Want Your Business to Grow? Complete One Material Action Per Day!

When you are running a small business, it is really easy to get distracted. Firstly, your own CEO job most likely has a lot of different tasks, from chief strategist to chief bottle washer. Secondly, your team makes many demands on your time, mostly to help point them in the right direction on their projects. And, thirdly, it’s just too easy to get sucked into the random inbound contacts that come into your email box or through social media.

All I can say to you entrepreneurs who are “floating in the wind” of poor time management is: unless you are doing at least one material thing each day to move your business forward towards new revenue or profit heights, you are never going to grow your business as quickly as you could. Allow me to explain.

What is a material action?

To me, a material action is something that has meaningful revenue or profit implications from its output. On the revenue side, it could be things like launching a new marketing campaign, or making a new sales call, or ideating a new product line, or expanding into a new target-customer or geographic market, or hiring a new salesperson, or negotiating business merger opportunities, etc. Anything that will drive new revenues.

On the profit side, it could be things like cutting your cost structure, or improving your business efficiency. Or, it could be improving your company morale and productivity, or similar tasks. Anything that will drive higher margins for your business.

What is not a material action?

On the flip side, there are a lot of demands on your time that you think may be important, but just are not a material action, as defined above. This could be things like producing your monthly financial statements, or posting to your social media accounts, or writing a new monthly email newsletter. Or, it could be managing your ad agency, or doing one-on-one meetings with your direct reports, or running payroll checks, or upgrading your systems, or relocating your home office, etc. Yes, these are important tasks that need to get done. But, none are going to propel your business to the next level.

Budget more time for more material action.

I bet if you did a critical assessment of how you are spending each of your working hours, most of you are spending the vast majority of your time, if not all of your time, on “less material” action. To me, if you are not spending at least 20 percent of each day on “material actions” you will not have a reasonable chance to grow your revenues and propel your business to the next level.

So, it is important that you actually carve out “material action” time into your daily schedules. For example, maybe you block out 8-to-10 am each day for you to think and act strategically and materially about your business. Note that I intentionally did not suggest 3-to-5 pm each day, when you are most likely tired and not doing your best thinking.

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A case study: Part one, the good.

We recently acquired a business in February 2018. At the time, they were doing around $2.5 million in annual revenues. Within four months of acquiring the business, our annualized revenue run rate had doubled to over $5 million. How did we do that? We focused on material actions to drive the business forward. We quadrupled our marketing budget and hired a new ad agency; we launched an SEO effort, opened new sales and marketing channels, expanded our sales team, grew our margins, etc. Our focus was on driving revenues as quickly as we could, and our time was firmly focused on making those material actions happen.

Case study: Part two, the bad.

To continue the story above, with the increase in revenues came an increase in time demanded for “less material” projects in months that followed. We learned our customer relationship management (CRM) platform could not handle the extra volume, and we needed to upgrade to a different CRM, a decision that needed to be researched. We learned our product information on the website was out of date and needed to be updated. Our product offering needed to be fine-tuned, to make the business more scalable.

Moreover, our ad agency suggested we make some technology changes, which resulted in some unexpected hiccups and fixing time required. To double our staff, we reviewed hundreds of resumes and held dozens of interviews. Sometimes those hires worked out, and other times they did not, spinning our wheels right back to where we started. Quickly, the time I had to focus on “material” projects, started to get consumed by “less material” projects. And, guess what happened: sales growth started to slow down!

Hand off less material work to others. 

I get it, small businesses are typically undercapitalized and don’t necessarily have the luxury of large teams of staff to help leverage your workload. But, even in small businesses, you need to figure out how to keep yourself moving the business forward with “material” projects.

Where you can, hand off the “less material” work. Let your bookkeeper produce monthly financial statements. Let your head of marketing manage your ad agency. Let your head of technology review various systems needed. Take yourself out of those processed, at least until the busy work is done, and then you can review the final output in each area. Don’t let the “less material” work get in the way of you having the time required to drive the business forward by completing material work.

Executives in small businesses are typically very busy people, wearing many different hats at the same time. The real challenge you will have is making sure that 100 percent of your time is not consumed by “less material” projects. You need the discipline of: (i) knowing what projects have the highest odds of moving your revenue or profit growth to the next level (which is an art of its own); and (ii) making sure that time slotted to work on “material” projects is actually getting used to get it done. Remember the scene in the Pixar movie “Up”, where the dog kept getting distracted by squirrels running by? The “less material” work that you find yourself doing are your “squirrels," distracting you from where your focus needs to be.

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com
Image Credit: Busakorn Pongparnit | Getty Images

ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

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6 Ways to Hold Yourself Accountable and Crush Your Goals This Year

I've been on a networking mission as of late. In an effort to create a free online community for entrepreneurs and business owners, I have been speaking to as many people as possible through in-person meetups, social media and other various online communication.

Entrepreneurs have to motivate and support their team, while holding them accountable, in order to be successful. But, what about when it comes to holding ourselves accountable? This is one topic that came up often -- and one that I discussed in detail with a handful of entrepreneurs. Those discussions led to this list of six ways to hold yourself accountable, which can help you crush your goals.

1. Write everything down

This is one thing that I take to the extreme simply because I am a very visual person. Writing down everything, from to-do lists to short and long-term goals, just works for me. I like to see them constantly, which allows me to focus on each one.

I write my daily to-do lists on multiple sticky notes and place them all over my monitor, and as I complete them, I take them off and toss them in the trash. Those bright colored sticky notes stare me in the face, and my goal is to rid my monitor of them as quickly as possible every day.

Derek Jansen, who founded Grad Coach, writes down both short-term and long-term goals in a journal. He says, "I like to create a plan to reach every goal, which are all part of my big picture plan. Having them in writing and constantly looking at them results in me obsessing over them and working hard to make sure each one is accomplished."

Like Jansen, my goals are written down -- they are on a large whiteboard that hangs above my standing desk. It's literally impossible for me not to constantly look at them -- they stare me in the face while I work.

2. Identify your personal mission statement

I have a very simple mission statement: Live life to the fullest, work relentlessly to create amazing companies and brands and give selflessly.

"Your personal mission statement doesn't have to be a long-winded statement. It simply needs to define you as a person and define what it is that you are working toward each and every day," says Xie Zhuopeng, CEO of IoT Chain.

Zhuopeng's definition of what a mission statement needs to be is spot-on. Using mine as an example, it explains who I am and what I get out of bed every morning for. Recite it in your head every morning or print it out and hang it in your office. When your mission statement fuels your fire, you know that you have found the right passions and path.

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3. Reward your accomplishments and milestones

I used to never take vacations -- I would work nonstop with very little breaks. It was so unhealthy and had a negative impact on my heath and overall happiness. Once I came to terms with the fact that it was not only fine to take vacations, but actually beneficial, I started to use accomplishments and milestones as indications of when I would take off and unplug to recharge.

Frank Grimes, President of The Associates Home Loan of Florida feels that this approach almost forces you to get away for a much-needed recharge. "It's very easy to make an excuse and say that you will take a longer vacation next year, but it's important to step away occasionally to regroup and just relax. Rewarding myself with a vacation to my favorite destination every year helps me reach personal goals, while also feeling like the time off is well-deserved," he says.

I too have a favorite destination, and that's Hawaii. For me, it's the perfect setting -- the beach, the vibe and the activities -- and I always return fully recharged and full of new ideas.

4. Create micro-goals

Micro-goals are responsible for several successful brand launches that I have been a part of. When you identify several smaller goals, and commit to hitting each one, it keeps you accountable in terms of the overall success of the end goal.

When we launched an ecommerce brand in a week, it was a result of a well thought out plan that had several micro-goals we needed to knock out of the park -- manufacturer, branding, website, logistics, financial goals, marketing plan and the launch. Without the smaller goals identified we would never have gone to launch in a week's time.

5. Review your performance

As an entrepreneur, it's important that you are brutally honest with yourself. In the end, it's you that is responsible for your success or failure. I'm constantly reviewing my own performance, and I'm not afraid to tell myself when my performance is not up to par.

If you really want to be held accountable, constantly keep yourself in check. "As a business owner, if you start to slack, and your sales slow and business is down, there isn't anyone to blame but yourself. A business owner that blames others is destined to fail, because he or she would rather point fingers rather than review their own performance," says Ozer Taysun, of Westchase Roofing Services, a business he founded ten years ago.

Taysun is correct -- blaming someone else is an excuse that unsuccessful entrepreneurs makes. If your personal performance is suffering, own up to it and commit to making a change. If you don't review your performance, who will?

6. Seek feedback from your team

I just talked about reviewing your own performance above, and it's very effective -- as long as you are honest with yourself. If you want completely unbiased feedback, ask your team.

You might be thinking, "Employees won't be completely honest with their feedback because they don't want to get fired," but that won't apply to most businesses, provided you have nurtured a strong company culture within their business.

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com
Image Credit: Caiaimage/Tom Merton | Getty Images

ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!

The 7-Step Formula for Goal Setting

Goal orientation is a way of thinking practiced by optimists and all successful people. In future orientation, you first develop a clear, ideal picture of what you want to accomplish sometime in the future. With goal orientation, you crystallize that image into specific, measurable, detailed goals and objectives you’ll need to accomplish to achieve that ideal future vision.

Successful people develop the habits of personal strategic planning. They sit down and make a list of exactly what they want to accomplish in the short, medium, and long term. They then use a powerful, seven-part goal-setting methodology to create blueprints and plans of action that they follow every day.

Once you develop the habit of setting goals and making plans to accomplish them, it will become as natural for you as breathing. By following a proven goal-setting process, you’ll increase the likelihood of achieving your goals by as much as ten times, by 1,000 percent or more. This isn’t just a theory; it has been proved and demonstrated repeatedly by almost every person who practices it.

In February 2003, USA Today reported on a study of people who had set New Year’s resolutions the year before. They found that only 4 percent of the people who had made New Year’s resolutions, but had not put them in writing, had followed through on them. But 46 percent of those people who had written down their New Year’s resolutions carried them out. This is a difference in success rates of more than 1,100 percent!

The seven-step formula

Many formulas and recipes exist for goal setting. As a rule, “any plan is better than no plan at all.” Here is one of the best and most effective goal-setting plans or formulas you will ever learn.

Step one: Decide exactly what you want in a certain area, and write it down clear­ly, in detail. Make the goal measurable and specific.

Step two: Set a deadline for achieving the goal. If it’s a large goal, break it down into smaller parts and set subdeadlines.

Step three: Make a list of everything you’ll have to do to achieve this goal. As you think of new items, add them to your list until it’s complete.

Step four: Organize your list of action steps into a plan. A plan is a list of activities organized on the basis of two elements, priority and sequence.

In organizing by priorities, you determine the most important things you can possibly do on your list to achieve your goal. The 80/20 rule applies: 20 percent of the things you do will account for 80 percent of your results. If you don’t set clear priorities, you’ll “major in minors” and spend much of your time on small and irrelevant tasks that don’t help you achieve your goal.

In organizing by sequence, you determine what must be done before something else can be done. You create a checklist. There are always activities that are dependent upon other activities being completed in advance. What are they, and what is the logical order or sequence of completion?

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Step five: Identify the obstacles or limitations that might hold you back from achieving your goal, both in the situation and within yourself. Ask yourself, “Why have I not achieved this goal already?”

Identify the most important constraint or limitation that’s holding you back, and then focus on removing that limiting factor. It could be a certain amount of money or a key resource. It could be an additional skill or habit you need. It could be additional information you require. It could be the help or assistance of one or more people. Whatever it is, identify it clearly and go to work to eliminate it.

Step six: Once you’ve determined your goal, developed your plan, and identi­fied your major obstacle, immediately take action of some kind toward achieving your goal. Step out in faith. Do the first thing that comes to mind. But do something to start moving toward your most important goal.

Step seven: Do at least one thing every day that moves you toward your most important goal. Make a habit of getting up each morning, planning your day and then doing something, anything, that moves you at least one step closer to what’s most important to you.

The habit of doing something every single day that moves you toward an important goal develops within you the power of momentum. Daily action deepens your belief that the goal is achievable and activates the law of attraction. As a result, you begin moving faster and faster toward your goal, and your goal begins moving faster and faster toward you.

I’ve spoken to people all over the world, for many years, who’ve told me that the habit of acting every day on one or more of their major goals has been life-transforming. They’ve told me that this single habit has been more responsible for their success than any other idea they ever learned. Try it for yourself and see.

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com
Image Credit: julief514 | Getty Images

ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!

16 Actions to Take to Achieve Any Goal

Get clear on your vision, make your plan, take action, reassess and then revise. Never fails.

Goal setting is essential to living a life with purpose and meaning. Goals give our lives direction and focus, and help us stay motivated over the long term.

Nearly everything in life revolves around goals -- they encompass all of our plans for the future, all of our hopes, dreams and visions for what we want in life. And yet we often fail to reach our goals. That’s because we’re all human and can be easily distracted.

So what does it take to achieve a goal and see it become reality? Here are the 16 actions you can start taking today to ensure you achieve all the goals on your bucket list.

1. Consider your overarching goals.

Perhaps the most important question to ask yourself before you take on a new goal is: What do you want your life to look like, and does this goal fit in with that vision?

Goal setting should be part of your life’s journey -- it should be relevant and meaningful to you. Things to consider: How do you want to spend your waking hours? What excites you in life? What areas do you want to spend time learning more about? And what type of people do you want to hang out with?

2. Get it all down on paper.

Writing your goals down forces you to crystalize what exactly you hope to accomplish. This simple act has a way of making your goal stick in your mind and gets your brain working on the details of making it happen. One study found that you are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down.

3. Brainstorm what needs to happen.

You know what you want to accomplish; now you should begin strategizing what needs to happen to reach that vision. You’ll need to do some brainstorming to identify the main steps and tasks you need to accomplish along the way. Are there certain steps you need to prioritize? Are there any time-sensitive tasks that must be achieved in a certain order? Start determining what needs to happen when.

4. Come up with an action plan.

An action plan is the road map you can follow that will get you to your goal. This will help ensure you don’t miss any important steps. Think of this as creating mini-goals, breaking bigger objectives into smaller steps, until you have “bite-sized” chunks. By doing this, your goal will seem less daunting and more attainable. Be specific about what you want to achieve each step of the way.

5. Make it measurable.

Along with your action plan, you need to set benchmarks for yourself in order to ensure that each step you accomplish is steadily building up to your bigger vision. You’ll need to set milestones and make each mini-goal measurable, so you know if you’re getting off track.

This means setting deadlines that are reasonable, but also keep you moving forward. What is your target timeframe for completing the overall goal? Work backward from that and start setting target dates, which may be weeks, months or years from now.

6. Take action!

There is no time like the present. You’ve got to start somewhere, so dig deep, find your courage and go for it. Your goals will never happen if you don’t take action. It may seem scary to take that first leap. Maybe you’re still working on the details or are worried you’re not ready. Jump in, and you’ll start figuring it out as you go.

7. Consider your talents and expertise.

Think about what it’s going to take to accomplish each of the tasks that make up your larger goal. This includes taking a hard look at your strengths and weaknesses. Do you have the skills and expertise necessary to accomplish all the steps?

Are there areas you’ll need to strengthen, or should you consider seeking help with some tasks? What areas are you most passionate about and which steps are your talents and abilities best suited to accomplish?

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8. Delegate less important tasks.

If you have a big, far-reaching goal or dream, you're probably going to need help getting there. It’s important to build a complementary team and surround yourself with supportive people to help you reach your goals.

Do you have helpers or employees you can hand off tasks to? What about hiring a freelancer? Focus as much as you can on the areas where your abilities are the strongest, and find ways to delegate or seek help in those areas you are weakest in.

9. Build a success mindset.

Success in reaching your goals is often determined by mindset. A positive mindset is a “success mindset,” meaning you’re confident in yourself but also able to learn from mistakes.

Developing a positive mindset is paramount to surviving the ups and downs you’ll encounter along the way. It’s easy to get fed up and feel discouraged. A positive mindset helps you find the silver linings in the storm clouds, and enables you to visualize your goal so you can “see” yourself achieving your dreams.

10. Hold yourself accountable.

This is the part where you adult up, defining your responsibilities and making it clear to yourself (and anyone else who is on this venture with you) what your responsibilities are for achieving this dream.

A great way to hold yourself accountable is to share your goals with others -- so if you aren’t making steady progress, you’ll have to fess up. The idea is to take ownership in what you’re doing and keep yourself motivated to continue.

11. Find your inner motivation.

Keep your motivation high by setting goals that are attainable and relevant to you and your life. Making sure your goals are meaningful, realistic and timely will help you stay encouraged and give you an incentive to press forward. The best goals are those that connect with your intrinsic motivation; in other words, they are things you feel internally compelled to pursue.

12. Harness your inner worker bee.

Achieving any goal will require you to hone good habits and follow through on your responsibilities. Success doesn’t happen overnight -- it’s about making it happen, day in and day out. Developing good habits and learning techniques for being productive will help you stick to your plan.

Healthy habits, like getting enough sleep, eating well and taking care of yourself, will give you the energy and stamina you need. Productivity habits, like learning to prioritize tasks, work efficiently and stay focused, will make it much easier to reach your goals.

13. Seek feedback.

Feedback is critical to improving your performance and increasing your ability to achieve your goals. You have one perspective, but those around you may have another. Ask for advice from those you respect and trust.

Seek out constructive criticism and listen to what others are saying -- the good and the bad. Feedback is the cheapest and most powerful way to gauge how other people perceive how you’re doing. It’s an important tool to assess how well you’re meeting the standards you set.

14. Evaluate how the plan is working.

As you begin moving forward with your goals, take time to track how things are going -- is the plan working? Are you able to meet the deadlines and milestones you’ve set for yourself? Periodically reevaluate your goals, look to see where you’re lagging behind and start making adjustments accordingly.

15. Reset your goals if necessary.

Remember that change is part of life, and that means you need to be flexible. You may require an alternative plan if things aren’t adding up the way they should. Don’t become so focused on your goals that you forget what your larger vision is. Is it time to make some sweeping changes and alter your course? If so, better to do it sooner rather than later.

16. Take a moment to reward yourself.

It’s important to celebrate your successes each step of the way. Remember, this is about the journey as much as it is about the end goal. If all you do is fret about the future, you’ll surely hit burnout before you hit success.

Give yourself a pat on the back for all those little wins -- they add up. And when you reach a major milestone, take time to acknowledge it. This reinforces that what you’re doing is exciting and important, and gives you a chance to recognize those who have helped you along the way. Plus, celebrating your accomplishments will help keep you motivated and focused so you can keep going.

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com

Image Credit: Cecilie_Arcurs | Getty Images

ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!

Is Fear Stopping You From Achieving Your Goals? Overcome it by Understanding These 3 Principles

Fear can have a paralyzing effect on our lives. However, by understanding the cause of fear you can overcome blocks to progress and achieve your dreams.

At certain points in life, everyone experiences fear. But as a businessperson, you must learn how to understand and cope with your fear. Better yet, you must use fear to your advantage.

Learning to overcome fear is an essential skill. You must conquer fear to push through hesitations, create companies, develop innovative products and disrupt industries.

And while we all know fear exists, most people haven't taken a deep look at the cause of fear. On one side, there are obvious biological reasons for fear, such as keeping humans alive in the face of danger. But apart from physical, bodily harm, fear can take on many other forms. For instance, psychological fears, like a fear of public speaking, can be just as paralyzing as performing an activity with great physical danger, like say, swimming with sharks.

Obviously, there are different levels of inherent danger in these activities, and yet our brain often reacts to them in the same way.

Take a moment to think about all the different kinds of non-physical fear. Maybe you have a fear of failure. Or, have you ever had a fear of being judged? You might even know someone that has a fear of success?

Fear is a complex emotion, and many of the non-physical threatening states seem closely related to anxiety. And while psychologists have attempted to find the boundaries between fear and anxiety, it remains an ongoing debate.  

But we do know one thing for sure about fear - it impacts your emotions, and this, in turn, impacts your ability to make decisions.   

So, if you are a generally fearful or anxiety-filled person, you are more likely to view life through a pessimistic lens. Fearful people consistently amplify the perception of risk too. In the long run, being fearful will stop you from experiencing life fully.

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To live a great life, and succeed in business, you need to get your fear in check. And by understanding these three principles, you will be able to get a grip on your fear.

1.     Forget the Non-Physical Fears - Any consistent fears that do not protect your physical well-being should be discarded. These are anxiety driven fears that are tied to emotional damage, self-doubt or limiting beliefs. To reach your true potential, you must reduce unnecessary, emotionally-based fears.    

2.     Fear Begets More Fear - The longer your irrational fears remain, the more concrete they become in your psyche. Also, staying fearful will reduce your ability to make optimal choices. To think big and create value the world of business, you're going to need all the optimism you can get. 

3.     Release Lack Thoughts to Release Your Fear - Many emotional and anxiety driven fears are based on your belief in lack. You worry that the startup cost is too high (lack of resources available) or you worry that your too inexperienced (lack of time to develop the necessary skills). While it's good to be realistic about a new venture, you can overcome most problems if you truly want to find a solution.

Fear is a very real part of life. But the men and women who learn to push past fears will always accomplish more than those who succumb to it.

Source: https://www.inc.com

Image Credit: Getty Images

ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!