Are You In Love With Your Business? | 2 Smart Girls
Guest Post
It’s the season of love… in fact, I’ve already seen countless social media posts about the importance of loving your business, your customers, your social media, your marketing… and while I don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day, I can identify with the sentiment behind these posts.
When you first start your business, it’s like being in a brand new relationship. You’re excited, you feel those butterflies swarming in your belly when you talk about it, and the exhilaration of knowing that this thing you’ve been dreaming about is finally happening.
And then, like all relationships, the shininess dulls a bit, and you start to realize that there are things you don’t particularly love about your business. It could be mundane tasks that you have to do all the time, a realization that some of the clients you’re serving aren’t really ideal, or the tech is difficult and insanely frustrating. This is the natural cycle of entrepreneurship, but just like a relationship needs work, so to do your business.
In today’s post, I want to give you 7 ways to fall back in love with your business!
- Delegate! Delegate! Delegate! As you’ve come to realize, there are definitely tasks you are not well suited for in your business. As your business grows, your time becomes more and more valuable, so really dig in and figure out which tasks only you can do, and which ones you can pass on to someone who will love doing it (and probably do it better than you)! Freeing up your time, energy, and resources is critical to growth… and your happiness!
- Develop and/or streamline your processes. I’m a process junkie. I listen to business owners talk about the inefficiencies in their business, and I can’t help but see ways to simplify. In some cases, you need to create a system as you launch new products and services, but I suspect, that the biggest bang for your buck will come if you take a critical look at what you already have in place and leverage automation and eliminate unnecessary steps. A while back, I created The Ultimate Systems Bundle to help you with this process. When your processes are streamlined, everything feels better and runs more smoothly.
- Be more strategic. You’ve probably heard the phrase work “on” your business, not just “in” it. Most business owners start their business because they’re good at what they do. And while that’s the fun part, you have to have a strategy. It’s what allows you to be focused and efficient in your business. It’s how you manage your time, energy, and effort… and your resources. And most importantly, it’s how you grow. Set aside time each week to work on your business. Use that time to evaluate your business’s health and where potential opportunities are to enhance and streamline what you’re offering.
- Get your finances in order. While it’s the month of love… it’s also tax time. Many business owners scramble when it comes to getting their books in order. If you don’t have a bookkeeper and/or an accountant, it will be worth the investment. They help you see where your money is going, leverage that information to help you make business decisions, and keep you out of hot water with the IRS. If you do nothing else for your business, do this!
- Join a community of support. Business building is often lonely, and there is nothing more powerful than a community of passionate, driven, like-minded individuals who are all on a mission to build and grow profitable businesses. That’s why we created The Smart Girl Community. We wanted a space for female business owners to feel empowered and safe to ask questions, get good information, and be supported, encouraged, and inspired throughout the process. If you don’t have a community, we’d love for you to join ours!
- Practice good self-care. I know this can often be seen as a buzz word, but in order to run a healthy business, you have to take care of you! Managing your hours, setting and holding firm to boundaries with clients (and yourself), taking breaks, nourishing your own mind, body, and spirit are all important ways you can do this. If you’re not excited about getting to work, it might be time for a little break before you hit burnout! And I don’t know about you, but I didn’t leave corporate life to keep burning the candle at both ends. Care well for yourself.
- Pay yourself. It took a long time before we felt like we could pay ourselves. We continually poured all of our money back into the business, and while it’s important to invest in your business, it’s also important to invest in you. It’s incredibly difficult to stay motivated when you feel like you’re doing alllllll the work and never getting the tangible benefits of that hard work. Set yourself up as an employee and run payroll regularly. Ask your accountant how to do this if you don’t know how… and bonus! There are tax benefits that come with it!
It doesn’t take much to fall back in love with your business, but you have to be intentional and purposeful. When you are, just like with your partner, you’ll feel rejuvenated, more energized, and almost certainly see more revenue when you invest in yourself and your business’s growth!
How will you fall back in love with your business?