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1. Do the moneymaking things first.
For an entrepreneur, generating income is the most important job. Without income, your business will cease to exist.
2. Develop a sales and marketing plan.
What are you selling? Who is going to buy it? Where and how will you find them? Establish your sales goals, and then view your plan as your map to reach those goals.
3. Follow your sales and marketing plan.
While plans do sometimes change, one of the biggest challenges faced by entrepreneurs is how to be proactive rather than merely reactive. Having a plan in place and following it allows the entrepreneur to move the business forward.
4. Do at least three things every day to promote your business.
In the immediacy of day-to-day business life, it is easy to let sales and marketing activities fall by the wayside. Keeping on top of and servicing existing accounts seems to always take precedence over developing new accounts. But without new accounts, there are no future accounts! Keep your momentum by doing at least three sales/marketing/promotional items every day.
5. Do the things you do well. Hire people or partner with others to do the rest.
You cannot expect yourself to do everything perfectly. Even if you did, there are not that many hours in a day. Do what you do well. Do what makes money. Delegate the rest.
6. Delegate appropriately and effectively.
Find people whom you trust to do what needs to be done. Be clear about your expectations and their responsibilities.
7. Give employees some autonomy in their decision-making process.
Once you have the appropriate people in place, let them do their job. Micromanaging is not a good use of your time. You have hired your employees to do the things you cannot do or do not want to do. Let them do it.
8. Encourage employees to think creatively.
Encourage an atmosphere of ownership and responsibility by allowing employees to offer suggestions, make changes and discover new possibilities.
9. Minimize paperwork and bureaucracy.
While accurate records are important, records and paperwork are meant to help, not be an end in themselves. Always ask yourself if a particular procedure helps or hinders. Decide what to do accordingly.
10. Schedule time to have fun.
Enough said.
