Why this 10% of your business workday is fundamental to your success
If you’re a business owner you already know the drill. You work hard, put a lot of long hours into each day and when you’re starting out most of the time you’re doing everything on your own. But did you know you should be taking 10% of your time on the future?
Maybe you have a few employees but you still do the heavy lifting when it comes to ensuring everything gets done and done properly. It can be hard to delegate when your fledgling business is so connected and personal to you. Perhaps you’re already a success and your business is flying. Revenue is streaming in and in some cases, it even came easily.
Wherever your business sits on this spectrum from start-up to successfully ticking over as an SME, you’re still busy. And there never seems to be enough hours in the day. Who has extra time to daydream and think about the future when you have enough on your plate just getting through the week?
Taking 10% of Your Time: THIS percentage matters
The truth is, there is an amount of time that you need to be taking seriously to plan for your business’s future. Even if you don’t feel like it and things feel out of control, or like they are failing. The second truth is, there is a percentage of your time that you can break down however you like whether it’s 10 minutes a day. Or you do an hour-long session once a week. If you know anything about American politics, you’ll know that Bernie Sanders likes to talk a lot about “The 1%” on the ultra-high net worth, far end of the economic scale.
Whether it’s 1% or 10%
And if you know anything about Tricres, you’ll know we extol the virtues of taking 10% of your time to really think about and plan for the future growth of your business. It just isn’t possible to aimlessly drive your business forward without having some strategy in place so that HOW you grow is sustainable, and profitable.
Taking the time to really assess if your revenue streams are profitable and should move forward is important. There isn’t much point in doubling down on revenue by pushing for higher volume that doesn’t yield much net profit. Likewise, those with great and profitable streams can’t just tread water until they need help and panic hire or make rash decisions.
Make the Time: Take 10% of Your Time
You need to plan out exactly when you’re going to think about your growth strategies, future-proofing, and scalability. Whatever parameters you want to call it, you will take the time to make some of the most valuable decisions. Whatever you do, decide how much time in any one chunk works for you, and stick to it.
Our CEO Rebecca does a lot of her 10% walking the dog. You might find 15 minutes a day is enough and do it first thing in the morning before all hell breaks loose on your plans. The point is that it’s a vital time that should never be ignored or considered an afterthought. It’s a fundamental part of being a successful SME to know where you see yourself. Where you want the business to be in 10 years, 5 years, 1 year and so on.
If your business grows rapidly, it helps to know how you want to steer that ship so you don’t end up beached like a pilot whale that’s lost it’s way.
Growth, not chaos
Growth is exciting, but it can also be chaotic. You can get ahead by seeing exactly what it is you want your business to achieve and how to get there. •What steps are you taking in readiness for your next big thing, big move, big deal? •Is your supply chain ready, logistics, distribution? •Have you acquired enough talent and is that talent the right talent for your vision? •Do they align with your values? •And speaking of values, do you even know what your purpose, vision, and values are with absolute clarity?
Final Thoughts
Make a pact with yourself to set your 10% aside, however you want to do it. It’s business time well spent on every level regardless of where you are in your SME journey, and it’s never too late to start. Click here for more guidance to great growth on our Fuel My Business app!
