Author: Peter van Kets
When you first started your business, odds are you spent time setting goals and scheduling the components of your business plan so you can be ready to grow. But the bigger your business gets, the deeper into the weeds you go and the harder it is to prioritize these tasks. They seem “less important” […]
When you first started your business, odds are you spent time setting goals and scheduling the components of your business plan so you can be ready to grow. But the bigger your business gets, the deeper into the weeds you go and the harder it is to prioritize these tasks.
They seem “less important” than getting all the things on your to-do list done. It’s such a common problem that there’s even a label for this: sacrificing what is important for what feels urgent.
But things like goal setting and time management – are ongoing components of a healthy business, not a one-and-done, and if you don’t create systems to keep these activities at the forefront of your mind, you’ll lose sight of them. You’ll find yourself doing more work, experiencing fewer positive results, and wondering why you feel stuck. I call it “reaction mode.”
Here’s another “task” I see drop off for entrepreneurs as their schedules get busier and their bandwidth gets tighter: messaging. How you talk about what your business does for a living is something people often spend time on at the beginning of their journey because they know they need to have something to tell people, but then they let those words become a default habit and don’t take the time to iterate and upgrade as their business changes and they learn new things about their clients.
This all matters because entrepreneurs often think that business basics are only important for beginners. What they don’t realize is that the bigger and more complex your business, the more important it is to dedicate time to keeping the foundation of your business strong and healthy.
This can be hard to do. Not only because you have more items on your to-do list and less time to do them. But also because you’re conditioned to believe that once you’ve covered a topic, you can leave it in the past and move on.
It’s crucial that you fight against this urge and build in time to go back to the basics.
Business basics to remember:
1. Clarity – You have to be incredibly specific about what you want. You need to know (and remember) exactly who you are, what problem you solve, and who you do it for.
Tip: Regularly go through the language you use for your goals, messaging, processes – basically everything – and remove any vague wording. You will be surprised at how once felt clear to you suddenly sounds muddy if you make this a regular practice.
2. Goal setting – What are your goals and how do you want to achieve them? It’s important that goal setting remains a consistent element of your business because as your business grows, you get pulled into the weeds of smaller everyday tasks. When this happens, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture.
Tip: Keep a journal with a yearly, monthly and quarterly plan. Then, calendar time for yourself to review and forecast new goals every month to keep you moving forward in a predetermined direction.
3. Mindset – Mindset work is ongoing work. That’s because your brain fights hard to keep you in a safe and comfortable place. But taking risks and being vulnerable is how you make the most amount of growth. So if you aren’t intentional about assessing your mindset, you’ll slip back into your old ways.
Tip: It can be hard to identify and change your limiting beliefs alone so be Ready to Grow.
4. Habit formation – When you first started out as an entrepreneur, it’s likely that you were hyper-aware of the new ways you had to think and act. As the newness of being an entrepreneur wears off, it’s easy to think that you don’t need to be intentional about new habit formation. Don’t fall into this trap! Your brain will always be inclined to stay safe and unchanged.
Tip: Build systems into your routine for actions and mindsets that are new and be Ready to Grow. So much of being an entrepreneur is working against your brain. Systems and routines help with this.
Business basics are for everyone.
It doesn’t matter if you’re running a 7-figure operation or organizing an event for 10 people – business basics with Ready to Grow are what allow you to make steady and sustainable progress toward your goals.
Erin Marcus is an author, speaker and communications specialist helping organizations to “Conquer the Conversation,” and creating improvement in sales, customer service and team dynamics.
Contact Us at WeSpeak Global and follow us on Twitter
Video
The articles, video and images embedded on these pages are from various speakers and talent.
These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.
In life, we get so much input. It is hard to keep up. One piece of advice that I got was to Focus on your skills and on my strengths. We are not meant to be great at everything, but we all have talent. At times we try to improve skills we don’t have a […]
When I first began studying nutrition in 2009 there was pretty much no mention of make your gut healthy. I TOOK THE DEEP DIVE INTO NUTRITION TO TRY AND HELP MY OWN HEALTH AND IN PARTICULAR MY MENTAL HEALTH. Since then a lot has changed and most of us now know that to maintain good […]
I realised everything you do is marketing after I recently stayed at a five-star hotel and found a major marketing problem lurking in the wardrobe in my room. Upon check-in I was welcomed enthusiastically, and my membership status recognised with a room upgrade. I was even presented with a welcome gift to thank me […]
Is it that, “They dont want to work!” – or – they dont want to work for YOU? Here’s a problematic question for entrepreneurs and managers: is it that people dont want to work nowadays? Or is it that they dont want to work for YOU? Twenty years ago, I wrote that you must provide […]
I’ve recorded a short video about the value of taking time ‘in’ to help with solve problems, creating, sorting & strategising. I like to call it ‘time-in’ because these insights don’t come from our busy external world, nor from our noisy internal chatter. They come from a place within us that very few of us […]
As businesses around the world adjust to the realities of Your Guide to Remote Selling in an Online World, sales and marketing, however, still need to bring in the leads, nurture the client’s relationships and close the deals. The workplace will never look the same again, and as businesses establish Remote Selling working practices, we […]
Few months ago, I was supposed to go somewhere with someone and realized What Drives You. We’d agreed to meet at a particular spot but I was trying to renegotiate our meeting place so I can avoid having to take multiple local taxies. And so this person exclaim in total shock…and said, “Nicky, you mean […]
While The Future of Optimization has permeated our culture at large, it is Gen Z that has grown up in era when technology has enabled them to optimize everything from their sleep and their workouts to their study habits and even their intellect. Last year, I interviewed executives who work in the vitamin division of […]
No results available
Our Mission
© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME