Focused On Business Growth - James Bryant

James W. Bryant - "Better You 4U - An Entrepreneur's Journey"

​IBGR - PROFIT Radio Network. Everything a business owner needs to start, grow or exit a business. Come grow with us.

Introduction
This year, 2020, is steadily coming to an end.  Yes, we are finally reaching the end of a very interesting year! This year has presented many challenges and obstacles in several areas of our lives. January 1, 2021 is just around the corner and this is the time that many people start to think about the year that was and the year that will be.  I saw a social media post that provided a good perspective on 2020 that said, “I started out 2020 praying for all of the things that I wanted, but 2020 has taught me to be grateful for all of the things that I have.”  The past few shows have focused on some of the positive stories and perspectives on 2020.  One of the key messages from last week was – You cannot take advantage of something that you do not see or that you see but fail to act on. It is difficult to see the future if you are solely focused on your current circumstances.  This applies for you personally and for your business.

In order to make meaningful progress in growing your business in 2021, it is helpful to set your sights on your post COVID-19 goals that you have for your business. What are your targets?   When you go into 2021 what will be your business growth goals?  Where do you want to focus your limited attention in order to grow your business?  These are all key questions where we need to take the time to work “on” our businesses and not “in” our businesses.

Your Energy Flows to Where Your Focus Goes - Let’s Focus on Growing Your Business

Listen>Apply>Engage

Show Objectives
It is impossible to make meaningful progress if there is no destination. Many of us have had to change direction in 2020 but now is the time to plant the seeds for the future that you want for yourself and your company. The purpose of today’s show is to provide a framework to help you develop and clarify the growth goals that you have for your business for 2021.  Today’s discussion is more focused on the business side of your business and the steps that you can take as an executive to grow your company.  Let’s get growing! 

Key Concepts:

• Multitasking
• The Power of Your Focus
• Time Blocking
• Eisenhower Productivity Matrix

​Key Questions:

• What do you mean that I need to work “on” my business?
• What are some key activities that fall in working “on” my business?
• I have competing priorities for my business, should I work on all of these at the same time?
• How do I clarify where my focus should be for growing my business?

​What do you need to do?

1. Become familiar with the concepts of the Eisenhower matrix. Typically, this is applied to time management and personal productivity. Let’s think about how it can apply to your business. There are 4 quadrants in the Eisenhower Matrix:
   1. Do It - Important/Urgent
   2. Schedule It - Important/Not Urgent
   3. Delegate it - Not Important/Urgent
   4. Eliminate it - Not Important/Not Urgent​

​

You can apply these concepts to help you clarify the priorities that you want to focus on in your business. 

1. Determine how you want your business to grow in 2021. 
   1. What are your business growth goals? 

These can be broad goals like: Grow sales by 30%; Increase revenue by 15%; Grow the number of paying clients by x percent or increase the sale of your online courses by x percent.  What are your overall growth goals for your company?  It’s ok to start off broad here you may come back and refine these goals as you work through these next steps. 

1. Determine what activities are needed for you to reach your growth goals. 

This is a similar process suggested by Warren Buffet in looking at the development of your career.  Here it is applied to the growth goals of your company. 

1. 1. Make a list of activities that come to mind that are needed to reach your growth goals. I would limit this list to 25 activities. 

1. 1. Now select the top five activities from your list 

You can apply the Eisenhower matrix framework to help you determine what are those things that you need to give your attention to right now.  It may also be helpful for your top five list to be guided by Gary Keller’s question: “What are the activities/tasks or goals on this list that will make everything else on this list much easier or unnecessary?”

1. The top 5 list is where you will focus ALL of your attention. 

1.  Start Planning Your activities based on your priorities

Next Episode: Planning for 2021

Website
Come and visit our website where you can subscribe to the podcast, and check out our upcoming events.
https://betteryou4u.com/

Written by James W. Bryant (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbryant2/)

Let Your Light Shine

​