TOP TEN TIPS FOR EVERY ENTREPRENEUR

IT CAN BE LONELY AT THE TOP. NO MATTER WHAT SIZED BUSINESS YOU RUN, YOU’RE OFTEN EXPECTED TO HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS, BUT WHERE DO YOU GO FOR INSPIRATION, SUPPORT AND MOTIVATION? GIGABIT NETWORKS TEAMED UP WITH DR ALEX MORGAN AND AMANDA DALY OF THE INSIGHT CENTRE TO PROVIDE TIPS TO HELP EVERY ENTREPRENEUR

1the Urgency Matrix

When dealing with high stakes decisions as a US Army General, President Eisenhower designed a tool to help him prioritise tasks called the Urgency Importance Matrix (illustrated below). The idea being that anything in the top left box should be dealt with immediately. Anything in the top right box should be delegated to someone else to do. Anything in the bottom right box can be diarised to deal with another day. Anything in the bottom right box can be ignored. Every task on your to-do list will fit into one of these boxes – keep disciplined and keep focused.

URGENT AND IMPORTANT

IMPORTANT BUT NOT URGENT

2 EMPATHY people want and need and be observant of team dynamics. This will enhance your empathy for others – the foundation of relationship building.

3 Gratitude

Gratitude has been shown to improve mental health, benefitting both the sender and receiver. This might be a quick text, a note left on a desk, or even a card. A thank you goes a long way. Consider also keeping a gratitude diary of the things you’ve been grateful for each day.

4 Belief In Yourself

URGENT BUT NOT IMPORTANT

NOT URGENT AND NOT IMPORTANT

Entrepreneurs are intuitive by nature, ready to spot opportunities and get things done. But as your business grows, you become more reliant on the goodwill of others, so you’ll need to redeploy your intuition as people skills. Identify what

Many entrepreneurs suffer from imposter syndrome – potentially creating feelings of guilt, this is the idea that your own success is undeserved or fraudulent. But this is rarely the case. Get feedback from your team. Fix things that need fixing but pay close attention to any positive feedback you receive. Put positive comments from clients or staff where you can see them, such as on a notice board. Make a visible reminder that you’re doing really well!

5 Communicate Your Vision

Craft a clear, compelling, positive and exciting vision for your business, and share your ideas with your team. Not only does this connect your energy towards completing your goals and believe it will happen, but it also brings together all the people who are invested in helping. Don’t keep your vision a secret!

6 Plan Your Way To Growth

Strategy and goal setting is provably important. Statistics show that entrepreneurs who set goals tend to have greater success and wealth share. These goals should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Realistic, Achievable and Timely), keeping your focus on necessary and important work rather than drifting. You can aid this by breaking these goals down into fiveyear, three-year, 90-day, and weekly targets. Time wasting is not an option: Brian Tracey’s book Eat the Frog says “do the big and most important jobs first, then the rest will be easy.”

7 Build Trust And Delegate More

If all your business bottle necks with you, then you may be holding on to more tasks than you should. Perfectionism or even trust issues prevent us from redistributing work. As a leader, delegation is part of the job. If you don’t assign tasks or outsource work, you run the risk of maintaining the ‘hamster wheel’ – an unending cycle of work and stress. Play to your strengths and find team members to bridge the gaps, leaving you free to maximise your own genius. If you can’t trust your team to do this, do you have the right personnel?

8 Create A Team That Is Capable Of Growing To The Point Of Succeeding You

A good leader knows to employ staff that are more skilled and talented than themselves. Don’t let success hinge on the drive, talent and availability of one person. What would happen if they were unable to work or left the business? Succession planning is a key element of success, but many owners don’t prepare an exit strategy. Studies show younger generations are more likely to leave a company if they’re not happy with the working environment. Succession and a pathway for advancement is a motivator for loyal and skilled staff to stay.

9 Create Financial Health And Wealth

What do you need to earn to give yourself financial freedom? At what point are you taking more from the company than you need to, which could go towards paying your employees more or improving other aspects of the business? Knowing the number that would make you comfortable helps to create a goal for you to aim for. Planning for financial freedom early allows you to do what you want without worrying about the bank account. A good Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) will help define what monthly figure is needed. It’s often compound interest that will do the heavy lifting in the creation of wealth.

10 Invest In The Right Infrastructure For Success

Despite more than half of employers wanting staff back in the office five days a week, this is far removed from what staff are willing to do and accept in 2023, with a quarter of the workforce favouring two to three days a week at home. Hybrid working is here to stay, and as an employer, your success demands you invest in your infrastructure to enable productivity to be maintained – or bettered – whether this be through high-speed internet, providing hardware, or establishing systems and processes that enable flexible working.