Samantha Martin — May 21, 2018 — May 21, 2018
Getting into bad business habits will hold you back and stop you from growing your business. We all have bad habits and it’s not just limited to things like biting your nails or smoking. We also have bad business habits. Here are 5 that you need to stop now so that you can grow your business:
Lack Of Planning
As I talked about in last weeks post about Social Media Marketing Mistakes, you need a plan. Whether it’s for your marketing or your overall business, you need some sort of plan otherwise you’re driving blind and don’t know where you are going. Some people seem to get by in business just completely winging it. This is the exception to the rule. In general, you need a plan and you need to stick to it.
Thinking It’s All About You
Even though you are your business and there may be nobody else involved in it, it’s not all about you. Actually, it’s nothing to do with you. If you are constantly thinking about your own wants and needs and doing everything to suit yourself in your business, then you are very quickly going to form some very bad business habits. Your business isn’t about you. It’s about the people you serve. Your audience, your customers. It is about their wants and needs so make sure you are putting them first.
No ROI
There are lots of marketing and social media activities you could be doing in your business but you need to do them with a clear ROI (return on investment). If you are doing lots of things but don’t really have a clear goal for what you want to achieve from them, you may be wasting your time and forming more bad business habits.
If it’s a case of you need to set the goal so that you can have a clear ROI then you may find my goal setting worksheets useful to plan out your goals.
Not Listening
So often people ask for help with specific tasks in their business but then don’t listen. They ask the expert but then think they know better. Nobody knows your business better than you but likewise, nobody knows marketing/accounting/legal stuff better than the person who does that stuff day in day out. So many times I have had businesses come to me because they are struggling with their social media. I come up with a plan for them but they still go off and do it their way. The way that wasn’t working in the first place. Listen to others when you seek help. But listen to the right people. You wouldn’t take financial advice from your butcher.
Similarly, listen to your customers. Listen to their feedback, their wants and needs. You can’t serve them if you don’t first listen to them. Listen more than you speak.
You Can’t Do It All By Yourself
It would be great to think we can build these amazing businesses all by ourselves without any outside help. But the truth is you can’t do it all. You can’t be chief floor sweeper and chief marketing officer. Sometimes you need to outsource or ask for help. Try to offload and outsource as much as you possibly can. Even if it’s small tasks in your personal life, like getting your shopping delivered, do things to free up your time and save your stress.
Even if you can’t afford to outsource tasks to, find others you can talk to about your issues or things you need help with. Sharing is caring and someone else may know the perfect solution to your dilemma.
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