Author: admin

Are you working on your business (developing it) or working in your business (maintaining it)?

This is a classic question for owners of small businesses, who often feel that they have to do everything. Maybe they did need to on day one, when having expenses to sort out seemed like a fun thing to do and killed a day! (I’m speaking from experience here).

However, do you need to keep doing the duff stuff, once you get busy? The answer is: No.

Admin might be essential, but in itself it won’t develop new products, make new connections or win new customers.

Therefore, it makes sense to budget some money to enable you to delegate a few of the routine tasks – in order to free up time for thinking, reflection, networking, sales work and product development.

How much is some? Well, maybe £50 buys you 2 to 3 hours of time …which may not sound like much, but could mean the difference between writing up your expenses on time, or organising sales activity …or not!

When I started Primary People I rather naively thought I’d build an empire and be at the top of the pyramid. However, I’ve come to realise that I’m at the bottom of the pyramid and look up to the team who enable me to have fun, develop brand-Rich, market books, advertise products and take care of detailed admin.

I love working with a team of hand-picked superstars and by getting people to do only what they excel at I get the maximum return for the minimum investment.

My permission to a client last week was to do what you love, ask the world for what you need and delegate the dull stuff!

You’re welcome to take the same permission and spend more time working on your business!

Last week I needed to write something for my speaker’s Agency. They wanted a ‘quote’ from me to underline just why I am a motivational speaker who knows his stuff!

I started to write little one-liners about how good leaders are created, not born …and although they were okay, they seemed to lack something.

The world of social media is full of pithy sayings, quotations and bite sized messages. Most them ought to be white-washed from the ether for being either a) insincere, or b) naff.

Here’s an example:

“There’s no I in team.”

That particular one makes me grimace. A good team is full of ‘I’s’ and celebrates individual talent. A good team allows people to play to their strengths and find their niche. A good team has many potential leaders, who can each contribute and show the way in a different situation. I’d prefer to say:

“A team without any I’s is blind.”

(I think my pun is better).

After much scribbling and crossing out I realised that my own attempt at an aphorism lacked heart. For these things to make sense they need to convey something of the writer’s own character and reflect their own life, and not just be a set of words that attempt to sound groovy, but just grate on the ear.

I thought about what I’ve learned, what I cherish and what I need to keep in mind for me. If it’s my quotation then it needs to be relevant to me. After much pen chewing I had it. I edited it back a bit and here’s what I emailed over to my colleague:

“Good business is built on humility, thoughtfulness and the grit of determination.”

I like that. I need to remain humble and own my mistakes and recognise when I need support. Without time to think I could overlook opportunities or be heading in the wrong direction. And business doesn’t make itself …I have to keep pushing it forwards.

I’m now rather fond of my quote and enjoyed the exercise of creating it.

So, this week have a go at writing your own little business quotation. And please share it with me …I’m always keen to learn something! Have fun!