Do you see a problem here?
How about now?
Yep, the middle clip is missing a vital part. Even though at a glance it looks like a paper clip, it’s useless as an office supply. Not a big deal, right? However I left it in my paper clip holder and you would be amazed how many times when I reached for a paper clip I would fish this same one out of the holder. Right in the middle of an important task, I would grab this little guy and lose my train of thought and have to stop what I was doing and start over. Time and again.
We do this same thing in business, each of us, don’t we? What seems like a small thing—a computer that’s too slow, the business card you haven’t quite finished, the promotional pieces you wish you had when you meet a new client but never got finished—looms large when it’s needed to work for us. How about the bigger things? Your website? Still cringing when potential clients ask you your web address? What about your logo—embarrassed that it is outdated or amateur, not compelling like your competitors? And like these clips sometimes these problems don’t appear significant until we line our business up with others. The competitor that has a great logo or website or a marketing plan. Then the flaws stand out. Not to worry, we can help!
Try these 7 steps to moving forward and improving your business:
- Give your business your full attention, 10 minutes at a time. When you’re exercising, driving, waiting in line somewhere, showering. Disciple yourself to run through what is working and what you KNOW needs improvement. Use that free “brain time” to focus on improvements.
- Resolve to “throw away” the obvious trash in your business, your defective paper clips. Is it your desk, your files, your to-do list, antiquated procedures, ineffective staff members? In our office we had the same cleaning service for years. And even though we monitored and communicated frequently, our office was never clean. Finally the cleaning service was at the top of my list. I got some referrals from our landlord and other tenants in our office. I interviewed, organized a trial cleaning session and finally, calmly, terminated the old service and hired a new one. Guess what? For about the same money our office is now sparkling clean, all the time. So sharpen your pencils, start with the obvious, easy stuff. You will be amazed how well this works.
- And while you’re throwing things out, get rid of your crippling excuses. Not enough time? Not enough money? You don’t know how? There might be some truth to this, but know when it is only an excuse for not doing something.
- Pick three things, only three (come on, it’s not that hard) you know you want to get done. Next put those things in order according to most urgent or most affordable depending on your priorities.
- Now, get started with the top one. You can do it, and you know what, it’s going to be so freeing and motivating. Take it from us. We’re a marketing and advertising company. We value Facebook as a marketing communication. But for a while our Facebook page was, shall we say, lacking? How could we really help our clients with their pages when ours needed attention? So our Facebook page landed at the top of our list. Little by little, using this formula, we cleaned up our page, set a regular schedule, identified a page manager, etc. Once you start with fundamental solutions a lot of other ideas start to appear. Today, our page is a vital part of our marketing plan, a constant resource for supporting our clients and a foundation for new business. Pretty good. And I’ll tell you a secret, it’s fun too. Success is fun.
- Hold yourself accountable going forward. Once you tackle number one on your list, start with number two, then three. In no time you will have completed three projects for your business.
- Last but not least, seek professional help when your task list is beyond your skill set or time range. That’s where SDA Creative comes in. We can provide professional, efficient solutions to your marketing needs. Your logo? We’ve designed hundreds, at least—great ones, too. Your website? You have to have one. It’s mandatory in business these days. Our web team is technically savvy and very creative. You’ll love what we can do for your business’s online presence. How about a video to promote your products or services? Our award winning film team can take your business to the next level of edutaining (educate and entertain). There isn’t enough room here to list all the ways our business can help yours. But if you’re interested, just browse through our website. I promise you’ll find lots of ideas and samples of the work we’ve done for countless clients in the 20 years we have been in business.
Now, back to you. Leave us a comment in the comment section about a positive improvement you have implemented in your business, we would love to hear from you. Good luck and good business to you. Thanks for stopping by.