Sometimes running your own business can make you feel like you\u2019re out of control. I mean, you LOVE your business, right? The flexibility with work hours. The freedom to pick and choose your clients. The lack of office politics (urgh).<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s also the other side of running a business.<\/p>\n
The feeling like you\u2019re getting nowhere with business growth. The feeling that you never have time to promote your business the way you want to. The feeling that you\u2019re always at the mercy of client deadlines and monthly revenue goals, and that your business is running you, not the other way around.<\/p>\n
When those feelings come, it can be easy to want to hide under covers. Or to consider going back to the \u2018safety\u2019 of regular employment by looking at what jobs are out there.<\/p>\n
But you don\u2019t need a job. You just need to put a little time back into your business. Because your relationship with your business is a lot like your relationship with people \u2013 it takes work, love and attention to make it flourish.<\/p>\n
In this post, I\u2019ll show you why working on your business matters and how starting to work ON your business today will make you feel like you\u2019re back in control. It\u2019s time to make your relationship with your business productive, happy and profitable again.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When you work ON your business, you give it the time and effort it needs to shine. And when your business is shining, you\u2019ll shine too.<\/p>\n
But working on your business isn\u2019t a \u2018once-and-done\u2019 kind of thing. It\u2019s something you need to do regularly and consistently. While nobody said being your own boss would be easy, when you invest the time and effort to work ON your business, things will get progressively easier.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll reduce the feeling of overwhelm\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
When you make the time to work on your business, you\u2019ll feel more on top of things. You\u2019ll be more in control of your daily business life and see the benefit of the effort you\u2019ve put in. You\u2019ll know what you need to do each week and reduce the overwhelm you\u2019ve been feeling about all the things you want to do \u2013 because you\u2019ll actually be doing them!<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll make progress step-by-step<\/b><\/p>\n
By planning\u00a0and<\/i>\u00a0doing the work when you schedule it, you\u2019ll start ticking off wins and building momentum towards achieving your bigger-picture goals. Every week, you\u2019ll be doing a little bit to keep you moving forward \u2013 and believe me when I say it will feel so good!<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll be able to manage when things don\u2019t go to plan<\/b><\/p>\n
We all know how easy it is for life to get in the way of business. But if you dedicate time each week to work on your business, you won\u2019t have to worry if you need to take a little time to deal with life. You\u2019ll have a built-in buffer, so you\u2019re already ahead of the game (and your business will be able to manage without you while you take the time you need to sort things out).<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll improve your visibility and credibility<\/b><\/p>\n
By working on your business, you\u2019ll build credibility and visibility simply by showing up. When your systems are in tip-top shape, and your marketing and networking are rolling along, your brand will flourish, and people will notice your commitment consistency and your confidence will build. (Unfortunately, they\u2019ll also notice when you\u2019re all over the place and disorganised\u2026 but not in a good way.)<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll build a pipeline of regular work<\/b><\/p>\n
When you\u2019re kicking goals with your business management, the incredible outcome will be a more secure pipeline of work. By showing up consistently and targeting the right services to the right people, your business will keep working for you \u2013 even when you\u2019re sleeping. And you\u2019ll soon find people knocking on your business door because you will have built that \u2018know, like and trust factor\u2019 \u2013 which is worth its weight in gold!<\/p>\n
Know you\u2019ve seen why it\u2019s important to work on your business, it\u2019s time to make a start. But you don\u2019t need to wait until you have all your ducks lined up in a neat little row (you never will!). You can start working ON your business TODAY. Just follow my four-step plan, and you\u2019ll be back to loving your business again in no time.<\/p>\n
The best thing you can do today is to go to your calendar and book a regular time slot to work ON your business. Even if it\u2019s just one hour a week, block that time out now and use it to work towards achieving goals that will improve your business and make you shine brighter.<\/p>\n
And once you\u2019ve blocked out that time \u2013 respect it. Set boundaries to protect that time and don\u2019t give it away for clients, family or other outside distractions. That time is yours every week to work on YOUR business \u2013 not to work on someone else\u2019s. (And if you absolutely have to give it away because of something completely unmissable \u2013 reschedule it immediately for that same week.)<\/p>\n
Tip:\u00a0<\/b>Find the quietest time of your week to work ON your business. This might be the beginning of the week, or the end of the week. Whenever it is, choose a time you know you\u2019ll be able to keep for your business.<\/p>\nStep 2 \u2013 Focus on your marketing driver as your priority<\/b><\/h3>\n
If you don\u2019t already have a marketing driver, pick one and invest effort into building it. Your marketing driver is your main content marketing focus \u2013 it could be a blog, a podcast, a YouTube channel or another content channel where you get to share your expertise and value. Keep an ongoing list of ideas so that you\u2019ve already got it planned when it\u2019s time to work on your next post, episode or video.<\/p>\n
As you build your content library with your marketing driver, share your advice far and wide via social media, newsletters, by being a guest on other podcasts or other promotional opportunities. By sharing your expertise, you\u2019ll grow your audience and show them how serious you are about your business. And with an expanding portfolio of valuable content, your audience will get to know more about you and how your services can help them.<\/p>\n
Once your marketing driver is strong, it\u2019s time to review the rest of your small business foundations.<\/p>\n
I like to call your business foundations your \u2018marketing sandwich\u2019. Where your marketing driver is your bread and butter (or avocado if you prefer) and your business foundations are the fillings that bring it all together in an irresistible way.<\/p>\n
And when your business foundations come together in that delicious sandwich, the process of running your business will feel (and be) much, much easier.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re not sure what your business foundations are, read my\u00a0comprehensive blog on small business foundations<\/a>\u00a0to help you decide what to focus on next.<\/p>\n When it comes to working on your business, there is always (ALWAYS) something to do! Which can make it hard to know where to start. My advice for the \u2018don\u2019t-know-where-to-starts\u2019 is to break your goals down quarter by quarter and take it one step at a time. Don\u2019t try to do everything at once \u2013 you can\u2019t (and you\u2019d be setting yourself up for failure).<\/p>\n Instead, set yourself up for success by planning to achieve ONE thing each quarter and mapping each step into bite-sized (achievable) chunks. That way, you\u2019ll know where to focus when working ON your business and enjoy ticking off each milestone achievement.<\/p>\n If you need help moving forward with your quarter-by-quarter action plan, look at my\u00a0Quarterly Business Planning<\/a>\u00a0service \u2013 I made it to help people like you achieve your business goals, one step at a time.<\/p>\n I hope this post has made you ready to start loving your business again by giving it the care and attention it needs to thrive.<\/p>\n Let me know if you have any questions or comments. And please share this with anyone else you know who needs to take back control of their business again.If you want to know more about how an OBM can help you achieve your business planning goals,\u00a0book a FREE discovery call with me<\/a>. I\u2019d love to help you take charge of your business again.<\/p>\n Steph Gobraiel | Online Business Manager —<\/p>\n This article was written by a Bx Member, and published by Bx.<\/p>\n It is just one of the ways in which we support our members to achieve success in their business.<\/p>\n Want to unlock the power of referral marketing & get hundreds of quality leads flowing into your business? xPlore\u00a0<\/span>Bx <\/span><\/a>today.<\/span><\/p>\n Simply book into any of our\u00a0<\/span>Online Events<\/span><\/a>\u00a0as a complimentary guest or find one of your local\u00a0<\/span>Face-to-Face Meetings<\/span><\/a> and network over breakfast, lunch or dinner.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How working ON your business will put you back in control Sometimes running your own business can make you feel like you\u2019re out of control. I mean, you LOVE your business, right? The flexibility with work hours. The freedom to pick and choose your clients. The lack of office politics (urgh). But there\u2019s also the\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":31,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nStep 4 \u2013 Break it down quarter by quarter<\/b><\/h3>\n
Ready to get working ON your business? Make a start today<\/b><\/h2>\n
\nVirtual Associate Services
\nwww.