Why working ON your business is too important to miss!

It’s no secret that business owners wear many hats - customer service, marketer, bookkeeper, salesperson, random stuff that just needs to get done doer! It’s up to you to do it all, especially in the first few years of business when most people aren’t ready to bring on team members or outsource. Out of all the multi-tasking we have to do, I’ve found the hardest is finding time to work ON the business while keeping up with working IN the business. 

How do you balance looking after customers and clients while also looking after your business?

Of course the day-to-day things like answering emails, delivering client work or products, the admin-y bits and anything else that needs to be done now for your business to keep functioning will take priority.

Working ON the business, including reviewing what you’re doing, brainstorming new ideas and planning next steps, is pretty important too. When I don’t make it a priority, it makes itself a priority because my business drifts off track…

What happens when you're only working IN your business

Have you ever felt like you are just firefighting in your business? I definitely have. Each day I felt like I was just about keeping on top of things. (Why do the most urgent emails always arrive when you’ve just finished clearing your inbox?) I was going through the motions in my business. This wasn’t good for a couple of reasons. 

Treading water

While I had ideas for how I wanted to grow my business, I didn’t do anything about them. I was just about getting through my to-do list for keeping the business going. Forget about new marketing strategies or product launches. So it felt like I was just treading water and not actually progressing. 

Out of control

As I wasn’t doing much in terms of planning, strategy or goal setting, things sort of just happened. I wasn’t in control of how my business developed. I’d fall into things so they weren’t always what I wanted or what was best for me. I learned the hard way that doing stuff to do stuff is a shortcut to overwhelm.

What happens when you regularly work ON your business

When I make time to work ON my business, I have so much more clarity on what I’m doing with my business. I can notice when things aren’t quite where I want them to be and make adjustments sooner rather than later. I know what I want and what I need to do to make it happen. I’m on it! It makes running my business a lot easier for a couple of reasons and it's much more enjoyable!

Moving in the right direction

I know where I’m going. I know where I want to take the business and what I need to do to get there. I can make sure I’m doing the right things day to day and I feel more motivated, like there’s momentum behind me. If things aren’t working, I can ditch them and try something different. I can finally bring to life those ideas I’ve been sitting on. I do what I need to do for my business to grow.

Know what YOU want

At the beginning of business, we just take whatever work we can get as we figure out what we’re doing. The more we do it, the more we realise what we actually want to do with our businesses. Although sometimes we don’t realise it until we step back and reflect. It’s easy to get lost in the busyness of doing. When I work ON the business, I notice these things and importantly do something about them to make sure my business is mine!

How to make the most of working ON your business

We don’t have all the time in the world to work ON our businesses so let’s make the most of it. When we put aside a couple of hours here and there (or a day a month can work really well), what are we actually supposed to do? Here’s my 3 step process for working ON the business. 

Review

Before looking forwards, look backwards. There’s a lot of useful information there! Review what you’ve been doing in your business since the last time you checked in.

• What’s been working well?
• What’s not been going to plan?
• How are you progressing with your goals?
• What ideas have you had?

Get it all out so you know where you stand.

Brainstorm

What’s next? Considering all that useful info you've got down about where you are in the business, where do you want to go next?

How are you going to make it happen?

It can be really helpful to brainstorm with other business owners. Everyone brings their ideas or problems to the group and you talk through them together. We all have different perspectives and sometimes we’re too close to our own businesses to see our next move. 

Plan

Soon working IN the business will take over again so plan how you’re going to follow through on your ideas.

What steps do you need to take?

Break it down into small tasks because those are easier to tackle, especially when dealing with everything else on your plate. Schedule appointments in your calendar to block off time to take action in the next month.

Sometimes just trying to keep on top of everything makes me feel like the queen of chaos in my own business. Now I know that’s a big sign that I need to work ON the business. Taking the time to review, reflect and plan makes me feel on top of things again. Instead of doing anything and everything, I know I’m doing what I need to grow. 

Whilst I was driving down south, I suddenly had a thought - If I’ve struggled with working ON the business, surely there are other business owners in the same boat. Why don’t we do something about it together? We’ll all commit to spending one day a month - just one day - working ON our businesses. 

Sound good? Check out the On It Club. We meet online on the last Friday of the month and I guide us through reviewing, brainstorming and planning. We also meet for early morning coworking to be productive before anyone else is awake and we have a community where we connect between meetings. For all the details and to join click here.