Improve Yourself to Improve Your Business
When you own and run your own business, it is easy to see that, like a child or a pet, your business reflects your personality, with a few small differences thrown in. While everyone working in a business has an effect on the overall success of the team, your input is far more important than everyone else’s for one simple reason: you’re in charge.
If you are looking around and wondering how you can possibly improve your business, the best thing to do is start with the man (or woman) in the mirror and start making some changes there.
Get Qualified
Yes, you are running the business and therefore at the top of the heap, but this doesn’t mean that you can stop learning. As the market shifts so rapidly now, with technologies being developed all the time that radically change the way business works, you need to keep on top of the latest trends and make sure that you don’t fall behind.
Some of the old ways of doing business might still apply between you and your network but if you want to expand, you need to know what others are doing and where they are making new alliances. One of the best ways to do that is to sign up for courses, lunches and events that are aimed at people like you so that you can learn something and meet people at the same time.
If you are really into the idea of going to courses, doing an mba organizational management could be just the thing for improving your business. Learning new techniques for organizing your business is a great idea, especially if you have been in the game for a long time and need a refresher. While younger colleagues might arrive with some awesome ideas, it is key that you understand what they are saying and a course like this will put you ahead.
Get Organized
There are plenty of business owners who rarely show up to work and when they do, they don’t really have much of an impact or presence. This type of boss might be fine to work for if they have a great second in command but usually their staff just see them as a fat cat creaming off the top of the profits. You don’t want to be this kind of boss.
Instead, you want to get organized so that you can see what is going on at every level of the business and be there to offer advice or listen to new ideas that will take everyone forward. While being in charge can make working from home tempting, the more you can set a good example by being in work, the better. This will also make you much more accessible and people will respond better to your management.
If you aren’t a naturally organized person and you have a lot on your plate, you might want to consider hiring a PA to keep your diary and make sure that you stay on your toes. This way, you will ensure that you are where you need to be at the right time and will be able to concentrate more on the things you are supposed to be doing and less on figuring out what to do next.
Get Healthy
Though you may not think it, your health is also going to have an impact on the business and the way it is run. If you are constantly working late or getting stressed, this is likely to have an impact on more junior staff who may feel much more pressure and stress themselves. Leading by example means just that, so if you want a healthy team you need to set a healthy example.
Just as being an absent boss can be a problem, you must also make sure that you are allowing your staff to breathe and let them get on with what they are doing. Micromanagement is an unhealthy way to manage any team and you will only cause yourself and your colleagues more stress. Trust that people can do the job themselves and be there as a guide for when they need instead.
You should also help to foster a healthy work environment by encouraging staff to take holiday time when they are due and to make sure that they don’t come to work when they are ill. Though you might think that people will take advantage of this, in general, the vast majority are more than capable of doing the job well and achieving a good work/life balance.
