How to be a Headache-Free Small Business Owner

When you’re getting started with your small business, simply deciding which goal to tackle first, can be overwhelming, and a big job just by itself. It’s the stuff that we’ve all got to figure out along the way and that most of us make some sort of mistake over. But they’re all tips that’ll help you as a small business owner lead your business better so you can avoid unwanted headaches and just push forward to the progress you want.

Headache: Never Caught up

Solution: Schedule Yourself

As the small business owner you’re the one responsible for your company, you’re the one all your employees look to for direction, and you’ve got a lot of decisions to make. (No pressure!)

Leading a small business requires so much work and a never-ending to-do list, it’s easy to get caught up in feeling accomplished by getting that work done and those to-do items checked off that you forget about yourself.

Be intentional and schedule some time for yourself. True time on your calendar, fifteen to thirty minutes, to self-evaluate as a small business owner. You have regular meetings with your employees, right? Think of this as a meeting with yourself. 

Spend that time refocusing on your big goals, and ask yourself if what you’re doing right now is aligned with making goals become a reality.

• If it isn’t, figure out what you can do to change it and move your business in the right direction!

• If it is, but there’s room to improve, figure out what that is and do it. 

• If it is, great, keep doing it!

Headache: Feeling ‘behind’

Solution: Get Enriched

Heart-to-heart right now: it is worth your time to learn! Your business will get better, your team will get better, you will get better. If you don’t know how to do something, you can Google the instructions, and maybe get it right after that.

Or, you can set aside some time and be intentional about learning and enrichment. It may mean you spend a few hundred dollars to learn through an online course or an in person conference. You’d be surprised at how many free resources are at your fingertips too! It may not be in depth but there are great presentations sitting out there on YouTube for you to learn from.

Headache: Multi-Tasking, really?

Solution: Simplify

Who are we kidding here? Are you REALLY multitasking or are you just giving half effort to multiple projects? Productivity skyrockets when you can give intentional focus and effort to one task. You’ll get that one task done quicker and the quality will be better than giving it half effort.

Be honest: Are you REALLY giving your best to the conference call you’re on while checking Instagram notifications?

Are you REALLY learning all the information from a great podcast while also blasting through your email inbox?

It’s too much. Let yourself focus! By doing one thing at a time you may find that you actually get more done and that you’ll make fewer mistakes that you have to go back and undo later.

*Disclaimer* there are some things that it just makes good common sense to multi-task. Go on a walk while listening to a podcast. Watch your favorite show while you’re logging miles on the treadmill. Mix mindless tasks with mindful tasks!

Headache: The need for Marketing 

Solution: Evaluate your Marketing

An “Open for Business” sign on your front door and/or a website that’s finally gone live isn’t enough to get your customers and clients. It would be nice, wouldn’t it? But that’s just not the reality we live in.

The world we live in requires small business people like us to get a little scrappy to get in front of people. You’ve got to get creative, catch their attention, and show them something valuable.

Let’s be honest. No one is just going to become a customer out of the blue. They’ve got to have a reason. You have to be marketing properly.

And so, you’ll need to do a little research to find out what works best for you. Here are some ideas:

Network marketing and referrals?

Online content marketing?

Radio ads?

Renting a table at a community event?

Facebook ads?

Ads in the newspaper?

Whatever it is, you need to start now. Don’t wait until the business is slow. Marketing and building a brand takes time, but the results pay dividends.