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Andrew is a cocky-educated business organisation possessor and entrepreneur with plenty of complimentary advice (which is worth exactly what y'all pay for it!).

Tough Lessons

I've been on the roller coaster of running my own business for a long fourth dimension now, and I've always had the entrepreneurial bug. However, information technology's simply in the last ten years or and so that I've been able to starting time quantifying what makes a business more or less successful. After a great deal of self-education (I've read nearly fifty business books, met with endless mastermind groups, and fabricated plenty of mistakes over the years!), I've distilled what I've learned into ten key concepts or "commandments" that will hopefully make your life a petty bit easier.

Commandment Overview

Without using the overly kitschy "chiliad shalt" or "thou shalt non," let'south become right to the ten most important guiding business concern concepts:

1. Run your business; don't allow it run you.
2. Automate and delegate properly. This means a lot of initial preparation and gear up, but it pays off.
3. Brand long-term plans (5-twelvemonth plan, one year slice, ane month slice, weekly, and daily planning).
4. Create SMART goals.
5. Offset every day working on daily goals.
6. Get into a routine.
7. Become rid of distractions.
8. Exercise tasks in batches.
9. Pay your business first.
10. Learn.

Commandment 1: Run Your Business; Don't Permit It Run You

This really could be the only commandment, equally everything else tends to autumn in line if you lot are able to follow this one to a tee. Well-nigh folks aren't able to completely actualize this (myself included), and so it's useful to have a look at what'south realistic. The main concept is that y'all don't want to spend so much time on the technical work, even though that might exist the main thing that drew you into running a business in the first place. Instead, your goal should be to spend the lion'south share of your time improving the way things piece of work.

The deviation between spending eight hours doing menial tasks and, say, spending 4 hours on menial tasks and iv hours on improving the concern itself will be like night and day. While there are likely dozens of folks who can do the technical work at your business organization, in that location is only one person who can drive the concern in the right direction, ultimately making sure that everything is happening co-ordinate to a plan that leads you to having a much improve business five years down the road. That person is you lot.

Imagine that you are on a huge late 19th-century transatlantic send. At that place are iii primary jobs that get this ship beyond the Atlantic ocean from London to New York. The starting time is the coal shoveler. Without this technical work, the send simply won't go anywhere. The 2d task is the manager, who makes sure the coal is really existence shoveled properly and consistently. Without this person, the coal shovelers won't necessarily do their jobs correctly (or at all). The third job is the helm.

The captain makes certain the send actually goes to New York (and, equally chiefly, makes sure that the ship avoids obstacles like icebergs). You are the captain of your business. Without you, there is no way to be sure that the business organization will be heading in the correct direction. This entire commodity is really about this: how to brand sure you're heading in the right management, and how to get there.

Commandment 2: Automate and Delegate Properly

You can't do everything yourself if you have a grand vision (more on that below), merely with the proper help, and past leveraging applied science, many more things can be taken out of your easily. The rule here is to automate and consul properly, with emphasis on properly. It isn't enough to simply automate everything and let the system run on its own or to pawn off odd jobs on whoever is available. Instead, you lot need to lay the groundwork in the get-go, and stick to your guns, making sure anybody understands why things demand to happen.

Utilise autoresponders to reply initial emails, but follow up with existent human being interaction as soon every bit y'all take a conversation going, for instance. Fix subscriptions on Amazon Prime for appurtenances you use on a predictable ground. Just don't forget to check whatever automations from time to time!

Revolution BJJ, a martial arts gym I run in Richmond, Virginia

Commandment 3: Make Long-Term Plans

You're in this for the long haul, or else you're in business for all the wrong reasons. Instead of what's going to happen tomorrow or next week, you demand to start thinking about where you'd like to exist in five, ten, or even 20 years. While this isn't so piece of cake to kickoff doing, once you grade a habit, it'southward almost addictive. Starting time with where yous'd like to be in the truly long term (20 years is a pretty adept ceiling).

Some of the concepts can be abstract, but attempt to see yourself where you want to be in 2 decades. Next, effort to figure out where yous need to be in x years. Write all of this down every bit you go. Piece the ten-year goal into where you need to exist in five years, and so take the five-twelvemonth plan and slice it into individual years. You now know what your annual goals are going to be for the next v years, give or accept.

I personally adopt a spreadsheet for long-term goal tracking (more than on setting goals properly below).

Commandment iv: Create SMART Goals

SMART:

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• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time-bound

Love it. Alive it. Focus mainly on the "accessible" aspect.

Commandment five: Start Every Day Working on Goals

For the get-go half-hr of every day, offset past making a list of your daily goals (if it works meliorate for you to exercise this the night before, go for it). Don't start whatever tasks for the residual of the day until you have these daily goals done. The daily goals should be derived from your weekly goals, which you lot should make every Sunday or Monday morning, and, in turn, the weekly goals should be derived from your monthly goals, which are derived from your yearly goals, and so on.

You've already taken the goal-setting process seriously and given information technology enough time; now, it'due south time to focus on execution. Don't answer email or check Facebook before you achieve today's goals, and make certain there are no exceptions to this.

Commandment 6: Get Into a Routine

To that terminate, information technology'southward really important that you get into a routine. I run a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gym, and then my routine looks something like this:

• 10 a.m.: Prepare your daily goals.
• 10:10 a.m.: Accomplish goals for the day.
• 11:00 a.m.: Answer emails (in batches, of class).
• 11:xxx a.m.: Social media (promoting events, interacting, and personal time).
• 12:00–2:00 p.m.: Personal time (walk dogs, play games, goof off, etc., but by and large away from a computer).
• 2:00–4:00 p.thou.: BJJ preparation time (if I'grand not training that 24-hour interval, I will do something agile, like prep meals or run an errand).
• four:00–five:thirty p.grand.: Go far at the gym; collaborate with office admin and front desk-bound receptionist. Answer emails that take accumulated since 12 p.chiliad. or and so (and address whatever social media updates) during this time.
• five:30–nine:00 PM: Teach and train.
• ix–ten PM: Clean up and become home.

This blazon of routine is really of import, whether or not you use a similar pattern construction (I prefer intense, quiet piece of work spaced out between periods of inactivity or relaxing). If yous're in the habit of doing these things, you're going to do them every twenty-four hour period. If you're non, well . . . you're not going to do these things every day.

Commandment seven: Get Rid of Distractions

Although this concept follows naturally from the higher up sequence (the idea is to become everything washed in a given solar day, including—no, especially—your daily goals), it even so takes a lot of conditioning to master. Tim Ferris has said that there really isn't such a thing as multitasking for human beings, and I tend to agree with him, with very few exceptions. Instead, the way to get "super productive" is simply to go rid of everything that distracts yous from your intent.

I notice that I piece of work best in i to two-hour bursts with little to no distractions, although I can get quite a lot washed in 15 minutes of solitude in front of a computer. Patently, I'm not opening a bunch of recreational tabs when I practise this, and I'm not working with the TV on in the background.

I do discover music to be helpful, and fifty-fifty useful in measuring time if I listen to a full anthology and know all the songs on information technology, merely yous'll need to make up one's mind if yous work better in absolute placidity or with music. No matter what, though, get your phone out of the picture (out of sight), and get rid of whatever other opportunities to terminate you from getting your ane hour of diligence in.

Commandment 8: Do Tasks in Batches

Batching tasks was something I got right away from my work in the eating place business. Almost larger restaurants operate with the paramount goal of maximizing efficiency, and this ofttimes means doing the same thing xx or 30 (or 100) times before jumping to a dissimilar chore. For example, if you lot have a dish that includes five different vegetables, all of which need to be peeled and sliced, information technology probably makes a lot more sense to peel and slice all 20 onions that y'all're going to need for the day ahead, and then motility on to peeling all 50 or then carrots, and and then on; as opposed to peeling one-half a carrot and a quarter of an onion that you need for the dish right in front end of you.

Similarly, use the batch concept for answering emails: Don't answer two or three emails, and so caput over to Facebook for a few minutes, then come dorsum to answer one or two more than. Instead, use your newly constitute discipline (removing distractions) and answer all emails at one time. Then, shut your electronic mail tab so you aren't tempted to peek dorsum over there to answer them! This is very difficult for someone who is used to being connected all the time, but the end result is an astonishing heave in productivity. If you need to check e-mail more than once a day, just reopen your tab when you demand to . . . much, much later on.

Commandment ix: Pay Your Business First

I know what you lot're thinking—I've been at that place. Information technology'due south really, really tough to run a business concern without bringing any income home from the business concern. I'm not necessarily advocating nix salary if that isn't something you can afford, but I am definitely suggesting that you calculate whatsoever it is that your business would need to survive for vi months with absolutely no income, and and then make sure your banking company account residue reflects that.

Be sure that you have a separate checking and savings account for your business organization, and be admittedly sure that you lot take the completely separate nature of these accounts seriously. At present, build your capital up until y'all can reliably bring abode a paycheck. I've certainly fabricated the fault of paying myself also much besides presently, and it is not a lesson that I desire you to take to learn the hard manner. Instead, build your business upwardly to where it needs to be earlier taking dwelling house any income from it. Bonus: If you're more diligent about this, or if you have more starting capital than I had (zero), shoot for a twelvemonth'south worth of expenses in checking and a yr's worth of expenses in savings.

Commandment ten: Learn

Never cease being a pupil of the game. I accept personally read well-nigh 50 business books, some of which are genuine game-changers. If you haven't read, start there. If you have a hard time sitting downwardly to read a volume on how to run a business, endeavour audiobooks. What a game changer this has been for me over the years! Whatever time I'g driving, I'yard learning, and I bulldoze quite a lot.

Whatsoever time I'm walking my dog, or washing the dishes, or even cut the grass, I'm learning how to run my business amend. I know this i might be hard for y'all to get into if you lot're not already a huge fan of reading nonfiction, merely simply 1 business book can give you lot a concept that utterly changes the manner you lot market, administrate, or atomic number 82 at your concern, giving you a tremendous edge, and potentially doubling your turn a profit in every bit little equally a year. Seriously, read.

Patience

I'm sure that these ten tips tin seem daunting to implement, but if you lot try to employ one of them at a fourth dimension, I'm confident that y'all'll see results over time. All of these lessons are conclusions I've drawn over the last decade and a half, and several of them toll me quite a bit of money and fourth dimension. They don't take to price you nearly equally much, though, because you can start doing things the correct way, correct now. Let me know if you've been helped past any of these concepts, and if you have your own "tough love" lessons, delight share them with me!

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author's noesis. Content is for advisory or entertainment purposes simply and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional person advice in business organization, financial, legal, or technical matters.

Andrew Smith (author) from Richmond, VA on June 30, 2018:

Thanks, John! All-time of luck. Feel free to achieve out some time if yous accept full general business questions!

Ray from Philippines on June 28, 2018:

This is a prissy commodity, Andrew. I am looking forwards to establishing my own concern in the hereafter and this is very helpful and informative. Thanks, have a great solar day!

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Source: https://toughnickel.com/self-employment/The-Ten-Commandments-of-Running-a-Business

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