Best Business Advise I Have Ever Given!
Your need to be really, really, really clear on what you want and it has to be stated simply. This isn’t written for those of you who already have your life sorted with a vision board or written goals that you look at it every single day. Congratulations, you are in a very small group that will be less than 2 percent of the population. The rest of you, this is really important so pay attention.
There are only a few ways that this process doesn’t work and the biggest one by far is if you don’t actually start, and the second is if you don’t continue working on your plan every day. Try to write one or two key sentences that outline what you want, that cover your business/income, family, self-development, interests and wellbeing.
For example: ‘I want to earn $1 million over the next six years so I can pay off my mortgage. My not-negotiables are to see my kids play sport at least fortnightly, a date with my partner every week, time to think, eat healthy food and walk at least three times a week.’
The key elements are: be very clear what you want, why you want it and, where possible, identify what the not-negotiables are so you can protect what is important. The other critical thing in this process is to know when it needs to happen by. These important pieces of information allow you to measure your progress and thereby build belief as you move closer to achieving your goals. Equally valuable, when you are not getting the results quickly enough, they allow you to adjust your activity and get back on track.
This is so simple, yet at the same time it can be so difficult to stay committed and stay on track, so be realistic and adjust your approach if and when you need to. Remember, to take a little longer is far better than to give up part way through.
I have talked before about how to improve your results by a factor of two by using an accountability buddy to help keep you doing your best and staying on track. So tell a friend or partner and ask them to check in regularly to challenge you, to support you by checking on progress and encouraging you to stay focused.
My business partner, Les Probert, continually hammers home the importance of knowing your business process and adjusting and tweaking the balance of that every week or so.
Being able to keep things simple and real is a great skill and in high demand, especially as most people’s lives are too busy and make it even harder to stay on track. It is you that allows your life to be over busy and it is also you that needs to simplify it. Consider investing some of your precious time reflecting over a weekend, turn off all outside distractions (phones, iPads etc) for a couple of days and get really clear on what you want.
Do these things well and your business will flourish and you will have a happy and wonderful life. Be prepared to do the work first, then reinvest the profits to support the perpetuation of this process in the early years and you will build a strong and exciting business.
MARK COLLINS is a specialist food service and hospitality Business advisor.
markcollinsnzltd.co.nz