An entrepreneur is a very busy person. There’s always so much to do and so little time. It’s an old, familiar complaint. But, there are probably ways you’re wasting time here and there. And, these can add up to a lot, over the course of a week or month. The problem is often identifying what actually wastes time and what’s really worthwhile. So, let’s take a look at the top entrepreneur time-wasters to make you a more productive leader. Yes, Time is Money First, let’s revisit an old cliché — “time is money.” Now, it’s undoubtedly true. We all know that it’s an inescapable conclusion. However, we too often let time get away from us in a number of ways. It’s not that we don’t necessarily stick to a schedule. It’s more about what we don’t commit our time to. In other words, the biggest time-wasters are things we don’t expressly plan for. We all wish that we could be more productive. But, how is that possible when assignments keep piling up, the latest season of Orange is the New Black just appeared on Netflix, and you have a flurry of emails, texts, and social media notifications distracting you? —Inc.com Just let that sink in for a moment. If you aren’t dutifully working on this or that, and don’t have a commitment at-hand, you’re quite likely to waste time meandering about. Of course, it’s not possible to plan every minute of every day. But, it does mean it’s worth the effort to fill in those gaps, when possible. Use some of that time to take a break. Also, use some more of that time to just reflect or think about the next step. Then, try to make the rest of that “free time” productive. 5 Biggest Entrepreneur Time-Wasters So, what are the biggest entrepreneur time-wasters? Well, a few just might surprise you. Let’s just get the most obvious out-of-the-way to start — social media. It’s easy to lose track of time on social media. Since most entrepreneurs know this, they try to avoid it. But, there are still other huge time-waters: Unplanned mornings. Take a few moments at the end of the day to plan the next. If you don’t, you’ll probably fall prey to disorganization or at worst, chaos. Make a prioritized list to follow with the largest challenges at the top. Redundant work. There’s probably more than one way you’re duplicating your efforts or essentially doing unnecessary work more than once. Try to automate as much as possible. It’s surprising just how much more time you can squeeze out of a day when you’re not as redundant. Business travel. With all the available technology, in-person meetings are easy to accomplish, even if you’re physically hundreds or thousands of miles away. Sure, there are times when it’s absolutely necessary but delegate what you can and telecommute when possible. Multitasking. You might have heard that women are better than men at multitasking. While this is marginally true, it’s also now known humans aren’t good at multitasking. Even if you are able to multitask, you’re still dividing your attention. And, that’s a sure-fire way to make mistakes. What other time-wasters would you add to the list? Please share your thoughts by commenting! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

With regular life all but suspended and so much uncertainty, small businesses will most definitely feel the impact. Although most of it will occur in the short term, it could well have long-term impacts, lasting far beyond the next several weeks. That means it’s time to hunker down and get serious about the situation to minimize any potential damage. 5 Ways Small Businesses can Weather Uncertain Economic Times The very first thing to do is to review all expenses. Not just some or the top, but everything. You’ll likely be reminded of at least one that’s either unnecessary or simply too costly to maintain in its current status. In an uncertain economy when every penny counts, even the smallest increase in revenue or reduction in expenses can have an impact on company profitability. The good news is a large-scale company overhaul isn’t necessary. It’s often simple, common sense steps that improve the bottom line, especially for a small business. Q1, 2020 is a good time to step back and look carefully at your business practices. —American Express Then, it’s time to start to reduce discretionary spending. Here again, don’t just settle for around the margins. Instead, think about where you can cut when it comes to discretionary spending. You’ll probably be surprised by how much you’re wasting and don’t even realize it. More Ways of Dealing with an Economic Downturn Of course, those two things won’t do it alone. While reviewing expenses and cutting down on discretionary spending will most certainly help out, you’ll probably be able to do more — a lot more. For instance, you can do the following: Buy more carefully. This is different from discretionary because these entail essentials. Although these things are necessities to run your business, you can probably get away with buying a little less. Doing so across a few or several items will have a cumulative savings effect that will make a real difference. Cut down on extras. Overtime, perks, even benefits are all part of this particular category. (You should be doing this periodically, about once to twice per year, anyway.) Again, you’ll likely be a bit shocked by how much these items are costing you, especially when added-up together. Consider cutting pay. This doesn’t just apply to your employees, but you as the owner, as well. Yes, you. It might be necessary to reduce team member hours, and even take a temporary pay cut yourself. This will not only help you weather the storm, but also, it shows real leadership. Moreover, it sends a clear message that you are part of the solution, rather than part of the larger problem. Innovate. Huddle up with your key employees and leaders and challenge everyone with to come up with 2 or 3 innovative strategies to create or capture new revenue sources that you are currently not generating. Many successful businesses have found way to survive and in some cases developed entirely new services and products that resulted from innovating during difficult times. Necessity is the mother of invention. Plato. What other measures would you suggest? Please share your thoughts and experiences by commenting! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

Microsoft just undermined its launch of its newly released Edge browser by hard selling it. You may not know about this because it’s niche-worthy news. But, it’s a lesson that the company should have learned many years ago. Instead, it continues to make the same mistake over and over again. Here’s what it is, what it means, and why it proves the hard sell doesn’t work. Why the Hard Sell doesn’t Work Microsoft recently introduced a new version of its Edge browser. In order to promote it, the company shamelessly inserted a conspicuous ad in its Windows 10 menu. The advertisement “suggests” that users switch from their current browser of choice over to Edge. Of course, people don’t like this assertive tactic and are taking to social media to complain about it. Small-business owners successful at sales know the best way to sell something is not to sell it. You listen to potential customers about what they want or need, and then you introduce your product as the answer. You want people to think buying your services was their idea. —American Express Turns out that Microsoft is not willing to learn from its many repeated mistakes of the past. That is, the corporation’s insistence on pushing its customers into buying or using proprietary products and services that are promoted through the company’s various platforms. This is not only annoying, it’s obnoxious. Plus, it demonstrates the many problems with hard selling. There is no empathy, no relationship, no trust, and so it goes against human nature. Trying to badger people into becoming loyal customers is simply not a winning strategy. 3 Proven Ways to Sell without Being Pushy (or Obnoxious) So, how do you promote your products and/or services without hard selling? It’s actually easier than one would think. Better yet, it works and works very well. Here are three effective ways to sell without being pushy or obnoxious: Take your time. Rushing will only backfire. When you sell at a hurried pace, you don’t give your customer enough time to process what you’re offering. It’s confusing and overwhelming and unsurprisingly, it typically won’t work. Let potential customers do all the talking. Well, maybe not all the talking, but most definitely, the majority of it. This way, you’ll learn quite a bit about him or her and gain a better understanding of his or her needs. You’ll be regarded as empathetic and trustworthy and those two key elements are important to building any relationship. Focus on their problem, not your product or service. This goes hand-in-hand with the second point. You need to understand precisely what their problem is in order to offer an effective solution. You won’t be forcing a sale, but rather giving them answers they need. What other strategies do you use in-place of hard selling techniques? Please comment and share your thoughts and experiences! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.