5 Habits to Help You Grow Your Business
It seems that everywhere you look, there’s another article listing habits you can adopt to help boost your productivity and to help you live a calmer and more organized life. Developing certain habits doesn’t only help you improve as a person. Some habits can also help you grow your business. If you are looking to take the next step with your company but aren’t sure what to do first, try adopting one or more of the habits below.
Set Small Daily Goals
What’s the big goal for your company? Do you want to expand to a new location or grow your customer base by X percent? While having a massive end goal in mind can help give you direction when growing your company, getting in the habit of setting small goals can help guide you as you work towards that end goal. Setting small daily (or almost daily) habits for business growth means that you are giving yourself a way to track your business’ progress and a way of seeing how far you have come and how far you have yet to go.
Setting smaller goals can also help you feel better when the going seems to get rough and when it seems like the big goal is very far away.
Clear Away Clutter (Physical and Virtual)
Is your desk covered in paper and other odds and ends? Do you have hundreds of unread messages in your inbox? Clutter, whether it’s the physical sort or the virtual, can distract you from your goals and keep you from scaling your company. One way to get in the habit of clearing away clutter is to devote a few minutes at the end of each day to going through anything that’s accumulated during it. Discard or recycle paper you don’t need, delete emails and other messages you don’t have to respond to, and spend some time replying to messages that do need a response. You’ll walk out of your office at the end of the day with a clean desk and an inbox that’s free of unread messages.
Tackle the Big Tasks First
If you’re like many business owners, it’s likely that you have a few big projects or tasks to work on each day and countless little things that need your attention. While it can feel more productive to work on the little things and to check lots of items off of your to-do list, getting in the habit of focusing on the biggest projects first is more likely to move you closer to your goal and more likely to help you grow your business in the long run.
In fact, having the habit of giving more attention to the little projects might be what’s keeping your company from moving forward. If possible, give your time and energy to the big tasks and delegate the smaller projects to someone else.
Seek Out “No’s”
While it might seem strange to deliberately seek out rejection, the more you put yourself and your company out there, the easier it will be for it to grow. Get in the habit of chasing opportunities, even if they seem like they are a long shot. The more you try to put your company out there, the more likely it is that eventually, something will come along that gives you the chance to grow.
It’s worth keeping in mind that even if you do cast a wide net when pursuing certain opportunities, it’s worth it be somewhat selective. You don’t want to get in the habit of submitting half-baked pitches to clients or proposals that are error-ridden and inaccurate. Put your best effort into every application you make, even if you don’t think you have a shot.
Find a Time Habit That Works for You
You don’t have to wake up super early in the morning to have success as a business owner. What matters is that you find a way to manage your time wisely, so that you don’t end up spending hours browsing the web or avoiding work. You can try to divide your time into blocks, scheduling specific tasks for specific hours and days. You can also try waking up an hour earlier and devoting your first hour of the day to getting specific tasks done.
No matter what habits you take on to help you grow your business, the team at New Direction Capital is here to help you. We’ll work with you to help you put together a map for growth. To learn more, contact us today.
Photo by Samson Creative. on Unsplash
