When you’re deep into starting and building your business there is always something that needs to be done.
Your to-do list is pages upon pages of seemingly urgent and important matters that need to be addressed quickly.
Alas, you are only one woman and you don’t know how realistic it is to accomplish everything without sacrificing sleep, sanity and your relationships.
But, who else will get these things done?
The questions comes down to many of us hard-working entrepreneurs: “How do I work as efficiently as possible while bootstrapping my business?”
“How do I work as efficiently as possible while bootstrapping my business?”
Every day it feels like you’re walking a tightrope.
You read books declaring that you should only spend time in your “zone of genius” but the reality is that you are working every zone possible to keep things running. You might be the creative leader, web developer, marketing department, product developer and bookkeeper all wrapped up in one.
Most business owners – myself included – get distracted by things we think we ought to do.
Since we are constantly digesting information in the hopes of making our businesses more successful, it is easy to get pulled in multiple directions. For instance, you read that the latest social media platform is going to outpace Facebook so you spend an entire afternoon getting familiar with the new platform and begin a rigorous posting schedule.
You soon discover that adding this one task is one more tiresome “to-do” on your endless list and is not yielding the results you desire.
Did you stop to ask yourself whether it was the best place for your business to be playing in?
Is this where your ideal clients and customers hang out?
Have you really “worked” the other platform(s) you’re already on to make sure you have really engaged and happy fans?
As bootstrapping entrepreneurs it’s critical to be ruthless in making sure you are using your time wisely.
You may want to play on every social media platform, write for several high profile blogs or magazines, attend every networking event, and completely redesign your site (again!) but you have to ask yourself:
- “What is my highest priority right now?”
- “What is absolutely necessary to make my first few sales or meet my sales goals?”
- “What are the “nice to have’s” and can they be wait-listed until next quarter or next year?”
- “What can I frankly just skip, table until I have more resources (time, money, or energy) or simply walk away from?”
We need to start asking ourselves the hard questions and make clear decisions what to take on and what to say a resounding “no” to.
6 Tips to Increase Efficiency While Bootstrapping
1 | Be Wary of Shiny Objects
Most entrepreneurs have a creative bent and are fascinated by finding new ways to make things work. They are always thinking, searching, researching and tinkering with “what could be”.
This thinking and behaving is how you started your business but it is a quality that can constantly distract you and lead you off course. Make sure as you’re building your company that you keep focused on your core mission and your big “why’.
Shiny objects are those new ideas, new technologies, different platforms or perhaps the new product you want to create before you even had a chance to test out the ones you have already produced.
2 | Know When to Pivot
It’s another fine line between being distracted by shiny objects and realizing you need to pivot.
For example, months into launching LearnSavvy we began surveying our community and getting feedback on what was working and what wasn’t working.
From the feedback we received, we knew that we had to make some major shifts to better serve our tribe. Pivots often come from testing out what you’ve created and getting feedback from your customer.
When you realize something different needs to happen – make that shift as quickly as possible so you don’t waste valuable resources and time chasing after what “you thought people wanted.”
3 | Decide What is Seriously Important
The problem with most to-do lists is that everything seems urgent and important.
Is updating that widget on your site something that needs to be done today? Is is more important than a sales call you’ve been putting off?
Only you know the priorities in your business. Look at your to-do list and figure out the most important tasks that will move your business forward and do those first (Hint: checking your inbox (again!) and trolling Facebook are probably not those tasks).
4 | Block Time for Your “Zone of Genius” Work
Blocking time on your calendar is critical for getting your most important work done. That’s why you hear this advice over and over again: block time!
Close your email, put your phone in the other room and set an alarm. Spend an allotted amount of time each day or each week on the truly valuable tasks, planning and projects.
You need to spend quality time each day/week in your zone. But don’t want for when the spirit moves you or when some free time opens up. You can’t leave your genius work to chance. Schedule it!
5 | Block Time for Zone of Boring Work
You won’t hear this one often because most people advise, “Outsource the stuff that isn’t important or wastes your valuable time”.
But when you don’t have the means to do so, I find it’s best to chunk those tedious tasks and schedule them as well. For instance, you can schedule two hours once a week to do all your social media posting for the next seven days. You can pop on daily (schedule that too!) to respond to posts but at least the heavy lifting is done and you can focus your attention elsewhere.
6. | Find Creative Ways to Get Help
When funds are tight it pays to find unusual ways to get help.
People are quick to suggest hiring help but that isn’t always possibly during the early days of launching a business. Use those creative skills that entrepreneurs are so famous for and find other ways to get help or outsource tasks.
For instance, consider trading services, hiring a college intern, or figuring out a small equity play that you feel comfortable with. People just starting out are often looking to beef up their portfolios and testimonial pages so find newbies to the field that might be open to a non-compensation situation.
The first few years in business you wear too many hats to count and, let’s face it, not all of them are your style.
However things need to get done and you are often the only one to do them. Utilizing your time and energy wisely is the only way that you will move your business forward and keep your sanity and personal life in check.
We all walk that tightrope make sure you do it wisely.
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