Whether you are running a small business or managing a large international organization, your business is a marathon, not a sprint. So, many of the tactics that you use every day to get things done quickly and efficiently can be counterproductive if applied in the wrong situations. In this article, I’ll share 7 tips to help your business be more marathon-like.
Do What You Love – If you love what you do, your energy level will be up, your energy will be focused, and you’ll be happier throughout your day. This applies to all aspects of your business – from marketing to operations to customer service. Focus on doing what you love. It will pay off.
Work Long Hours but Every Day – Even though it is important to keep your energy level high, you need to rest. You need to get some downtime. But more important than that, make sure that you work long hours. At least 6 hours a day, 3 days a week should be plenty.
Focus on meeting your customers’ needs – As mentioned above, focus on meeting customers’ needs. You do this by listening and addressing their needs in a timely manner. It is okay to take some short-term customers to care but do not neglect your long-term customers. Focus on them at all times. And remember to meet all your appointments.
Work in a Productive Manner – When you say “sprint,” that means a quick step forward in whatever you are working on. But when you talk about an overall run of your business, that means a series of smaller but more significant steps. Each sprint begins with a planning session (strategizing), a planning session (designing the sprint), and ends with a testing session (done as part of the sprint planning process). You should implement each of these steps in order.
Be Prepared For Next Years – Every business has a set amount of time they want their business to be up and running. Usually, that is three to four years. So if you start up your business and you don’t have a clear idea of what you want it to look like in five years, it probably won’t be a successful run. You should have a business plan that has a clearly defined objective and timeline of what you want to accomplish within that period of time.
Be Ready To Take Some Losses – Businesses don’t win every day but they do win most of the time. This means that you will occasionally have to accept a financial loss on your business. Yes, this will occur throughout your entire sprint.
Grow The Company By Networking – One of the best ways to grow your business is by building a network that supports your business. This means building relationships with other people who can help you grow your business. It also means having an effective feedback system for soliciting feedback from your customers. If you are unable to develop relationships with others effectively, your business will not succeed. So learn to solicit feedback and take notes so you can improve your interactions with customers.
Keep All Of Your Clients In Mind – One of the reasons that many businesses fail is because they only focus on their customers. If you are running your business as a sole proprietor, or you work at an agency, you are responsible for providing service to your clients. You must be aware of how your company is viewed by your customer base. This knowledge will allow you to make changes so that your interactions with clients are positive.
Focus On Growth And Not The Number – One of the reasons that many businesses fail is that they lose sight of the fact that their business needs to grow and become more profitable over time. Instead, they spend all of their resources trying to make a profit today so that they can invest later. While this may seem like a good idea, you have to realize that you cannot sustain profits over an extended period of time. So instead of investing in expansion efforts right now, concentrate all of your resources on growing your company so that you will eventually have the capital to do more things.
As you can see, there are many advantages to growing your business in stages. The key to making it successful is making sure that you stay organized so that you don’t have any pitfalls along the way. Running your business as a sprint will allow you to quickly adapt to changing circumstances. By taking small steps at a time, you can be assured that your business is a marathon, not a sprint.
