Feeling pulled in all different directions, and not sure where to focus your time and energy? Believe me, I’ve been there… actually, I’m still there!
As entrepreneurs and business owners, we naturally wear many different hats. From CEO to chief of marketing, accountant to manager to admin, the number of roles or “titles” can feel seemingly endless.
Not to mention all the titles we have outside of work, too. Mom, wife, friend, daughter… all important roles that deserve our time, energy, and attention. The challenge is finding the number of hours in a day to be present for it all.
After just giving birth to my second child, this topic has been especially top of mind for me, and to be honest, I’ve been battling some mom guilt lately. How can I find balance between mom life and my businesses? What shifts can I make to keep both aspects of my life – which I find so rewarding in different ways – thriving, without sacrificing my own well-being?
I’m going to tell you right now that I don’t have it all figured out (no one does!), but I have learned some things along the way that I think can be helpful, whether you are juggling entrepreneurship and parenting, or just trying to grow your business and struggling to know where to focus.
Get Organized
If you feel like you are all over the place or struggle to make progress on the strategies and plans that you want, that’s a clear sign that your business is lacking some needed organizational structure and systems. Every business’s needs will be different, but below are a few questions to ask yourself to help narrow in on the areas of your business that could use some better organization.
- If you have a team, do you have clearly defined roles? Do you know who is doing what, when?
- Do you have clear record keeping processes? Is it easy to find the things you need, or do you have things saved in multiple different places?
- What are the activities that need to be done for your business on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis? Do all of these have someone responsible for doing them?
- Are there duplicate efforts being made or inefficiencies that you could streamline?
- What are the things that you want to get done, but never seem to have the time for?
If you feel like organization and processes simply aren’t your forte, go to tip number two and see if you can hire someone to help you get organized.
If you can, delegate
Sounds obvious, but having the ability to delegate is so critical to business success. This can be challenging for entrepreneurs for a couple of reasons. If your business is still relatively small/new, delegation might feel financially out of reach. I completely understand this feeling, but if this is you I encourage you to challenge your thinking.
What opportunities/strategies are you currently missing out on because you have to spend your time doing x, y, z activities? In other words, how could you be growing your business if you could delegate those tasks? In many cases, the financial benefits of delegating often outweigh the costs. This doesn’t mean you have to hire a full-time person to add to your team. With so many freelancers, virtual assistants, and agencies out there; you might be able to find the support you need for just a couple of hours a week.
The other challenge entrepreneurs face with delegation is not a financial issue, but rather an issue of trust. You pour your heart and soul into your business, and it can be hard to put your faith in someone else. Will they have as much attention to detail as you? Will they care as much as you do? Overcoming this challenge all comes down to finding the right people who not only have skills you need, but who you can also connect with on a personal level. Once you work with people you trust, it becomes so much easier to let go of some of the tasks and responsibilities that are weighing you down.
Hone in on your strengths
This last tip is the most important when it comes to focusing your energy as a business owner, and it’s all about knowing and playing to your strengths. What part of your day-to-day workload are you most excited about? What things fill you up on a creative or emotional level? What are you good at? What activities move the needle the most in your business? What are the things that only you can do?
Get really specific here on the aspects of your business that you are not only competent at, but that you truly love. Maybe you are great at accounting, but doing that activity doesn’t move the needle for your business and doesn’t bring you a lot of fulfillment and joy. This might be an activity that would be great to delegate to someone else.
Honing on your strengths will help you focus your energy where it is most impactful, and be able to clearly see the areas of your business where you need additional support. Sure, you probably won’t be able to get away from doing some of the more mundane tasks that keep your business running smoothly. But when you can spend the majority of your time on activities that fulfill you, help grow your business, and support your overall wellbeing, you will be on the path to leading a more balanced life.
In short, focus your energy where it’s needed most, and delegate the rest.
This will free you up to do all the other things in your life that are important, like focusing on your family, friends, personal passions, and importantly – yourself. A little reminder here: don’t let your self-care come last in your list of things to do! It’s impossible to give life your all when you are drawing from an empty well. So fill yourself first, then give to others.
