5 Pitfalls of "Working on Your Business"

1. Solving Problems That Only Happen Once

I have seen this quite often.  It is a fairly natural response to encountering a problem to try to solve it in every variation down the road all at once.  We think if somehow we can just do X, then we will never have to deal with this sort of problem again.  When in fact there is no way to predict all the variations to a problem before they happen.  It is much better to focus your efforts on solving problems that you have dealt with a few times before and have a good understanding of what it takes to solve them, and addressing the core concerns. 

2. Solving Problems that Never Happen

Becoming infatuated with having a process for every problem that can come up in your business will not guarantee that it runs smoother.  Finding the ideal solutions come with practice.  Many fears will never materialize, so spending effort focusing on these rather than the real goals of your business will not move it forward.

3. Putting the Cart Before the Horse

How many people have you seen that have a website, business cards, created a "team", and have no deals to show for it?  I know I have seen plenty of this.  Before your first deal your primary objective should be in finding that first deal, not creating a corporate presence.  If you do not know what a deal looks like, then taking the action required to learn what a deal looks like is important.  

4. Not Focusing on People

Losing sight of the relationships in your business can be a fatal flaw. It can destroy the business from the inside.  I have seen this happen on both sides.  Management puts too much effort into creating systems, and disregards the considerations of their employees that will be working the systems.  They then lower moral.  It can also occur when your system impedes adding value to your customer's life. Worse yet, what happens when a system you create impedes getting more customers.  Do not allow your systems to get in the way of people.

5. Not Focusing on Revenue

This should be your primary focus when building and growing a business. Your eyes should be fixed on what creates revenue and keeping that at full tilt. Revenue is the fuel and oxygen you need to grow your business. Without it you have nothing. Growth occurs when you go after new revenue.  You will end up with new problems to solve, new challenges, and new opportunities to learn and get better. 

Focusing on how to create more revenue is by definition, working on your business. It will force you to think about what activities generate revenue and how you can do more of those activities. With the focus on generating new revenue, now is the time to think about what processes need to be improved in order for you to make it rain. 80% of your efforts should be focused on the increase of revenue, and 20% on getting rid of distractions