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Local Business  » 5 Tips for Working "In" and "On" Your Business...At the Same

5 Tips for Working "In" and "On" Your Business...At the Same

Article:

Congratulations! You just landed a big new contract. Now for the

bad news. Who will run your company while you're buried under

the onslaught of work? Often a new project will derail a

business owner's efforts to build a successful

business--marketing activities screech to a halt, bookkeeping

tasks pile up, planning is thrown out the window, and your

friends wonder whatever became of you. When the project ends and

you rise slowly to the surface, you often experience a cash flow

crunch because no one was taking care of business while you were

working.

So, how do you avoid the lingering negative effects that can

hold your business back while you get the job done?

1. Planning is everything. With a solid plan in place you stand

a much better chance of things running smoothly. A plan allows

you to anticipate what needs to happen and also to develop

contingency plans for the inevitable times when "stuff happens."

2. Your marketing plan. If you don't already have a marketing

plan in place before you get busy, chances are you will

experience plenty of cash flow ups and downs. A good marketing

plan will map out exactly what you need to do each week to

generate future work. Once a system is in place, it's a matter

of doing the proscribed activities and tasks. You don't need to

think about it, you just need to do it (or get some help doing

it).

3. Building a business vs. working for a living. Often

professionals trade the security of a paycheck for the

insecurity of small business ownership only to find themselves

struggling to earn a living wage. They end up taking any work

they can get and working tons of hours just to pay the bills. In

the meantime, they have no time to build their businesses.

Building a business and working for a living are two very

different goals. Building a business requires regular time spent

on planning how to grow, reputation or brand building, seeking

out additional sources of income, and developing a business that

operates when you're not there or tied up with a project.

4. Sweating the small stuff. Often your day hinges on the little

things--a computer glitch, a cancelled appointment, a car that

won't start, or a childcare emergency. Anticipating and

preparing for life's little emergencies makes a world of

difference in your ability to keep your business on a smooth

track. Sometimes it's as simple as having your clothes ironed

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ahead of time or making sure you have food for lunches in the

house.

5. Managing the boss. The key to success for every business is

having a leader who has the right mix of optimism, realism,

leadership, and expectations. You wouldn't expect your employees

to work non-stop for weeks at a time, so don't do it to

yourself. You wouldn't want to work for someone who had

unrealistic expectations about what you can get done in a day,

so cut yourself a little slack. Be sure to schedule time off and

stick to it. And dust off your sense of humor when it goes

unused for too long.

Being a business owner means always looking beyond the tree in

front of you to the forest beyond. Building a truly successful

business means operating at a big picture level while still

performing the day to day details. No one ever said the

balancing act would be easy but with forethought and discipline

it becomes much more doable.

About the author:

Caroline Jordan, MBA helps business owners build successful

businesses without losing their minds. For more tips and

strategies to build your business visit www.TheJordanResult.com.