Your Greatest Enemy in Business (Or is it an Asset?)

28 Apr Your Greatest Enemy in Business (Or is it an Asset?)

Whether you’re a small business owner, an entrepreneur, or a professional, if you’re anything like I am, your greatest asset is also your greatest enemy:

Time.

One thing i’ve learned across the last 10 years, 2 businesses, and $50 million of revenue:

The more things I say “NO” to, the more opportunities I’ll have to say yes. (click to tweet)

It’s never easy to say “NO” to meetings, opportunities, or ideas. As business owners, professionals and entrepreneurs (and humans!), we typically love two things: new ideas, and control. I don’t know about you, but when I say “NO” to something, I typically experience a serious case of FOMO (fear of missing out) and/or a serious case of what I’ll call FOSLEEP (fear of something little executed extremely poorly).

So instead, I used to say “YES” to everything, to vet every new idea and possibility, and to control every last detail of everything in my business. let’s face it, it’s hard to say no (especially to the boss or to the investors!)

The only problem with that was, I lost precious time. Time with my family. Time for myself. Time to work ON my business, instead of IN my business. I lost lots of precious time that I will never get back.

Have you lost time to things that didn’t end up mattering?

Now, I say “NO” to as much as I can, and I accept and live with that FOMO and FOSLEEP.

Guess what? Everything is still ok. I outsource as much as I can to capable software and vendors, entrust my team to execute on all those little things, and have office hours once a week to meet with everyone who insists upon meeting with me but who is off focus for me.

Best of all, now I have time for family, time for myself, and time to continue to work on my business instead of in my business. And time is my greatest asset again, instead of my enemy.

At Likeable Local, we work to give time back to small business owners who have better things to do with their time than social media by automating it for them. There are dozens of software companies and vendors you can use to save time for various aspects of your business, your job, and your life.

Remember, while time is precious, and often hard to control, it’s also the great equalizer:

Time is the one thing that you have an equal amount of as Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington and Barack Obama.

  (click to tweet)

So, really, it’s your choice: Will time be your greatest enemy or your greatest asset?

Would you like to give yourself the gift of time back?