It’s not the hours that you put in, it’s what you put into the hours

How is work? Is it ok? Are you winning?

There is little doubt that for many small business owners there is a challenge with making it work! The business seems to struggle despite how hard they are working.

Only yesterday I was chatting with a client who stated that they are doing everything that they can and it is ok but it really isn’t going as well as they want. “I’m working really hard” she said “I can’t do anymore”.

Well is that true?..or is it better to look at what actually is being done and then question the actions a little?

You and I both know that simply working hard is not always the answer.

There used to be an old saying ‘Hard work never killed anyone’! It bloody did!!!

You can stress yourself into an early grave or worse an early illness that stops you really ‘living’. Yes, hard work of the wrong sort can and does kill people! Smarter more effective work is your key to success.

So, it is NOT about working harder,about the hours that you put in.

It has to be about working smarter, about what you put into the hours.

If you are struggling and stressing trying to find a whole ton of new enquiries…and doing everything that you have always done to get them but now they aren’t flowing as well and you are worried…have you tried a new way? Do you know a new way? Can you think of a way to treble the enquiries rate? Or do you assume that because you cannot ‘see’ one that one doesn’t exist?!

If you are fed up of being pressured into accepting sales orders at little margin and constantly under pressure to be more ‘price competitive’ are you assuming that there is nothing that can be done just because you personally don’t know a way around it?!

When you are challenged everyday about how to fit all of the tasks on your to do list into the few hours that you allow for work and still end the day after working until your exhausted nearly with a list of not yet done items…are you assuming that it is a ‘fixed’ situation that nothing and no-one can do anything about?!

We don’t know what we don’t know!

There might be a way…it’s just you don’t know of one.

I come across this a hundred times a week as I work and speak with clients of all size business…and I have similar challenges myself…but there is always an answer and always someone who can help if you have an open attitude to learning and sharing and asking for help.

I recently was challenged by technology issues…I am NOT a techy chap (ever so slightly understated!!) but did that mean that I had to stay stuck with my problem?

No.

I looked up. I looked out. I asked for help…and bought the knowledge of someone who had ‘been there, done that’. Advice is always available…and having done that I solved my challenge to the effect of considerable new exposure. Value of return eventually possibly 100x’s the investment.

None of us know everything. We can all learn and ease our path. Applying a higher level of knowledge means that what we put in (to those hours we work) makes us several times more effective. Applying leveraged skills and newly learned techniques…along with newly opened connection doors, all adds up to a massively different outcome.

Times are only as hard as we make it.

If we say “there is nothing I can do”‘ is it the same as saying that “there is nothing that can be done”? You and I all have opportunity to ask others and find a way.

My mission is clear…to be a guide and a coach for those who have a desire for more but don’t really know how. To be there for those open enough to work together.

Using a coach is a hugely powerful step up.

Finding a way to improve your skills means that you get better enquiries when you are targeting more effectively and writing a better style approach message.

It means that you learn a technique that others have mastered so that instead of complaining about the time we spend and the list of jobs still not done, we become like world leaders or the ‘idle rich’ and see ourselves sharing workload and accomplishing our goals without it all being down to us.

It sees us making more sales at higher margins and increasing repeat business because we discovered a sales tweak that wasn’t known to us before because actually we don’t come from a pure sales background.

 “Business is not about the hours that you put in, it’s about what you put into the hours”

The are so many challenges these days, let’s share more and all enjoy a smoother journey!

Please, if you a struggling over some business issues, connect with me or call me and let’s work together to make life easier. Have an excellent week ahead.

Yours always in success

Ben