Did you read the blog I wrote last week about your clients and how you are looking after them? – you can find it HERE.
This week we are talking about the habits and attitudes that you adopt in your business. I love the phrase new level new devil! What do I mean by this? In order to achieve what you want to achieve in your business, we need to understand who we need to become. As our businesses evolve and grow so do, we. The networks, clients, prices we set and business habits we adopted in the early days of our business do not serve us 5, 10 or 15 years later. We need to constantly up level and growth can sometimes be painful. Change is inevitable, but it’s about how you manage this.
The subject of growth has been the biggest learning for me over the past 5 years of running a business. I have said before that running a business is the perfect platform for self-development as it brings up all your ‘stuff’ … but as the magic happens outside your comfort zone, what makes you uncomfortable?
I have looked below at 7 habits that help take your business to the next level.
Habit 1 = Create networks that lift you higher
Understand the power of networks. Take time to identify and build relationships with important colleagues, mentors, collaborators who are standing in the space that you want to get to. Strong inner network provides support and direction. We become the sum of the energy of the 5 people we spend our time with!
Habit 2 = Become customer centric
It is all about our ideal client. There is direct correlation between business success and an unwavering commitment to our ideal client. By understanding your ideal clients, their problems and pains, their needs and wants and the solution that you solve for them provides us with strong foundations to move forward. Big caveat here – as you evolve so will your avatar!
Habit 3 = Know yourself
The more we can understand ourselves and what makes us tick and why we operate in a certain way is paramount. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses and being open and honest about yourself and your business creates individual growth and in turn business growth. Identify your strengths and work to these. Weaknesses? Get help in these areas and outsource! Building our strengths instead of fixing our weakness is the path to mastery and success. Take the time to know yourself and business.
Habit 4 = Be flexible
Change is inevitable. How do you manage change and adapt to situations that change? Nothing ever goes exactly as planned. Surprises are around every corner. Adaptability allows you to respond to circumstances with the ability to change course and act without complete information. Harnessing the energy of flexibility allows you to respond to changes without fear and uncertainty.
Habit 5 = Where is the opportunity?
Problems are a regular part of business life. Deal with these but don’t focus on these. To move forward and past the day to day, take time out to plan and focus on the opportunities that are ahead.
Habit 6 = Find a Better Way
Productivity matters. Formulate the habit of finding a better way to make your business more productive. The perfect acronym is – SYSTEM = save yourself time energy and money. In time this will create important space to focus on the critical issues that drive sales and profit.
Habit 7 = Balances Lifestyle Management
Our businesses can be totally time consuming. Balance is required in all areas of our life. How are you exercising self-care and filling yourself up first – you cannot pour from an empty cup.
Most successful people have good business habits and they do them daily.
Take your journal and contemplate the below …
What are you going to STOP DOING in your business this year?
What are you going to START DOING in your business this year?
How do you want to feel about your business and its current growth rate?
When do you feel most energised in your business?
What do you need to let go of in your business this year – things, thoughts or people that no longer serve?
What are your business values? We are most likely to achieve our business goals if they are in alignment with our core values.
When do you feel most capable and empowered – what skills are you using? – acknowledge your business strengths and play to these.
Share below on the comments of the blog – any AHA’s, your main take aways from the blog and any questions. Encourage each other too on their journey – as it’s amazing what you do when someone is watching!
See you next week when we will be looking at business balance, looking at how you spend your time versus how you want to spend your time!
To your success.
Jo x