Guide to Take Back Control of Your Business

Take Control of Your Life
and Take Control of Your Business
written by Jerry West Updated January 10, 2008   “Only if …” Sound familiar? How many times a day as a business owner do you start sentences this way? If your business is out of control, it is safe to bet your life is out of control too. And that isn’t a coincidence. Your business cannot reach the level you expect until YOU reach the same level. And don’t kid yourself into thinking once your business is successful you can start doing things for yourself. It doesn’t work that way. Let me give you an example. On a recent flight to San Diego I was tuning out the stewardess, er, flight attendant, as she was giving her prepared speech on what to do in the event of an emergency. Turns out, she actually had something important to say. I just didn't realize it until later. She explained in the event of a change in cabin pressure an oxygen mask would drop down from a compartment above my head. I was to secure my mask before I helped anyone else. The logic behind this instruction is simple. We can't help anyone if we are passed out due to lack of oxygen. While this makes sense during an emergency on the plane, it can also be practiced in our lives and in our business. If you are like most business owners, you spend countless hours each week taking care of the needs of employees, clients, affiliates, spouses, families, friends, neighbors, and the list seems endless. All this is done in the effort to give to those we care about whatever they need when they need it. The result is often the same. Many people you try to help aren't happy, additional problems surface, and you shake your head in disbelief wondering why it didn't turn out better. "All I tried to do was help," you sigh. Sound familiar? The problem is that you didn't take care of yourself first. Therefore, you weren't good to anyone else. While you felt you were helping, you were actually passed out due to "lack of oxygen." Some believe that when we give and give of ourselves we will be fulfilled, but the truth is, we just end up wearing ourselves out. Take care of yourself first and then you can give those around you your true "best self". While it may seem selfish, it isn't. Is there anything better than an employee who arrives each morning whole and together, ready to work? A boss who can run a business effectively because he took time out to go fishing with his son the day before? Your best self is the best gift you can give. Now, let me share with you how to achieve your “best self.” Your Secret Weapon: Business Journal It may not seem like it at first, but a Business Journal is one of the most important parts of your business. Many assume writing things down is a waste of their precious time. I used to think this way too, until I started keeping a Business Journal and quickly found my stress level plummeting and my productivity shooting skyward. Don’t blow this off. Try it out for a week. If it doesn’t work for you, toss it. But I’m guessing you’ll come to swear by it just as I do. What kind of journal should you get? My advice is to get a Business Journal that is both portable and durable. You want to take it everywhere. My Business Journal is about 6 x 9 inches and is hard-bound front and back. Now, this isn’t an expensive journal, as I pick mine up at Target for about $4.00 each. You can get a fancy journal if you want, but there’s really no use investing too much money as it’s going to get pretty beat up. Here’s what you’ll be using your Business Journal for. Recording your Ideas. Ever had a “light bulb moment”? If an idea hits and you don’t have a piece of paper handy, chances are key elements of your idea are going to fade or be completely. If, however, you have a Business Journal, you have a handy place to write down your brilliant ideas no matter where you are. People have told me about writing down a killer business idea while on the seventh fairway playing golf. There have been dozens of times when I have sat down on a snow covered mountain with a snow board was strapped to my feet and written down an idea in my Business Journal which later turned out to be a great success. We have all been there. Great ideas are rare. Often, they need to sit and ferment before they are ready, but if you don’t write them down, you will forget them. What are the boldest, most exciting Internet marketing plans that have ever crossed your mind? Write them down. Flesh them out. Start figuring out how they might be carried out. In your planning, never allow the word “can’t” to be an obstacle to what you want to achieve. If you have been keeping a Business Journal, dig one up that you kept two to three years ago. Reread the ideas you either didn’t implement or that failed. With your newly added experience, you should be able to find at least one old idea you can repackage as a winner. Record Daily Events. Record how and why you do certain things. This will help you find areas that are not as productive, termed “time stealers.” This is also important when considering that Business Journals have been entered in as evidence in court. One of my members won a court case because his Business Journal was admitted as evidence and changed the case from a “my word against your word” case into one that had written evidence. He won and he credited his Business Journal. Problem Solving. Find a solution to a problem? Write down what you did to solve it. Chances are you will run into the same or similar problem weeks, months or even years down the line. And when you do, you will have step-by-step instructions on how to solve it. Goal Setting. What do you want to accomplish? Where do you want to go? A goal not written down is just a hope, but a goal written down has the chance of becoming reality. It is said that the difference between a goal and a dream is a written date of when it will happen. Write down the date you want to accomplish your goal, and do it. Fight your Stress. Every Monday morning when I wake up the first thing I do is find a quiet place and reflect on my stresses and problems. What is keeping me up at night? What is my biggest worry? I write it down in my Business Journal. Whether it is business related or not, I write it down. Why? Because my personal stress affects my business negatively. Once I have written down my stresses, I think of what I can do personally to make that stress go away. I then plan what I’m going to do each day that week to make the problem disappear by the coming Friday afternoon. If it is a large problem, my goal is to lessen the problem. Why Friday afternoon? Because everyone deserves a relaxing weekend. If you could get rid of the biggest stress in your life right now,
what would your life be like? You are your best client, are you not? By working hard each week on your biggest stress, you will sleep better at night and your life will improve. You will concentrate harder, communicate better, get more accomplished, etc. For a free self-assessment, take our Motivational Factor Index survey. Get more tips on how to improve your business processes along with tested marketing methods to improve your online business at the SEO Revolution.