This is number two on my top ten ways to increase your business profits, sales, and cash flow. But I find it is almost always the hardest thing for any business owner to accomplish. Even when a business owner is highly motivated to increase sales and profits, they never seem to get around to it. Why?
The reason I hear most is that they are so busy running their business that they never seem to get around to it. I also run into this. I start off the day with great plans for getting things done, but by the end of the day, nothing has been accomplished due to client and employee interruptions.
But that is the easy answer. The truth is we all like doing things we do well. And many of us are very good at making the product and satisfying the customer. So that’s where we spend all our time.
That is why I almost always tell a business owner that they are 100 percent responsible for keeping their business from growing! Please don’t think I am telling you not to produce a quality product. What I’m saying is that this may not be the best use of your time. If you had the money, you could hire someone to do the technical work that is required to turn out the end product for the customer.
As Dan Kennedy (bestselling author of NO B.S. Wealth Attraction in the New Economy) has said countless times, every business is in the business of getting and keeping as many profitable customers as possible! That is where the majority of a business owner’s time should be concentrated. That means I am not really in the CPA business—I am in the business of getting more profitable customers for my CPA business. The same applies to any business. Once you start looking at your business that way, you will quickly change how you allocate your time.
What I am getting to is the following: The business owner’s time is the most valuable resource in the business! You can buy everything except more hours in the day.
So if you are not spending 80 percent of your time growing your business—Why not?
Homework:
- Track your time for at least two weeks.
- Review every item on the list and ask the following question: How can I get someone else to do this?
- Develop a system for tracking the items you delegate or outsource. Consider using SmartSheet, which we reviewed in the August issue of Innovative Small Business.
- Use the time you have freed up to create a marketing plan for increasing sales and profits.