It can be surprising for someone who has just started their own business how much work actually goes into getting things going strong as an entrepreneur with no support system at all! With an estimated 50% of businesses failing within five years due largely because their founders made mistakes early on such as not having sustainable models or ineffective marketing plans. To achieve peak performance in your business, you have to build strong habits and take advantage of the tools, technology and strategies that are available to you. Below are 3 habits to adopt today that will make you a successful entrepreneur.
Habit #1 Focus
The problem with having so much technology within your reach is that it makes it extremely difficult to tune out everything else. In order to focus, you need to turn off all other distractions that do not pertain to the task you are performing. Silence or turn off email notifications, slack and teamwork notifications, mobile phones, etc. until you are finished. The more time you spend switching between tasks, the less you productive you are. So much time is wasted trying to get back into a groove.
I have found it extremely useful in my business to use pomodoro timers. The Pomodoro Technique is a time management process that breaks up your workday into sizable chunks. You work for 25 minutes and take a 5 minute break. After 4 cycles of this, you take a longer break (15 – 20 minutes) and then start the cycle over again. I find that it improves my focus and productivity because I am able to concentrate on one thing at a time and know that I will have time to answer emails and messages afterwards. There are timers available as browser extensions so you don’t even have to rely on your mobile phone as a timer.
Habit #2 Prioritize Customer Retention Over Sales
Multiple studies have shown the cost of acquiring a new customer is on average 7 times higher than the cost of retaining a customer. And, the probability of selling to an existing customer is 70% versus 10-20% to a new potential customer. The entire customer journey/experience must be rewarding and easy in order to create repeat business. This is why we emphasize automating this part of your business. It is impossible to promise, deliver and follow-up with every single customer. By adopting this mindset, sales teams are able to vastly reduce operating costs and increase revenue with far less work.
Habit #3 Don’t Attempt To Do Everything Yourself
I have spoken and written about this before. As entrepreneurs we try to do everything ourselves, mostly to try to save money. As a result, we spread ourselves too thin and are not able to be effective in any part of our business. The entire customer journey/experience suffers if even one part is terrible. The fact is, you don’t actually save money by trying to do everything yourself and the chances are exponentially higher that you will become discouraged and burnt out and your business will fail.
So there you have it, 3 essential habits to adopt if you want to be a successful entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and lose sight of what’s important. Just remember: prioritizing customer retention over sales, delegating tasks and focusing on one thing at a time may not sound sexy or exciting, but trust me – it works. By following these simple tips, you’ll be well on your way to becoming the next big name in business. What other habits do you think are necessary for success as an entrepreneur? Let us know in the comments below!
