Why You Must Work ON Your Business

So many times we get wrapped up in our day to day business that we forget to work on your business.

There is nothing wrong with working IN your business but you do need to set aside to work on improving the business and making sure things are going as planned.

Let me explain the difference between the two.

When you are working in your business you are the one creating, assembling, packaging, stocking, selling, and shipping the product. You may also be handling payroll, bookkeeping, taking out the trash etc.

These are all a vital part of the business, but when you are working “ON” your business, you start looking at how to improve your business. Things like how do you get more traffic, Do I need ad’s, can something be changed in my branding. Is the sales process working right and on and on.

As you can see both are a very vital part of your business but as well know the latter usually gets over looked due to the fact that orders have to get out the door.

The key is to make time for both! Yes, work in your business will take up a bigger percentage sometimes but setting aside an hour a day or maybe half a day a week or even a full day a week to look at processes and improvements.

First I suggest you start with a list or a plan of action. Determine what area needs attention first. Let’s make this even easier by making a simple checklist.

What does my customer see first when coming to my business/website?

• Can they find the business/website?
• Entrance to the store/website, Is it appealing?
• Do they want to stop when they get there?
• Is the branding current
• Do the colors work for your market

What does my marketing say to my customer?

• Is there marketing?
• Does it use the words/language they understand?
• Does it spark their interest?
• Does it have a call to action to make them take the next step?

What happens when the customer buys?

• Do they know where to buy/checkout?
• Do they know what they’re getting?
• What does the order/buying process look like?
• Is the check out branding consistent with the rest of your business?
• Is there a follow up? (I.E. Flyer in the bag for upcoming sales, or a follow up email if digital.)

This is just a few ideas to get started with when looking at things to improve IN your business. During your first session you could answer the questions under each bullet. Then in each of the next sessions you take a bullet item that needs improvement or fixing handle that issue. Keep doing so until you’ve finished each item that needs attention at each session.

Surely, by the time you’ve reached the end you will think of other bullet items or sections to this list to continue the process.