As an entrepreneur, you probably measure your level of success on a day to day basis. And you want that to grow every day as often as it can.
But the question is: Are you enabling that growth? Are you more successful today than yesterday? What about tomorrow? A week from now? A year from now?
You want your success to keep growing, so you and your business are never just moving along in cruise control. And no matter what type of situation you come across, your time and attention is still spend on improving and growing.
After all, this type of motivation and self-propel mindset are two qualities that almost every entrepreneur has.
Instead of trying to completely overthrow your current routine, there are a few simple steps you can take to help yourself become more successful.
Do you want to become a better entrepreneur? From boosting your productivity to connecting with customers, here are 6 ways you can make sure your success continues to grow.
Rise and shine:
A lot of seriously successful business owners will tell you they’re up before the sun rises. Sometimes before 6 AM, sometimes before 7 AM. And there’s a reason why they all have this in common.
Waking up and getting in the office before anyone helps you stay motivated and focused on the tasks at hand. You can get projects and tasks out of the way before you’re thrown into the sea of daily emails, phone calls and other distractions.
Plus, there is a ton of research and studies that show people who wake up early tend to be happier and healthier. So it’s not just good for your mind – it’s good for your physical health, too!
You don’t have to make this switch overnight. Instead of a dramatic overhaul of your sleep schedule, try this: Set your alarm one minute earlier every day. So if tomorrow is your first day waking up earlier, and you usually wake up at 8 AM, wake up at 7:59 AM. The second day, wake up at 7:58. Keep going until you’ve reached the time you’re working toward.
To make this transition easier, go to bed 1-5 minutes earlier every night. You’ll get the same amount of sleep and be rising with the sun before you know it!
Get moving:
We all like to maintain a healthy lifestyle – or at least as healthy as we can with our busy schedules. But it can be easy to forget that you’re a human, not just an entrepreneur/robot. You need to focus on your well being too. And if you want to absorb more information during the day, you’ll keep reading about why this is important for you and your business.
A few studies have shown that people who get exercise every day are able to weed out irrelevant information that comes their way. This isn’t all – the participants were also able to concentrate better on what was in front of them. Needless to say, this can do wonders for the entrepreneur, since you tend to get every little thing thrown your way during the day. After all, it would be pretty helpful to be able to quickly race through tasks and see what needs your attention now and what can wait until later.
Take a look at your schedule and see when you can squeeze in a jog. If you have a big meeting coming up or lunch with a big client, try to go for a jog. You’ll show up on your A-game and be ready to think. Or give your morning a boost (and yourself an easier wake up!) by taking a job before work. You’ll be impressed with the surprising results it has on your day.
Be thankful:
Here’s a concept that a lot of entrepreneurs don’t take advantage of: gratefulness and thankfulness. Your customers are part of the reason why your business is succeeding. And, like you probably tell your staff members, every customer counts, including previous customers.
Reach out to customers you haven’t done business with in a while. Whether you want to send a thank-you note for their business in the past or a gift to let them know you’re thinking of them, either way, you’re doing something great – You’re opening up the lines of communication and getting the customer thinking.
You’re giving their memory a jolt by sending them a token of your appreciation. It’s like saying Hey! Don’t forget all the great things we were able to accomplish for you. Come back when you’re ready to get some business taken care of.
And now, when that customer needs business again, he or she will remember your act of kindness and bring more business your way. It could even help make a short-term professional relationship into a long-term one. And long-term customers are some of the best to have.
Plus, a personalized thank you note from you and your business means so much more than an email. It shows you were really thinking about the person and wanted to bring a certain level of tailored thanks to it.
Get organized:
Organization is the key to many things – and one of those things is ongoing success. An organized workspace and office equals an organized mind. And an organized mind ensures your overall success.
When your workspace is cluttered and full to the brim with papers and files and who knows what else, it sends a message to your brain. That message says one word: CHAOS. Even if you don’t feel like you’re under stress and pressure, your brain is registering the mess around you under that category. So inadvertently, you’re stressing yourself out. And when you’re stressed, everything gets a little messy, from your decisions to your productivity.
So what do you do if your workspace is currently a sloppy mess? You might not have the flexibility to take the time to organize it all in one sitting. Instead, spend the first or the last 20 minutes of your day organizing. And as you go on throughout the day, don’t contribute to the mess!
Find your thing:
Imagine that being an entrepreneurship is much like playing dominos. As you place a domino down, each one gets bigger and bigger. Instead of sitting down and looking at all of the dominos, focus on the one directly in front of you. Dedicate all of your focus to that one specific domino. Once you’ve climbed over it, move to the next.
You might be asking yourself what dominos have to do with being successful. Well, let’s take a look at your to-do list for the day. Do you have a million little tasks on it? Do you feel like absolutely everything on your list needs to get done?
Every little tiny task is not going to propel you forward. In fact, you can easily get caught up in the tiny little things of life and hold yourself back. Instead of wasting time on all of these little tasks, focus on the one thing that’s going to keep you moving forward. Odds are, this is bigger than everything on your to-do list.
Get engaged:
No, we aren’t talking about ringing some wedding bells. We’re taking about getting involved in the wonderful world of the Internet.
Reading a book can do awesome things for your creative juices. It can spark some new ideas or give you an entirely new perspective on something. But that’s about all it can do – if you have any questions, odds are you can’t really get them answered.
… Until you turn to the Internet. Various communities and forums are available online and these seemingly simple answers can provide you with some great assistance.
When you get involved with the online community, you can get some answers from your peers. So if you’re struggling with something with your business, and are looking for some real-life answers, you’ve got the place to go. It’ll be a relief to get some professional advice some people who know what it’s like to be in your shoes!
Added bonus: You get to do some networking! Who knows the different types of people (and business owners!) you’ll get to meet every day. You never know who you might meet – and who could help mold you into a more successful person.
Of course, this will never happen if you don’t go ahead and start reaching out to the community.
We know, we know – you’re super busy and might not have the time to do this. But just like you’re making time to clean your workspace and get organized, make time to do this as well.
We get that it might not be easy to make these steps every day. But these improvements are necessary in order for you and your business to continue growing and being successful. While it’s difficult to make time for these seemingly small advancements, it’s imperative to do so. Any little small action or step you can take will lead you in the right direction and help you achieve all types of success.
