How To Get More Focus To Grow Your Business

Getting things done that grow your business is critical if you’re ambitious.  The trouble for so many entrepreneurs is that we struggle to focus on the right things, at multiple levels.  If you don’t change your focus, your business results will stay the same.  Read on to learn about the four levels of focus for success…

1. Focus on Long-Term Direction Alongside Normal Work

If you don’t have a clear sense of direction for where your business is going then you’ve already reached your destination.

To make your business grow you need a sense of where it’s going and how it’s going to get there.  A goal and a strategy that supports that goal is the top level of focus you need to grow your business.

The idea isn’t just to come up with the first wild idea you have and then to run with it, but to spend the quality of time and thought to flesh out your ideas until you’ve got real clarity about what you are working to build.

Once your direction is set, the next level of focus is about breaking this down further…

2. Focus on Growth, Instead of Business as Usual

Lots of people have dreams they never achieve.  They’ve got the big idea that’s really exciting to them, but somehow there never seem to be enough hours in the day.

Your time is limited - and everything you do is a choice.  Too many people make choices that simply keep the handle turning rather than moving you forwards towards a new and better place.

The challenge of this second level is figuring out when to do the growth work, so that there’s still time for everything else to get done.  This is probably one of the most important things you have to crack if you want to move forwards rapidly.

Some people find that a good time management system works wonders for them - just make sure though, that you don’t just produce a huge list of things to do and feel like you have no time at all to get it done.  That will drive you backwards, rather than forwards.

3. Focus on Strengths Instead of Doing it All

Are you the kind of business owner who expects superhero qualities of yourself?  Leaping a tall building with a single leap (or at least being able to build a website and get traffic into it, recruit and manage staff, sell products, do the bookkeeping yourself and so on).

If that sounds at all like you, it means you’re wasting your talents doing something that’s not really you.  Figure out what your own personal super-strengths are and stick to doing just those few things.  Don’t try to do all the stuff that you’re just OK at doing, because that will slow you down.

If you can’t afford to hire full time staff to do these things, use a freelancer from PeoplePerHour.com or another similar website.

4. Focus on Habits Instead of Goals

The cool thing about your habits is that they are automatic - you don’t have to give them any real thought to do them on a daily basis.

So if you can figure out the habits that will automatically create your goals, you’re in a position to create your own winning streak.

For example, if you want to get down to a healthy weight, instead of setting a goal to lose 10kgs of body fat, create the habits of only buying healthy foods and eating sensible portions.  Pretty soon, once this becomes a habit, you’ll drop the pounds automatically because of the habit.  The goal becomes a side-effect of having the healthy habit.

If you want to have strong arms, develop the habit of doing press-ups (pushups) every morning when you get out of bed.  Within a matter of a month or so, you’ll have far more strength in your arms than you do right now.

And if you want more customers, get in the habit of spending time on your marketing every day, instead of once every blue moon.

Developing positive habits that automatically produce the results you want is perhaps the most powerful time management tip that anybody can give you.  It just takes a bit of discipline and effort to put it into practice.