About a year ago I was speaking with a prospective business owner and he was trying to decide if he should open a franchised business. He completely understood the franchise opportunity, but was worried about the ‘big picture’ and whether the larger trends in our country would allow him to be successful.
Mentally he was absorbed by 24/7 news coverage on our dysfunctional political system, the ‘importance’ of keeping up with social media and the future of the stock market. He didn’t know if he also had enough band width to own a business also.
After 20 minutes of listening, I asked him what all these things have in common. He didn’t know. I then told him that these are all time sinks. They suck up all his time and distract him from accomplishing anything in life. My advice?
First, turn off 24/7 news. It is emotionally draining and does nothing to make you a more positive person or better decision maker. If something is going to directly affect you, like a hurricane, one of your friends will tell you.
Second, stop feeding your impulses on social media. SnapChat, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Gab, … the list goes on and on. Trump’s tweets will not make your business more or less successful. If you need social media as a tool to grow your business, hire an expert to manage this for you.
Finally, stop gambling in the stock market. 99% of people never outperform a basic, market based EFT. Again, this is a time sink with little or no reward. Any time you spend fretting over the direction of the stock market is time you are not spending growing your business.
Time is our most precious resource. If you want to be a successful business owner, you need to use your time wisely by focusing on those things you can control. Focus on providing an outstanding customer experience. Focus on improving your marketing results. Focus on hiring and managing better employees. Focus on improving your financial controls. Focus on motivating your team. Where you spend your time matters. I would suggest that you spend your business day focused on improving your business and avoiding time sinks.
I hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter and, as always, if you you would like to discuss your personal situation, please feel free to reach out to me at rbisio@educatedFranchisee.com
