I know you are probably expecting a TOP 10 list or something, after all, that is what we tend to write for our clients. Nice and concise, quick takeaways for you to mull over in your already too busy mind. Well, today, you only get 3…so there:).
Being an entrepreneur is really amazing. It does come with many many excellent aspects, it also comes with a whole heap of challenges. It comes with ‘stuff’ that no one really talks openly about, kind of like having a baby…we don’t hear as much about recovering from a deliver, just about the ‘before’ part, the after part…also tough! Same goes for a business. Getting to a point where you feel like you have hit some milestones and goals your company has set is really exciting, but it’s also kind of a shit show at times. What do I mean by that? Well, there are issues that you have deal with that you wouldn’t necessarily need to deal with if the business was failing. I know, having issues when you are successful are great, yes, they are…but they can be stressful too. I would much rather be on this side of the challenges, but I want to talk about a couple of them since I don’t hear it very often.
1.How To Scale Your Business
This one is really really hard to know in the beginning when things start to grow. For us it’s critical to get it right. Our company has and continues to be built on personal relationships. We have made it so that our clients always have access to us. Even when we launch our shopping cart soon, they will still be able to reach us to explain their order or make changes. It’s part of who we are internally and externally. So, how do we plan to make it work and still grow at the same pace? As mentioned, shopping cart. Clients will be able to place an order there and ‘poof’ we will be notified of it. The rest stays the same. Doing this will help us with bottlenecks as things continue to expand for us. People like (we are told) to work with us because we still pick up the phone to talk to them. We don’t automate any part of the relationship. In order for us to remain successful, this part must stay the same.
2. How To Manage Your Time
I know I have touched on this before, many people have in many many posts. Still, even though people have addressed it, entrepreneurs still seem to bugger it up in practice. When you suck at balancing your banking, you waste time. It’s mental really. You should spend time on what you’re good at and what you like! I also know that money may not permit you to hire a bunch of people to do the stuff you can’t or don’t want to. Here’s my trick, we still use it to this day because it makes sense to. Contra or bartering. We have done this for a while and really, it’s amazing. There are even companies out there that can help match you with other companies who want to barter with you. For our accounting, we simply swap blog posts for accounting time. It’s simple. You come up with a number you’re both comfortable with and boom, the work can get done, no more time spent on crap you have no business doing.
3. Hiring As Soon As You Can
This is a BIG one for us. We are at the point where we need to add to our team. Our main issue is finding people who “drink the Kool-Aid”. It’s very challenging, for sure. So, what do we do when we have seen scores of resumes that are less than impressive? We keep looking. I have done some of the hiring in that past and sadly, it ended with the loss of the team member I hired. I am now more patient when I am looking for someone, more meticulous when it comes to what we need. We will likely be doing a big push near the end of the year, this time around, I will take more time formulating a plan rather than moving to the next phase before I am ready to make an offer. It’s hard in this day in age. Our industry is tough (Digital) and there are so many kinds of people who work within it…not all of them are right, not all of them “get it”. Be patient, if you are 6 months out from needing that person, start working on it now. Refine your needs and wants for that position etc, but get on planning for it now!
Until next time,
Cara
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