Successful Entrepreneurs Work Less, Not More - Are You?

You are a small business owner and your small business is either humming, fledgling or somewhere in between. Regardless, however, the work and personal investment of working toward small business success is killing you. This is because it takes just about everything we have for a small business to take off. Or does it?

We know that 90 percent of small businesses fail within the first year. There are obviously an infinite number of potential reasons for that, but one of the most critical that you may not even think about is "time", your time. According to The 2nd annual Staples National Small-Business Survey (2008), "98 percent of small-business owners and managers in the United States are working during their time off, including nights, weekends and vacations. More than half of those surveyed by Staples said they even 'sleepwork,' or dream about work."

This is neither healthy nor practical, not to mention it is most certainly not a recipe for small business success. Every small business owner must periodically (even every month or quarter) ask themselves, "Am I working in the most effective and efficient manner possible?" More often than not the answer is probably no. Burnout is real, and it can be a viable threat to small businesses and their survival. If you are in fact working as hard as you can but not as intelligently as you can, you may soon run out of gas and/or inhibit your own business growth. For those businesses that are already successful, this can mean they may slow down; and for those already struggling, they may soon falter.

The notion of 'working smarter, not harder', is a true axiom to live by, and it needs to be wholeheartedly embraced by all small business owners and entrepreneurs.

Remember those do-it-all sheriff/banker/caretaker individuals in small towns in the Old West? More often than not, you feel like those people, don't you? Of course you do. You not only have your hands full producing and/or delivering your money-making products and services, but you are also the chief salesperson, accountant, marketer, strategic thinker, customer service manager, etc. Over time, this takes its toll on your energy, and more importantly, on your innovation. Without innovation and continual improvement, you skate dangerously close to falling into the chasm of the failed 90 percent. Something must change if you are to continue full-steam ahead serving existing customers while also driving future growth.

With the right professional small business training, you can achieve this same level of small business success and simultaneously have discretionary time to show for it. You must learn how to prioritize your activities, learn how to say "no", understand which functions to embrace and which to outsource, and so on. A professional small business coach can teach you all of these critical skills and so much more. You just need to open your mind to the possibility of letting someone help you help yourself and enable your small business success.

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