get it done” attitude. Not a good thing to lose!
Confusion, or “dithering” as my mother used to say. Spending lots of time doing not much. This is what happens to me when I have too much on my plate. I hop from one project to the other, not getting anywhere but frustrated and tired. This is a complete waste of time and I know it even when I’m in it!
Procrastination. A close cousin to dithering. There are important projects or tasks that have been on your to-do list that keep getting moved to the next day or week, or just (intentionally) forgotten about.
Flagging motivation. There are mornings for all of us when getting out of bed is a debate – Why bother? Are you stuck and unmotivated?
Loneliness at the top. This can be an unexpected problem, especially for entrepreneurs with a big team or those who work from home. Have you started to feel isolated with your work?
Solutions: Build in Accountability and Motivation
Stay accountable to yourself by checking your numbers weekly or at least monthly. I like crunching numbers, so this is fun for me, but it’s not fun for everyone. But getting a reality check, which is what measurement is all about, is a great way to look for ways to improve your business. ( I’ll talk all about this in a later post), but think of it as a chance to improve (hurrah!), rather than a judgemental report card (boo!)
Be accountable to yourself with a tool. I use Asana for my projects, both personal and biz. I use it for my team, of course, so we are all on track. But I use this for personal accountability as well. Whether it’s defining a project like setting up a new membership site (big) or clearing out my garage (small and personal), Asana helps me not only define the tasks under each project but more importantly, set a deadline for each. THAT is what keeps me achieving those goals!
Define each project then break it down into manageable tasks. If you are not making the progress that you hope for, the tasks may be too big and daunting. Break the tasks down into smaller bites and chew them one by one rather than trying to eat the whole meal in one swallow.
Re-examine your daily and weekly planning. It may very well be that you are dithering or stuck and unmotivated because what is on your plate is unexciting. Can you delegate the things that don’t need a CEO’s attention? (Remember the 4 D’s of productivity: Do, Delegate, Delay, or Delete.) Remind yourself of which pieces of your work that excite you the most. Weave those into your job description. Save a little bit of dessert for yourself!
Download The 4 D’s of Productivity for more tips on how to use this powerful tool
Mastermind. I would say the biggest game changer in my entrepreneurial career and the best antidote to loneliness has been participating in Masterminds. If you want accountability, challenges, and fresh ideas on how to grow your business, my Mastermind program is for you!
A Mastermind is designed to utilize the perspective and experience of other entrepreneurs to take your business to the next level.
In my experience, working in a Mastermind format will speed up your business growth exponentially. You will have a group of like-minded women who will challenge you and hold you accountable to achieve your goals. No more hiding!
We will work in small groups of 6-8 so that we can truly help each other. I will carefully select entrepreneurs with an eye towards mixing up the industries and business types, as well as looking for entrepreneurs at different levels of growth to provide the ultimate resources for everyone.
Candidates for this program should have at least 2 years of ongoing revenue generation with their business to be eligible. If you are a new startup, this is not the program for you.
Interested? Sign up here for the waiting list. I’ll send out more information, as we get closer to the launch date.