The Productive Entrepreneur

Move Beyond Your Doubts

"Don't waste life in doubts and fears; spend yourself on the work before you, well assured that the right performance of this hour's duties will be the best preparation for the hours and ages that will follow it."

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sometimes it's hard to trust our own actions or intentions. Doubts about our abilities creep into our minds, or fears about success or failure seem to sneak into our thoughts. We wonder if we investing our valuable time and money in the right activities or pursuing the best and most appropriate goals.

It's times like these that separate success from failure. Successful entrepreneurs push through these discouraging times and turn to their supports in social and business networks. When you experience doubts, look to others who have been there for examples and advice. Seek out a motivational pep talk from a loyal friend, trusted colleague, or dedicated business coach (hint, hint) to build your confidence and point out how far you've come.

Build on the activities you've already completed and remember that, by fulfilling those goals, you've already prepared yourself for taking on new challenges. And when your days aren't as productive as you'd like, don't get discouraged. Remember that what you are doing right now will eventually be the foundation for a bigger, better business in the future.

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Who do you look to for advice? What helps you push through discouragement? Share them with me at joy@a25hourday.com.

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Joy Duling is a business strategist and creator of The Productive Entrepreneur ProgramTM.  If you enjoyed this post, we invite you to explore the resources available at www.theproductiveentrepreneur.com.  Each month, Joy presents resources and educational opportunities aimed at helping self-employed, entrepreneurial business owners increase their personal productivity so that they can accomplish BIG goals.   

The Power of Gracious Gestures

Successful entrepreneurs tend to be the ones who surround themselves with supportive communities. And they often build these communities by first being in service to others or by making a gracious gesture of friendship, signaling a desire to connect in a more meaningful way. 

My personal networking became more powerful when I began sending birthday cards to members of a particular group.  It was easy enough to do… our membership directory had birthdays listed in it, so I simply pre-scheduled a card to go out right before each person's birthday.  (shhhh…. don't give away my secret) 

Sometimes I even included a small denomination Starbucks gift card.  I cannot tell you how many invitations I received from people to share a cup of coffee after they received their birthday card.  Many of my closest business friendships began over those coffee cups.

Consider doing something "unexpected" for your friends, and even your clients and customers. Building a fulfilling business endeavor starts with building a strong, supportive network of family, friends, colleagues, and clients. And this starts by building personal relationships. Cultivate those on a regular basis and you'll be surprised how easily you will enrich your life and your business.

Is Your Ride Bumpy?

It’s probably relatively easy for you to know that your life is out of balance. When you spend some much time on one priority in your life, others suffer. But exactly how “out-of-balanced” things are might be a hard concept to get your hands around at first glance. And finding a path to a more balanced life might be even harder for you. So I’ve developed a tool to help you visualize your situation.

Think of a wheel with spokes, such as a bicycle wheel. Now picture a bead on each those spokes. Each bead represents one priority area in your life. Now, think about each priority in your life and rank it from 1 to 10, with 1 indicating that you’re least satisfied with this area, and 10 indicating that you are completely satisfied with this area in your life. If you would connect the beads in a circle, how round would that circle be? How bumpy is your ride?

I help entrepreneurs and small business owners close the gap between unsatisfied and satisfied, rounding out their wheel, and thus, creating a smoother ride. Once we’ve identified those areas that are out of balance, we can plan new strategies and tactics to improve your comfort level, increase you satisfaction, and make your accomplishments more meaningful and fulfilling.

There are more details and questions to consider to fulfill this wheel analogy for a balanced life. I would love to help you digger deeper, identifying your priorities, sketching out your own wheel, and then intentionally and thoughtfully setting goals to bring your life into balance. Once you have accomplished this, you will be prepared to take on new challenges to grow your business, find more time in your day, earn more money, and enjoy your life as a productive entrepreneur.

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Joy Duling is a business strategist and creator of The Productive Entrepreneur ProgramTM.  If you enjoyed this post, we invite you to explore the resources available at www.theproductiveentrepreneur.com.  Each month, Joy presents resources and educational opportunities aimed at helping self-employed, entrepreneurial business owners increase their personal productivity so that they can accomplish BIG goals. 

A Balanced Life Leads to a Fulfilled Life

Is your life in balance? With all the responsibilities you have as an entrepreneur, plus any family commitments, social activities, professional development pursuits, networking events, church activities, involvement in associations and keeping your household and vehicle in check, you are pulled several different directions. How well do you feel you are managing these?

For a career to be fulfilling, you have to be able to enjoy the others parts of life, too. Too much time spent being involved in your business will take your time and attention away from other important things in your life, throwing you out of balance, leaving you unfulfilled. To regain that equilibrium, you'll have to reflect on your values and beliefs, and then re-prioritize your activities based on your self-assessment.

As a business coach, I can help you review your core values and devise a plan to reassign your time in a more balanced way. I have a nifty little graphical depiction that I will describe in my next post. It will help you visualize your priorities, assess your status, and track your progress toward a more balanced life. It’s one of the resources that’s available through my “Productive Entrepreneur” coaching program. It’s just one tool that I use to help my clients find fulfillment in their business work, and their personal lives as well.

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Joy Duling is a business strategist and creator of The Productive Entrepreneur ProgramTM.  If you enjoyed this post, we invite you to explore the resources available at www.theproductiveentrepreneur.com.  Each month, Joy presents resources and educational opportunities aimed at helping self-employed, entrepreneurial business owners increase their personal productivity so that they can accomplish BIG goals. 

Finding Time vs. Making Time

"You will never 'find' time for anything. If you want time, you must make it." - Charles Buxton

As entrepreneurs and small business owners, we all know that time is elusive. It seems to slip away faster than we can assign tasks and duties to each hour. Sometimes we have a plan, but often unexpected phone calls or drop-ins or e-mails pull us into a different direction, and suddenly we're left with an here, a couple of minutes there, and it feels like we accomplish nothing.

We can never get more hours in a day. There will always be 24. But we can make more time in the day to accomplish the important things that need to get done. The key is not to wait for the right time, or try to let a free block of time appear. Because that will probably never happen. You must own your time, direct your time, decide that you will follow your plan.

Make time to do the important things, whether related to your business or not. If it requires you to delegate projects or kindly decline a request to do something, then do it. Prioritize your activities and then make time to get them done. My "Productive Entrepreneur" program will help you do that! I encourage you to consider delving into this endeavor to discover new ways to grow your business and fulfill your business goals and aspirations, as well as your personal ones.

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Joy Duling is a business strategist and creator of The Productive Entrepreneur ProgramTM.  If you enjoyed this post, we invite you to explore the resources available at www.theproductiveentrepreneur.com.  Each month, Joy presents resources and educational opportunities aimed at helping self-employed, entrepreneurial business owners increase their personal productivity so that they can accomplish BIG goals. 

What's Your Time Worth?

As an entrepreneur, your time is extremely valuable -- much too valuable to waste. You shouldn't spend large chunks of time doing tasks that aren't directly related to advancing your business. But many times, we are working from home offices, or take on more non-business responsibilities because our schedule may seem more flexible than other members of the household.

We have a tool that might help you identify what activities (business-related or not) are "worth" your time. Those that don't meet the standard might be good items to outsource or delegate to someone else. Here's how to find out...

Experiment with the Smart Money "Value of Your Time Calculator." Here you can find out if it would really be more productive to hire a cleaning service instead of cleaning your own house, hire a lawn service instead of mowing your own grass, or eating take out instead of cooking.

It's just another way to think about what your time is worth. If you use the information gleaned from these examples to prioritize activities, you will find it easier to identify projects that you should be assigning to someone else.

This applies to your business as well - not just your household. Leverage the productivity of other experts to make you more productive. There are accountants, copywriters, virtual assistants, and web designers that have the knowledge (and likely the same entrepreneurial drive that you have) to complete needed tasks much faster and more "polished than you. Concentrate your efforts on what you do best!

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Joy Duling is a business strategist and creator of The Productive Entrepreneur ProgramTM.  If you enjoyed this post, we invite you to explore the resources available at www.theproductiveentrepreneur.com.  Each month, Joy presents resources and educational opportunities aimed at helping self-employed, entrepreneurial business owners increase their personal productivity so that they can accomplish BIG goals. 

Aligning Words and Actions

"Trust only movement.  Life happens at the level of events, not words."
Alfred Adler

We've all heard the expressions "actions speak louder than words" or "practice what you preach." It's about professing to hold certain values, principles, or beliefs and living your life in a consistent manner. For small business owners and entrepreneurs, those sayings hold true as well. As a business strategist, I often talk with clients about how well their actions align with what they say they want.

Typically, this is from a business goals perspective… for example, if they say they want more revenue, then I look at their behaviors to see if they are actually DOING things that relate to increasing their revenue.

Interestingly, I often find that most people are NOT spending time on the things that they say they value.

Today, think about how this principle applies to your life… how well do your behaviors align with what you say you want in your life?

For example,

• If you SAY you value creativity and innovation, where would I see that playing out in your life?
• If you SAY you value spirituality, where would I see that playing out in your life?
• If you SAY you value connectedness to your family, where would I see that playing out in your life?

To fulfill the goals that you've set for your business, and to make your business a "fulfilling" venture for yourself, you should examine how well you align your words with your actions. Productive and successful entrepreneurs say what they want to accomplish and follow a specific plan to get there.

Take a minute to think about just one area of your business that you'd like to improve. Do you measure up to your words? How can I, as a business coach and strategist, help you with that? Let me know!

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Joy Duling is a business strategist and creator of The Productive Entrepreneur ProgramTM.  If you enjoyed this post, we invite you to explore the resources available at www.theproductiveentrepreneur.com.  Each month, Joy presents resources and educational opportunities aimed at helping self-employed, entrepreneurial business owners increase their personal productivity so that they can accomplish BIG goals. 

Boost Your Creativity, Initative, and Productivity Like The Big Companies Do

Many big, successful companies with offices in the U.S. and around the globe promote creativity, innovation, and personal development for their employees. There are several examples:

• At its headquarters in Cupertino, California, Apple Computer allows its employees to spend a 1/2 hour each day in its dedicated meditation and prayer room. The company touts it as a way to stimulate energy and creativity.
• Google, one of the world's largest companies with 50 offices globally and more than 12,000 employees, encourages employees to try new things. Through its 20% time initiative, Google workers get to spend one day a week on a project of their choice. Additionally, employees always have the opportunity to explore new opportunities within different departments at the company.
• eBay offers also offers prayer and meditation rooms for employees who need some quiet time to re-energize. The company also allows employees to take 4-week paid sabbaticals every five years.
• Intuit, the software company who produces Quickbooks, gives each employee four days off with pay each year to perform community service.

These companies offer their employees the opportunity to participate in work that really interests them, and giving them the time to pursue other fulfilling activities. These employee benefits have helped them reach the top of the list in Fortune 500's 100 Best Companies to Work For. These businesses have found that encouraging fulfilling activities not only improves employee retention rates, but has a positive affect on the bottom line as well. Happy, fulfilled workers are productive and motivated.

Even though you, as a small business owner and entrepreneur, may not have to worry employee benefits, productivity, and motivation, you DO have to worry about your own. Part of finding fulfillment in your work involves finding ways to re-energize your creativity, refresh your mind, and make a difference in the lives of others.

Your efforts don't have to be costly or time consuming, but they should be fulfilling to you. Volunteer for a community service project, take a mini-vacation, or just spend some time walking through a park or on a nature trail each day. You'll come back to your business with a new perspective and a clearer head, which will give your productivity a boost!

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Joy Duling is a business strategist and creator of The Productive Entrepreneur ProgramTM.  If you enjoyed this post, we invite you to explore the resources available at www.theproductiveentrepreneur.com.  Each month, Joy presents resources and educational opportunities aimed at helping self-employed, entrepreneurial business owners increase their personal productivity so that they can accomplish BIG goals. 

August - Focus on Fulfilling Work

“The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us along the path to its fulfillment.”
--Earl Nightingale

As a small business owner, it is so easy to get so caught up in the day-to-day aspects of running a business that you leave the office frazzled, discouraged, and frustrated. To battle against these negative, energy-sucking feelings, you need to pursue work that fulfills you. Throughout this month, I want to impress upon you the importance of building your business around a passion that makes you happy and satisfied.

To create a stable business of your own, you will have to invest a lot of time, and sometimes, money. It often becomes your life, or even your "also known as." You are that accoutant, or that vet, or that artist, or that designer, or that.... fill in the blank. You will have so much more dedication, committment, and drive to succeed if you feel "intensely" about a goal and are "assured" of its purpose, as the quote above suggests. And that's what will pull you through those discouraging days when you wonder if you can succeed, or even if you want to.

You've probably heard it said - "Find something you love to do and you'll never work a day in your life." Well, that's what fulfillment is all about. This month, I hope to help you explore what fulfills you and then help you integrate that into your business life, which all leads to a successful, productive entrepreneur.

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Joy Duling is a business strategist and creator of The Productive Entrepreneur ProgramTM.  If you enjoyed this post, we invite you to explore the resources available at www.theproductiveentrepreneur.com.  Each month, Joy presents resources and educational opportunities aimed at helping self-employed, entrepreneurial business owners increase their personal productivity so that they can accomplish BIG goals.