The Business Success Consulting Group team shares lessons learned in every newsletter each year. That's fifty-two additional business tips and hard-won lessons shared every year. While this information is exclusive to newsletter subscribers, we don't want anyone to miss out on all of the wise words shared throughout the year. And, if you are a newsletter subscriber, we want to remind you of some of the most effective lessons we have provided in 2023.
In this article, we are releasing ten lessons and business tips shared in the newsletter in 2023, all of which you can utilize this year to make 2024 a great success.
Launch into 2024 With These Ten Lessons
Lesson #1: Schedule creative time
Many business owners are working hard, head down and full throttle. However, it takes time to be creative, set goals, and build strategies.
Allow yourself that time.
Consciously set aside time in your calendar to set goals, strategize, and focus. Additionally, set calendar events each week to refocus on your goals and strategy so that you keep sight of what you are trying to attain.
Lesson #2: Say "no" to one thing this week
Many entrepreneurs have a hard time saying "no." After all, we got into business by saying "yes!" However, you must say "no" to many things in order to be able to say "yes" to a few.
Start small by saying "no" to one time-consuming action this week and saying "yes" to building a process to offload that action forevermore.
Lesson #3: Make a checklist for everyday activities
Want to free up mental space? Make a checklist for everyday activities. This could be as simple as a list of things you glance at before heading out the door, or it could be as complex as a checklist that all must follow during every meeting. Either example eases your mental load.
As you move into the new year, free that mental energy for vital growth initiatives such as the deep work needed to reach your goals. Set up systems and checklists to free your mind and keep your business running smoothly.
Lesson #4: Stop trying to multitask
When you look at your calendar, do you see moments when you are double or overbooked? These are likely times when you must multitask.
Multitasking can sound like a good idea. However, it often leads to you switching gears constantly and refocusing your attention as you try to focus on two or more things simultaneously. This can lead to poor work quality, high stress levels, and burnout early in the day.
Instead of multitasking, arrange your calendar so you can focus on what you are doing while you are doing it. This may lead you to block out time between meetings, set up focused time for uninterrupted work, or reduce the number of meetings on your schedule. It can initially feel strange and difficult to perform work with intense, intentional focus. But, over time, it will help you work more effectively and productively.
Lesson #5: Review your company as if you were considering acquiring it
Try changing your perspective about your business. Review your company as if you were a potential buyer. Ask yourself:
- Do you understand the costs vs profit of your company?
- Is your business organized and systematized so that you can hand it off to another with minimal transition time?
- Which systems are out of date?
- Are you in compliance with state/federal law, regulations, and industry standards?
- What is your growth plan for the next three years?
- What do your sales record and past marketing/sales efforts tell you about future growth?
A new perspective may help you find a flaw in your company that you wouldn't see otherwise. Try a fresh perspective and see if it helps you as you build your growth plan for 2024.
Lesson #6: Get your team on board with process implementation
When you build or document processes in 2024, you must also implement those systems. Here are a few tips for making sure processes, once documented, are actually used by your team:
1. Include the team as you build the process.
2. Give them time to learn the process.
3. Create a review period during which team members can provide feedback to help improve processes.
4. Provide concrete reasons for process implementation. Make sure these reasons benefit the team - not just you, the business owner.
5. Measure the efficacy of processes so that you and your team can see if they are working.
Lesson 7: Follow this meeting tip
Create a culture of timeliness by always beginning and ending meetings on time. Ensuring meetings start and end right when they should respects attendee's time and helps all attendees to stay on track throughout the day.
If you aren't sure you will always make a meeting on time, schedule a buffer period between each meeting on your calendar to keep you from overbooking and running behind. You cannot respect other's time if you do not respect your own.
Lesson 8: Build strategic alliances
Are you an expert in every single aspect of your industry? Probably not, right? One way to gain expert advice and referrals from sister companies is to build strategic alliances with other business owners and industry experts.
That may feel like a lot to track, but one strategy that Lisa Catto, CEO of The Business Catalyst, utilizes is creating a personal balance sheet that tracks which referrals she needs and which businesses she has built successful partnerships with. She emphasized that it is done with love and that this type of balance sheet always has a two-way partnership aspect.
We suggest you build your own balance sheet of successful partnerships and include how you have reciprocated and helped those partners as they move forward with their businesses.
Lesson 9: Update your marketing follow-up processes
Here are three follow-up actions you can include in an updated marketing follow-up process:
1. Ask questions of your client.
Did they face difficulty navigating your website, reaching something, or getting a question answered? Was some vital information missing that made them hesitate before reaching out?
Most companies fail to ask questions about points of friction, instead focusing on kind reviews and other marketing-type questions.
2. Think outside of the drip campaign.
Of course you should have a drip campaign set up, but what if a potential customer doesn’t sign up for email outreach? That’s when you can get creative. Comment on a LinkedIn post or tweet, text or call, or send a sample package. Continuing to follow up shows the client that you are interested in doing business with them and that you are likely to be responsive when/if something comes up when they work with you.
3. Find eleven ways to follow up.
Don’t just put someone on an email list and assume that, after eleven emails, they will turn into a customer, or you can write them off. Instead, find and systematize eleven unique ways to contact them. You can message them on social media, send them mailers, email them a discount, give them a call, set up a presentation, text them to see if they need information about a question they asked a chatbot, send them a sample product, offer them a free download, and much more.
Lesson 10: Business Tip: Record everyday processes
We have processes for many moments in our lives that we don’t think about. For example, making a cup of coffee is a process, but it isn’t one you have to think about consciously. It’s only when you have to get someone else to make your cup of coffee that you need to go through the mental gymnastics of sharing the process.
If you record the “boring” or “every day” processes in your workday, you will be able to delegate those functions to others much more easily. So, the next time you are doing some repetitive action, download a plugin that will let you hit “record” and document the process. You will be surprised at how quickly many processes can get documented in this way.
Bonus Lesson: Create a procedure for that moonshot dream
Many entrepreneurs have at least one moonshot dream that they do not believe they can fit into their busy schedules. Pick a dream you’ve always yearned to accomplish and build a system for making it happen.
Simply:
1. Identify the dream.
2. Write down the broad strokes of what you would have to do to make it happen.
Then, step back. Is it a dream you could accomplish if you dedicate time to it each day? If so, we hope you’ll get started!
Are you planning to follow the above lessons learned and build business systems in 2024? Get in touch with the experts and schedule your free initial consultation. Click here to get started.
