When too much is enough for any entrepreneur
Having just returned from the slopes of Aspen, skiing down the mountain like I don't have a care in the world, and I have no fear for my life and what injuries a fall may result in, I am back in the grind.
Years ago I learned that working a 60 or 80 hour week as a small business owner was not effective, efficient or in any persons best interest, let alone my own.
I changed my life, started working what I deem to be reasonable hours and made sure that no weekend was filled with any work commitment and was left to me living life the way life should be lived.
That all makes sense, and in theory works a treat, except when your business grows and more opportunities hit your desk than you know what to do with it.
We all want to leverage opportunities, grow our business, and capitalise on what we have achieved, but that takes time, and time means not only money but energy.
The best managers delegate and prioritise - and know exactly when an opportunity that is too good to be true needs to be put to the backburner.
At times, I think I have it sorted, but I am foolish and no matter how much I tell myself that this is the case, I always fall prey to the next best idea. Fortunately, I have an ability to not leap on it without thorough thought processes determining its value to the bigger picture.
But as life would have it, some really amazing things have fallen on my desk and now I am in a conundrum. Some decision have to be made and one of them is about what is my real job and where do I really want to take my life.
When you are sitting in my shoes, you have people coming to you almost daily with "good ideas". I am quite experienced at cooling those ideas down, but all of a sudden there are some things I want to do and that means that I need to change it up a bit, make my priorities a little different but not work any extra hours and keep my head in clear space so I can always be in the position to make good decisions.
Years ago I learned that working a 60 or 80 hour week as a small business owner was not effective, efficient or in any persons best interest, let alone my own.
I changed my life, started working what I deem to be reasonable hours and made sure that no weekend was filled with any work commitment and was left to me living life the way life should be lived.
That all makes sense, and in theory works a treat, except when your business grows and more opportunities hit your desk than you know what to do with it.
We all want to leverage opportunities, grow our business, and capitalise on what we have achieved, but that takes time, and time means not only money but energy.
The best managers delegate and prioritise - and know exactly when an opportunity that is too good to be true needs to be put to the backburner.
At times, I think I have it sorted, but I am foolish and no matter how much I tell myself that this is the case, I always fall prey to the next best idea. Fortunately, I have an ability to not leap on it without thorough thought processes determining its value to the bigger picture.
But as life would have it, some really amazing things have fallen on my desk and now I am in a conundrum. Some decision have to be made and one of them is about what is my real job and where do I really want to take my life.
When you are sitting in my shoes, you have people coming to you almost daily with "good ideas". I am quite experienced at cooling those ideas down, but all of a sudden there are some things I want to do and that means that I need to change it up a bit, make my priorities a little different but not work any extra hours and keep my head in clear space so I can always be in the position to make good decisions.
What I find is a good way to sort out a desk full of good ideas is to:
- Have a phenomenal number 2 that helps you rationalise what is important and what is not
- Delegate like no tomorrow knowing that micro management is for amateurs
- Except that 80 percent is ok
- Work out what gives your business the best value
- See who else in the market is able to make things happen for you on your behalf while not screwing you over in the interim
- Keep a level head, and make sure you still make live balance your number one priority
- And last but not least, remember why you are on this planet and what is the most important thing to get out of this one life.
Challenges are there for us to work through. It is ok to call upon more experienced people to help us navigate and it certainly is ok to let others take over the reigns. Ideally you work on the business and not in the business, like any true entrepreneur - and life gives you the freedom to explore new opportunities.
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