How can someone be consistent in small business is by far one of the top questions asked during coaching sessions. Honestly, I think all kinds of people struggle with being consistent in something new. Everyone doesn’t start out as Warren Buffett or Sara Blakely. It takes a plethora of work, determination and sacrifice to become consistent in your business life.
Create A Schedule
You need to create a system that works for you. It might not be logical to others, but it will work amazingly for you. When a baby is born, it’s suggested to put the newborn on a schedule so they can get accustomed to a routine way of life – you need to do the same for your business. Wake up at the same time every day, and make certain days associated with certain aspects of business. On Monday’s I do a majority of my money management and staff meetings. On Tuesday’s and Thursday’s, I do my coaching and consulting. Alexa von Tobel says she sticks to the same lunch every day. By creating repetitive schedules such as these, you are creating structure.
Develop A Plan
Too many people just launch into business with no game plan to follow. This is how a lack of consistency starts, thus failing to plan your for your business. As pointed out in step one you need to make a schedule for your business in general, you also need a game plan to go with it. I tell clients to use the Business Grow Planner to write out all the aspects of their business. Create a plan for money, legal, products, social media and more. Now you have plans to go back to when you lack focus or direction. Pick up your planner and determine what you will need to do X on that list so you can achieve an overall goal. In addition, you can have a day solely focused on planning for the week and the rest spent on implementation.
Aware of Your Time
To many people are not cognitive of their time and how much of it they waste. Everyone always says “oh I have until tomorrow or next week,” or whatever random time they have created. Tomorrow is not a day of the week. If you just keep putting it off, it won’t work. Do it now. Don’t let procrastination take over your life, practice the art of now with your business.
Stop Multitasking Everything
Right now, you are probably reading this, while also tweeting, texting and talking to someone on the phone. You are not in the now-being aware of an actual focus. Focus on one task at a time. There are days I am super creative and just write for hours upon hours. I don’t try to engage other areas of my life because they will halt my creativity. For example, you may want to focus on growing your social media presence, work on this task on certain days of the week. Processing your orders could be made a focus for another day. Create plans and structures to implement your game plan. You can respond to customers, print labels, wrap them up and schedule USPS to pick them up on specifically scheduled days. Don’t try to do marketing, accounting and shipping all at once. By doubling on so many widespread tasks, you will lose focus and determination to finish a project.
Pick Your Battles
Everyday we are over ran with a variety of things that bombard our lives and get us off track. It’s been said to pick your battles wisely, some are just mere distractions from the war. If you know X person or situation is more of a hassle than a help, it is going to hurt you in the long run. You are trying to achieve something, but something else is trying to get you off the road to success. To be consistent for your small business, you can not let everything bother you or take your attention away from the main goal. Daily, I see people become petty on social media over someone else’s success. They pick a battle that has nothing to do with them, meanwhile, they could be focused on building their business.
Don’t get discouraged that you are struggling at the beginning of your journey. Take the strides you need to each day to get where you want in business. Know when you create consistency in your business life, it will help others take you more seriously. They will see your business as a business, not just a hobby or side hustle. By creating structure, you will also have a different perception of your business.
How do you stay consistent in your business? Is it something you are aware of working towards?
