As a business owner, the idea of doing less might sound nice, but it will also probably sound impossible – and counterintuitive. After all, if you want to be successful, don’t you have to hustle and grind and constantly push yourself and your business forward?
The truth is that although hard work is definitely important, there’s also a lot to be said for working smarter, not harder, and in fact, learning how to do less can often lead to better efficiency, more productivity, and success in the end. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how to do less as a business owner so you can enjoy the process more.
Photo by Suzy Hazelwood
Delegate When You Can
One of the reasons you might feel so busy all the time is that you’re trying to do everything yourself. That’s going to leave you stressed out and tired, and it means you don’t get much of a chance to have a break, and all of that isn’t great, whether you’re a business owner or not.
Delegation can be the perfect solution here, even if you don’t like the idea of it to start with. Look at the list of tasks you have to do and work out where you can outsource or delegate work to a team member. When you can do that, you’ll free up a lot more of your time and do less, but your business won’t suffer (and you’ll be able to focus on other things instead).
As a small business owner, I’ve learned that while I can figure out most aspects of my business, that doesn’t always mean I should. My passion lies in sales—it’s what I do best. However, when it comes to certain tasks, like navigating marketing CRMs, the learning curve can be a real drain on my time and energy.
Take HubSpot, for example. Rather than spending hours trying to master the platform myself, I realized it makes more sense to consult with an expert. A professional hubspot consultant like Ash Collyer can save me countless hours of trial and error. If a quick, one-hour consultation can shave off 20 hours of struggle or more, that’s a no-brainer for me!
Look at how you could allocate some of the tasks to outside sources such as an SEO agency to update your website and presence online.
Prioritize Your Tasks
So, those tasks on your to-do list… are they all just as important as each other, or could you prioritize some of them to ensure the most important things definitely get done?
The answer is probably, and if that’s the case, take a little time each day to prioritize your to-do list, starting with the most important tasks that definitely have to be completed, and leaving the less important ones at the bottom of the list – these will be the ones that, if you run out of time, can be done another day, for example.
If you tackle the high-priority tasks first, you’ll make more progress and feel more motivated, and you won’t run the risk of getting bogged down by less important but potentially time-consuming tasks.
Use A CRM
As well as the above, another good way to help yourself do less as a business owner is to invest in a CRM. A CRM, which stands for customer relationship management system, can ensure all your customers’ data is in one place, meaning that it’s far easier for you to find all the information you need when you need it. Not only that, but a good CRM can help to automate and streamline some tasks, giving you even more of your time back.
The key is to find the right system for your specific business, which is why it can often be wise to speak to experts like ZBrains Zoho CRM Consulting to ensure you’ve got exactly what you need in place. Once you do, you’ll find a lot of your day-to-day tasks become a lot quicker, and in the end, all that time-saving is sure to add up.
