HOW TO to simplify your entrepreneurial life

⏳ Is it time to simplify your entrepreneurial life?
On the day of writing, we had hit the 310th day of 2023 and I recently reviewed the processes within Purposeful Group's business.

As the CEO and founder of PG, my number 1 goal this year was to work smart, rather than just working hard, my go-to behaviour. (There’s nothing wrong with hard graft, especially if it's targeted, otherwise it can be like trying to bash a door down with brute force, instead of getting a screw driver and removing it from the hinges!)

To me, working smart means:
🎯 Increasing focus: I’ve cut back my activities to the most fundamental ones needed to produce results. Once you know what they are for your business, schedule and do them consistently, and then ramp up activity to supercharge your results.

(🤔 These are often the tasks that fall under the “Important, but not urgent” quadrant on the Eisenhower Matrix.)

The image below (bottom right) shows where time should be best spent if you want to maximise your efficiency.

Source: Jobcanada

Working smart also means:

​🌪️ Simplicity: Simplicity will keep you sane! This year, I've really embraced this. As a result of stripping things back, the path ahead may seem clearer and less stressful.

🔧 Systems and Processes: Setting up and optimising your internal systems makes any business “assembly line” run more smoothly!

- Create systems to support your fundamental activities, and to make sure you carry them out consistently and well.

- Create templated documents for repetitive tasks to save time, so you’re not reinventing the wheel Every. Time. You. Need. To. Do. That. Task. Again!
 
Templates should be set up to contain all the main elements to set you up for success, and they can be copied, completed, and used again next time.

📝 Process documents which set out how to carry out a specific task (and importantly where to QUICKLY find all the elements needed, including links to relevant content, documents or project folders) will save so much time.

⚠ If process docs are vague, they'll be of limited value. It should be possible to follow them step-by-step.
 
🧑🏾‍💻🧑🏻‍💻🧑🏿‍💻🧑🏼‍💻 As your team grows, templates and process docs will remove chaos from the equation!
You’ll save time playing hunt the [insert item] and it'll be easier to maintain standards of quality when getting things done, whether you’re arranging an event, pitching to new customers, preparing a proposal, creating content, booking meetings (or anything else for that matter) - life is just better with templates! 

If you discover a way to do something which is faster, smoother, or otherwise achieves superior results, don’t forget to update your templates and process docs!

📈 Experiment with business software to streamline / automate your operations. Tools for quick content creation and posting to brand social media accounts are no-brainers, as is software for invoicing and billing, customer relationship management, and task management.

What could you do to make your entrepreneurial life easier before the end of this year?