When most of us hear or say the word “multitasking” we think we are talking about a way to be more productive.  The truth is that “multitasking” makes us less productive and leads to burnout.  In fact, if you are seeking to grow your small business, you must be focused. 

Whether you are starting up your own business or running your own business multitasking is the opposite of focus.  It is about having several focal points at once.  The truth is that we cannot do several things at once.  In fact, studies have shown the human mind is only capable of doing one thing at a time.  We don’t multitask.  We switchtask.  And, every time we switch back and forth from one task to another there is a switching cost. 

Switching costs come as we have to momentarily review where we were at before we can start again.  And, the more complicated the task the higher the switching cost.  In fact it is estimated that the average worker loses 2.1 hours per day or over 8 hours per week in lost time by switch tasking. 

Even computers, where the term multitasking came from, do not multitask.  A processor, CPU, performs many tasks in sequence and can switch from one program to another very quickly that may make it appear to be multitasking.  The only way a computer can multitask if there is more than one processor.  This is sometimes called multiprocessing. 

Take a look at your business and your day.  To grow small business and to have a successful performance strategy you must focus your time.  If you don’t you will have too much going on and burnout.  Successful small business is about focus.  And when you lose focus you end up doing many things and few of them well. 

As a result your business and you will stagnate and fail.  If you want to learn more about multitasking I highly recommend the book by Dave Crenshaw, “The Myth of Multitasking”.  It is a short, quick and entertaining book that will give you some immediate insights on how to better utilize your time and move your small business forward. 

Owning your own business is a great challenge.  Start focusing and stop multitasking and the challenge will become more manageable and you will be more likely to succeed and much less likely to burnout and have the business fail.

One of the greatest challenges in starting your own business is to select the right business for you.  You may think that this is the easiest part.  What I have found from years of experience and hundreds of clients is that if you select the wrong business the rest really doesn’t matter. 

I have three free products to help you in this process.  That’s right.  They are free!  There are no strings attached.  I have a free audio mini course–The 10 Deadly Mistakes Entrepreneurs And Solo Professionals Make And How To Avoid Them.  There is second free course focusing on successful character in self-employment–Winning Character Traits.  And the third free course deals with a critical aspect to self-employment success–Winning Personal Development. 

Owning your own business is more than just a statement.  It is owning the investment, the systems and the emotions to make that business successful.  All three are critical to your success.  What I see most of the time is people getting into a business because they have had experience in that type of business. 

They usually bring one of two skills to the business.  They either know how to deliver or make the product or service.  Or, they know how to manage the business.  Very seldom, do they truly know how to do both.  They may think they know how to do both but the reality is that, more often than not, this is not the case.

Small business growth and to have your small business successful is about both delivering the product or service while doing a great job of managing.  It does not matter how good your marketing business plan is if you can’t give exceptional customer service in the quality and delivery of your product. 

Is selecting a business because you have experience in it wrong?  The general answer is no.  That is a good place to begin the selection process.  The key is to select a business that emphasizes your strengths.  And, if you are getting into something that does not make sense financially and whose systems have you doing things you don’t enjoy then the odds are that you will experience the negative emotion of unhappiness. 

And, unhappiness will lead to burnout.  Obviously, there are many things to consider when looking for a successful performance strategy in starting your own business.  Whether it is a bad economy or a good one, the key to your long term success, more often than not, is in the happiness that you feel. 

If you aren’t happy in your business it is like putting yourself in jail every day.  You only have so much time on this earth.  You might as well make it count by investing your money time and energy where you will be happy.  Check out my three free offerings.  They are free now but that will probably change.  Here’s wishing for you to have the freedom and abundance you desire.

With the numerous businesses and business owners I have worked with over the years there is one thing all of the successful ones have done.  They have embraced change.  To have your small business successful, you must embrace change or you will be run over by it. 

If you are serious about yourself and the success of your small business then you must be an active participant in change.  Look at the businesses that once were thriving but are no longer around.  With this in mind, I have put together several products that are designed to support you in creating your own successful performance strategy.

A good marketing business plan that recognizes change and embraces it can make an entrepreneur successful.  Do you want to be that entrepreneur?  Are you willing to learn the steps to success? 

All progress starts with those 5 inches between your ears.  What the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve.  How are you feeding your mind?

If you change your thinking you will change your habits.  Change your habits and you will change your activity.  Change your activity and you will change your results.  Change your results and you will change your life. 

If you are COMMITTED to change and taking yourself and your business forward, take a look at the following:

1.  Progress Set Free E-Book–The Lost Keys To Small Business Success–This will get you started on the process of change. 

2.  Progress Set Free Home Study Course–The Keys And Steps To Small Business Success:  A    Definitive Guide To A Better Business And A Better You.  This course goes in depth and is for those who are truly serious about their success.  This course can help you create pathways to upgrade your business and your life.

3.  Progress Set Free–Free Audio Mini Course–Imprisoned By Progress and The Treadmill Philosophy–The 10 Deadly Mistakes Entrepreneurs and Solo Professionals Make And How To Avoid Them.  This audio series provides short audio clips with stories that discuss common challenges the business owner faces in starting up a small business or running a small business.

Whether you are running your business in a bad economy or a good one, change is the key to success.  Make a number of small changes and it will lead to the bigger changes you desire.

In the last post we looked at the “people plan” and how a lack of it can be an “elephant under the carpet” that could cause a successful business to fail.  Making your small business successful has several components.  Not only must you have a people plan but you must have “good processes”.

You may be saying at this point, this doesn’t sound very interesting.  I have watched small businesses grow, be successful and fail because the processes for doing business or how to approach business for continued growth were never addressed. 

 Lack of good processes is the second “elephant under the carpet.”How come they were never addressed?

You will hear phrases such as, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.  That’s the way it’s always been done around here.”  There is one constant and that is change.  You either must embrace it, or it will run over you. 

A good example is a business that starts out using contract labor.  It needs help periodically with certain jobs or tasks.  Independent contractors are a great way to do this.  The business grows and now it is demanding most, if not all of the working time of an independent contractor.  In fact, it is dictating hours and other things. 

Much as you may not want to, it is time to switch these people to employees.  Yes, it is more costly.  But, I can assure you, the cost is much higher if you don’t switch.  Yes, there are industries where independent contractors are standard practice.  But, there are many where they are not and I have watched many businesses operate under the illusion that somehow they will fly under the radar.

To have your small business successful, it is important that you get into the right process for doing things.  Pay your people as they should be paid.  You may save money in the present by treating them as contractors but you can easily lose your business in the end when the IR S comes knocking on your door. 

All it takes is one disgruntled independent contractor to start the process that could do you in.  In owning your own business and running your own business having good processes is critical to your success. 

Think about this.  You have good people.  You put them in a bad process or one that makes the business extremely vulnerable and what do you get?  You get bad or disastrous results.  To have a successful performance strategy address those “elephants under the carpet” that have to do with your processes. 

Do that and do it regularly and you will have a greater likelihood of having a more secure and prosperous business.

In the previous post we looked at the first challenge of what type of business to start in a bad economy.  The first challenge was to determine if you have a market with some depth for your product or service. 

Challenge #2 is about how vulnerable the market, you wish to pursue, is to economic cycles.  Most products and services can and will be affected by economic cycles.  The key is how large are the fluctuations will be. 

Of course, that is hard to know.  But, I would suggest that you research some history of how your market fared during previous economic downturns.  If your product or service falls more into the category of a “want” rather than a “need” then the probability of failure is increased. 

But, that is not always the case.  Let’s look at the leisure or recreational industry.  You may say, and correctly so, that leisure or recreational activities fall in the “want” area.  Yet, people still are going to do something to enjoy themselves.  Very often they will possibly go to more movies instead of concerts because of the expense.  Or, travel may be limited to seeing things in their immediate area as opposed to a large or expensive trip.

The goal is to find a market that will still be needed during a downturn.  Basic services such as cleaning, caretaking of others and bookkeeping are examples of services that should see a reduced negative impact during a downturn.

When starting up your own business, especially in a bad economy, you will move ahead much more quickly if the down cycles are shallow.   A successful performance strategy demands this.  And, to have more consistent small business growth it is critical that you know as much as you can about your market. 

Growing small business is not just about having a great marketing plan.  It is about having a product or service that is needed or will be in demand even when economic times aren’t good.

For most of us who are self-employed one of the most crucial measuring sticks for success is sales.  A good marketing business plan is a must to support consistent sales and small business growth. 

And, if you don’t address some of the other topics in the previous posts then you are more likely to have a more difficult time with sales.  A successful performance strategy in marketing is about finding prospects who are interested and keeping the pipeline full. 

In sales you must have a sound conversion strategy.  Obviously, when there are no conversions there are no sales. 

Successful sales and marketing is built first and foremost around identifying a pain or need of your market. 

After you have identified the pain or need then you want to show your market how you can be the solution.

Next, you want to show them the benefit of you as the solution. 

Then you want to add features. 

Let’s say, for example, that you are selling a particular type of car.  Benefits to this car may be safety, good acceleration and good gas mileage.  Features may be reinforced steel frame, a responsive engine type and low body weight to increase gas mileage. 

I think you get the picture.  Too often people try to sell features instead of benefits.  In the process, the customer gets disinterested.  Find out the benefits and solutions your customers want.  When you do, you will be on the way to having more sales and your small business successful.

In the first two posts we have looked at two components that are often overlooked in a successful small business startup.

1.  Build the business around you and your passions

2.  Act as though you cannot fail.

You may not think these are important.  After all, where’s the focus on sales, marketing, cash flow, business planning or hiring?  Truthfully, you can get all the information you need on these subjects from the internet, books, government agencies and schools. 

I think you would agree that there is plenty of education in these areas.  How come in today’s world, with an abundance of information like never before, that starting up your own business or running your own business doesn’t seem to be any easier?

The short answer is that people are not building businesses around their passions and around who they are.  As a result, they get into a business and end up creating a job they don’t like.  Last time I checked, when you don’t like something you either get out of it or end up performing at less than an optimum level. 

The third piece to successfully creating your own business is create a job you like.  To do this you must truly understand and appreciate “Who” you are.  This is what I call a “soft skill.” 

Understand what you are motivated to do.  And, understand what you are not motivated to do.  Make sure that somehow you cover what you are not motivated to do. 

You can do this through other people or create a system that takes care of it for you.  The goal is to create a business, and more importantly, a job for yourself that you love.  One of the key steps to small business success is enthusiasm. 

Be enthusiastic about what you are creating.  If you aren’t enthusiastic, neither will any one else.

Deciding to start your own business represents a big change in your thinking.  That’s the first step.  The second step, which is the bigger challenge,  is taking the action.  Before you do that I want you to think about this. 

No amount of money spent on education, systems, equipment and personnel will enable you to successfully create your own business, let alone run it profitably, unless you truly build the business around you.  Small business growth is about growing you, the owner.

Building the business around you, your strengths and your passions is the first puzzle piece to successfully running your own business.

That’s right.  You must build your business around who you are.  If you don’t you won’t enjoy it.  If you don’t enjoy it you will, more likely than not, fail.  The path to failure is paved with good intentions spent on trying to build a business around the founder’s weaknesses and other people’s well intentioned perceptions of how you should do it. 

The key is take all the advice and education you are receiving and tailor it around you and what works for you. 

Step back before you start your small business and make an honest assessment of your strengths and weaknesses.  For your weaknesses figure out how you are going to cover for them.  The successful entrepreneur has figured this out in advance.  He does not spend a great deal of lost time and energy later on trying to fill the holes.   

Everyone can do things they don’t like for a while.  Some of this is unavoidable.  Invest your time in the beginning to acknowledge your gifts and talents.  Figure out how to cover the things you will not do as readily. 

To cut the first puzzle piece successfully you must honor “who” you are and in the process create a job for yourself that you like.  Create a job that you want to go to every day.  

After all, isn’t that why most of you become self-employed.  You want something different.  You want something better.   And, you want the control to make it happen.   Starting your own business is all about you.  And, that is good.

When you enter into self-employment and the world of small business you are confronted with numerous challenges.  For the sake of simplicity I will break those challenges down into two areas.

1.  The Hard Skills.  These are the tasks you perform to have your small business grow and prosper.  These could range from accounting to executing a marketing plan.  And you can find many experts to assist you.

2.  The Soft Skills.  These have to do with people.  More importantly, these have to do with how you see your relationships.  How you see your relationships will determine how you relate to people.

Sadly, with such a great emphasis on the hard skills, the soft skills are very often ignored.  Yet, to have small business growth and a successful small business, the soft skills are the most important.

Ask yourself the following question.  How am I motivated to see people?

• Are they human doings where I just focus on their accomplishments?  Am I primarily concerned about how they will benefit me and my business?
• Are they human beings where I focus on who they are and acknowledge them for the good their presence brings to my business?

In working with hundreds of business owners over the years, I have seen the greatest strides in growing  small business take place when the owner focuses on the human being as well as what that person can do.

Owning your own business is a huge challenge.  And, as you grow, the biggest challenge, the one that can bring you success you never imagined, or failure that you never wanted to face, is how you are motivated to relate to people.

Get that balance in your motivation between what people do for you and appreciating them for who they are.  A good first step to change your motivation to appreciate people for who they are is to practice liking people.

You practice liking people by being a “good finder”. Find the good in others and focus on it.  More importantly, let them know about it.  When you give out this type of acknowledgement in slices, it comes back in loaves.

After all, people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.