Key Messages
How To Make Your Small Business Work Without You
Owning and running a small business can be incredibly stressful.
You typically find yourself working round the clock with no time to take a break or even strategize for future opportunities.
But with Clockwork, you don’t have to stress anymore!
In the book, you’ll learn the secrets to making your small business work without wearing yourself out, including understanding what beehives have to do with your business, learning the four dimensions of work, discovering your niche and maximizing revenue.
With this knowledge in hand, you can finally take back control of your business and begin to enjoy more of what life can offer outside of work.
Goodbye to small business stress – hello relaxation!
Don’T Fall Into The Productivity Trap: Create Systems That Will Enable You To Work Less
Don’t fall victim to the productivity trap.
You might think that the solution to getting everything done is being productive, but it’s not.
This is because working more doesn’t solve anything – it just leads to overwork and fatigue, which can be damaging both personally and professionally.
When you find yourself with too much on your plate, it can be easy for you to turn to productivity hacks, such as doing multiple tasks at once or trying to shorten task completion times, in order to get through everything quickly.
However, this isn’t always effective and could lead you down an unproductive rabbit hole of doing more tasks but still not feeling like you’re making progress.
The key message here is that you should aim for targeted efficiency instead of blanket productivity.
It’s also important to remember that humans are comforted by familiar things, even if our habitual workaholic tendencies aren’t helping us meet our goals.
As tempting as it may be to stay stuck in overdrive all the time, this will only result in endless fires that have to be put out without really addressing any of the bigger issues at hand – which could mean lost opportunities for success in the long run.
The Four D’S Of Business: Doing, Deciding, Delegating, And Designing For Maximum Efficiency
In the world of business, there are four key actions that you need to take in order to be successful: doing, deciding, delegating and designing.
When you are first starting out with your business, chances are that you are solely focused on doing work.
This is important and will get things done.
But if you really want your business to grow and thrive, it is essential that you shift your focus toward designing work.
Designing work means thinking of new ideas and innovations and implementing them so that your organization can move forward.
It also involves creating processes and procedures that allow people to become more efficient.
Most importantly, it allows you to step away from the work itself and become a source of inspiration or direction for others in the organization who can then help execute this plan.
By delegating decisions around certain tasks instead of making them all yourself, you will have time to begin design activities which ultimately end up feeding into other areas of the workforce; thus creating a cycle of continual growth for your company.
The key message here is: don’t do the work–design the work!
Protect Your Business By Identifying And Serving The Queen Bee Role
For a small business to reach its full potential, the most important thing to do is identify and protect its Queen Bee role.
What is this role? It is the one thing that your team must focus on above all else – the single task that if left undone would spell doom for your enterprise.
Identifying the Queen Bee role can be a challenge, as many tasks are critical to success.
Any PR firm needs effective client communication in order for it to thrive and any ad agency needs better direct marketing than its competitors.
The Queen Bee could be an individual or a team of workers; it may even be the owner of the business.
But whatever it is, it must be your top priority!
Once you have identified who or what fills the Queen Bee Role, take steps to ensure that they are fully empowered to complete their job effectively and with minimal disruption.
At a restaurant where serving impeccable food is paramount, all other tasks should take second place to preparing meals; if something like dishwashing needs attending to during busy service times then seek out alternatives so as not to distract from what really matters!
The Key To Business Success Is Having Clear Standard Operating Procedures
Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are a must for any small business looking to run efficiently.
When everyone is following the same process and has been trained in the best way of accomplishing tasks, it allows your staff to work at their maximum potential.
Take the example of peeling a banana for instance.
Most humans start at the stem, not taking into consideration that pressure applied at this end could cause bruising and make it mushy.
Monkeys, however, can do it better; they grasp the stem and push from the opposite direction – allowing for an easier and quicker peel every time!
The same can be said for your small business too; you need to ensure your team knows what task they are required to complete and how; this means standardizing your processes so that everyone is on the same page with clarity.
Using something like ACDC model allows you to capture all key tasks, categorize them and ensure they are openly recorded (in writing or even on videos).
Once you have delegated these tasks out, you may find that some members of your staff need more explanation – be patient however as once they get it down-pat, they will be able to work like a well-oiled monkey machine!
It Takes Planning And Thoughtful Hiring To Reap The Benefits Of Growing Your Team
If you’re a solopreneur, you already know that growing your team carries the risk of having to take a cut in profits – something not many entrepreneurs are willing to do.
But the truth is, making hires can actually be beneficial to long-term profit growth.
If one new hire brings in $5 an hour, then two new hires could bring in $10 an hour and so on.
This means more money for you over time as opposed to staying stuck with just your hourly wage.
Moreover, once you start building your team, you will be able to dedicate yourself more to the work of designing instead of having to worry about every task that needs done in order to keep the business running.
Assembling the right staff with diverse backgrounds and life experiences allows for unique perspectives and ideas that can help bring your business even further up.
The key message here is simple: Growing your team gives you opportunities to build a profitable business without having to put in all of the hard work yourself.
Making sure you make smart choices when it comes selecting your hr is important – this way they will have the passion and enthusiasm needed to go above and beyond and get even better results long-term!
Find Your Niche And Focus Your Powers For Maximum Success
If you want to be successful in marketing your services, it’s important to find and focus on a well-defined target market.
Don’t make the mistake of spreading yourself too thin or have a wide offering; that is unlikely to do your best work.
The key is to identify your niche market and give it all that you’ve got!
To do this, take an inventory of your existing clients.
Look for those who bring in the most value and who you enjoy working with—these should be at the top of your list.
Additionally, look for any common themes among these clients—such as one being an artisanal baker and another a tree surgeon—where they are located geographically or what type of industry they are in.
Once you know who you’re targeting and why, it’s time to hone in on where these folks congregate (such as social media groups, community organizations, or conferences) so that you can reach them directly with laser precision!
By finding and focusing on your niche market, you’ll be able to deliver a highly targeted message that meets their needs and will help take your business to the next level.
Metrics: Keep Track Of Your Business Performance Easily And Accurately
Metrics make the job of managing a business so much easier – no more guesswork and second-guessing, because you have hard data to show how well you’re doing.
No matter what kind of business you run, identified metrics will tell you its performance across four distinct areas: attracting clients, converting leads to customers, delivering promises made to these customers, and collecting on accounts for those who order from you.
When it comes to attracting new customers, look at how many hits your site is getting on a weekly basis or how many people are requesting quotes.
This can give you an indication of your success in this area.
If numbers are down from expected figures then try to pinpoint why so that any issues can be addressed quickly.
Track conversions by setting a time window – 3 months is usually seen as being suitable – and noting how many leads become paying customers in that period.
Finding out how many customers return to purchase more will help figure out if delivery’s up to scratch or if efforts need increasing/altering here.
Be Ready For Pushback When You Make The Leap From Doing To Designing In Your Business
When you decide to take your business from a traditional ‘doing to designing’ model and move it into a ‘clockwork’ mode, you should be prepared for pushback.
This could come from your partners, employees, clients, and even yourself.
First, your partners, employees and clients may not initially understand the benefits of changing to a clockwork-based model.
After all, designing requires different skills than doing – it can look like less tangible work that won’t produce immediate results.
It is important to discuss the changes with them in advance so they are aware of why you’re making this transition and provide feedback as needed.
Second, even though transitioning into clockwork mode means you’ll have more freedom to pursue other goals such as growing the business or taking a vacation – don’t be surprised if you experience anxiety about the idea that your company can run independently without your control.
Changing how we work is never easy but try to focus on demonstrating the value that you bring instead of getting sucked back into tasks that don’t add real value anymore.
Overall remember that you are still invaluable to the success of your business!
Wrap Up
The final summary of Clockwork: The Power of Habit in Business is that success doesn’t come overnight.
While it’s your enthusiasm and drive that got you to where you are now, in order to succeed as a business owner you must be willing to relinquish some of the control and let others take over.
Building smart systems and processes will free you up for the strategic decisions that will move your business forward.
Lastly, don’t rush into things; trust takes time to build and should not be rushed.
Slow but steady wins the race!
