Working ON your Business - A Delicate Balance

When it comes to working ON your business, there are generally two unhealthy states: tending too much to customers/clients to the detriment of your own organization, OR spending too much playing marketing director when you should be focused on the tasks only you can do. Do you fall into one of these camps?

1. You live in the land of “no shoes for the shoemaker’s children” - many important but non-client related tasks get relegated to the backburner where they simmer in perpetuity. Urgent projects may get handled at the last minute, but regular, pipeline-filling activities fall by the wayside as you work IN the business.

2. You delight in business operations and playing the marketing director, occasionally (or often) at the expense of the thing(s) you are uniquely gifted to do.

(Yes, some of you have it all figured out. You outsource appropriately, you invest the right time and energy into your business, etc. This post is not for you.)

Advice for the “I don’t have time!” friends

We understand what it feels like to struggle to carve out time to work *on* your business. Does this sound familiar? When it comes to client work, you are 100% focused, but when it's time to turn to your own business, you keep finding yourself back in your email inbox. Well, you are not alone!

Our top two tips for ensuring you get your business work done:

1. Get help - pay for a course, hire a consultant or coach, or simply outsource. This is great to hold you accountable and/or get an expert's assistance to really get the job done right.

2. Get out of the office - a change of scenery can do wonders to help shake up your habits and keep you on task. In fact, we took a day this week to work offsite mapping out content and a number of other strategies, and I've pledged to do this on a quarterly basis (with one of those quarters dedicated to a full-blown annual retreat).

In my experience, this deep focus and attention on your business can feel like a spa day - like you're truly pampering yourself with your time, talents, and attention.

Advice for the “but this is fun!” friends

I’m the first person to admit that I’ve spent countless hours in Canva and in stock photo sites, but when it comes down to it, I’m not the best person for a design job, and sometimes it makes far more sense to have an experienced designer quickly (and far more beautifully) handle the project. This frees me up to do the work that requires my special razzle-dazzle and has the highest rate of return.

Here are some questions to ask yourself to determine if you’re the right person for the in-house job:

1. Would someone pay YOU to handle the project for them? For instance, I can mess around in graphic design programs, but when it comes to creating a beautiful corporate identity, no one would (or should) hire me specifically to handle that strategic effort. If you’re spending hours a day working on your business website, but you don’t have a digital marketing agency, it might be time to get some outside help.

2. Is this making you money? You might answer “no, but it’s SAVING me money!” However, if your idea of saving money is not paying someone else, it might be time to rethink. If working on the business is taking you away from the actual efforts that bring in customers, it could be that you’re procrastinating, getting cramped up by fear or perfectionism, or something else.

If you’re struggling to decide how to spend your time or treasure when it comes to working on your business, please schedule a free consultation today. Sometimes it takes an outsider to help you see clearly.