Six Habits of Successful Business Owners

Six Habits of Successful Business Owners

Why is it that some businesses fail quickly, while others turn into multi-million dollar companies?

As the owner, you have more power than you might think. One way to make sure that you have a successful business is to follow best practices from others. Here are six habits you can put in place today:

1. Focus on one task at a time. Science has shown that multitasking is a myth. You can work faster and get better results when your mind focuses on one thing at a time. Each afternoon, make a list with your top two priorities for the next day. Then block out time so you can work on them with extreme focus.

2. Protect your time. This is how you’ll accomplish focusing on a single task. Put your phone in airplane mode, turn off email and social media notifications. Shut your office door and set a timer for 30 to 60 minutes. Buckle down and work only on the project at hand. When the time is up, get up from you desk and take a short break. Drink some water, do some stretches. Then do another focused block of work.

3. Follow a written budget. Financial worries can turn a good day into a bad one real fast. Losing a client due to budget cuts. Finding out the manufacturing costs 30% more than you’d expected. These things happen. Be prepared by working regularly with an accountant. They can help you create a working budget and retained earnings account.

4. Be positive. You’re bombarded with bad news as soon as you turn on your computer. The world seems to thrive on it. It’s sad, but you can’t let yourself dwell on it. Keep a notepad with an ongoing list of things for which you’re grateful. Also note your «wins» of the day, and ways in which you gave or received generosity. Read over these daily and anytime you feel down.

5. Don’t do everything by yourself. You might start out as a one-person business, but don’t keep it that way. As your business grows you’ll need to pass of some of your work. This may be a virtual assistant to manage email and website projects. A house cleaner to clean once a week so you can focus on work. Outsource tasks that are better done by someone else.

6. Have proper amounts of insurance at all times. Not only will this include business insurance to protect your business assets, but home, health and life as well. Bad things happen to good people. Make sure that you have insurance no matter what happens. This is key to allowing you, your team and your family to get back on track after something happens.

Follow these six habits and you’ll be on your way to being as successful as possible.