As an Entrepreneur what is the one resource you wish you more of right now? I’d be willing to bet the answer is most likely time. If you’re running low on energy there’s always more coffee, right? But, if you find you just don’t have enough time in the day to get everything done what do you do? You can’t add more hours to the clock.
So how do you free up more of your time? There are numerous ideas out there on how to better manage your time. A few things I’ve found to be most helpful are making plans and delegating.
Making Plans
Jason W. Womak at Entreprenuer.com has a great example for a simple plan to help you save time. He says:
To help you sleep better, take time at night before you head to bed to think about what you need to do in preparation for the next day.
This simple planning step can also improve your productivity. For example, if I know I need to give a presentation the next day, having all my materials prepared and ready to go the night before helps me sleep better and wake more rested.
I like to add one more step to my daily planning by putting the amount of time I expect a task is going to take. If it isn’t a meeting with a client or some other outward facing item I do my best to stick to that time. Making plans can apply to any project. If you have a big meeting with a prospective client don’t wait until the last minute to gather your ideas and materials. Make a list of what you want to accomplish and what you will need to accomplish it. You’ll be much more put together for your meeting.
Delegating
What? Do I really mean you don’t have to do every single thing that needs to be done in your business? Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. Ann Mehl, also at Entrepreneur.com puts it well when she says:
Learn to delegate more of the work. When you actually do this, you’ll notice how your role and work output will transition to the next level. Know what parts you do well yourself, and then give to someone else whatever parts you feel do not play to your strengths. Then let go.
Figure out what it is only you can do for your business (that’s probably a shorter list than you think so go over your list more than once) and then hand over other items to someone else. What do you do if you figure out you have something you don’t have to or want to do but you don’t have someone that can help? Outsource. You can outsource anything.
You started your company, because you know how to make a products. Now you have to get it to market. Consider Value Added Resellers (VAR) to take selling your product off your plate. Not only are they going to do the selling for you, but they could also take some of the marking on as well. If you can minimize the time you spend marketing and selling your product just think about how much more time you’ll have to perfect that product. Or you could consider a vacation or time with the family.
So it turns out we still can’t add hours to a day but with proper planning and actually delegating and outsourcing tasks we can find more time to do what we love.
Contact us for more information on how VARs can help your business.