How to Transform Your Business and Yourself

It’s official! Money can make you happy, provided you spend it on the right thing – time.

Earlier this week research carried out by Dr Elizabeth Dunn, a psychologist professor at the University of British Columbia, Canada revealed that, “… people who spend money to buy themselves more free time are happier – that is they have higher life satisfaction,” See news report here.

The research found that, “time saving compared with material purchases increased happiness by reducing feelings of time stress.”

Having more time can make you happier. But it can also transform you and your business.

Too often people run around in their business, reacting to problems, customer demands, emails and more. You’ve been busy, but what have you actually achieved? Ever have days like these? If you do then you need to buy back some time. It really can transform your business.

When you’re busy spinning plates, when you’re busy reacting to the demands of others then you’re not in control of your business.

When you lose control, not only will your business suffer but you will too.

If you could gain an extra hour or two a day, what difference could that make to you and your business?

If you say that you could get even more done, please don’t. This is about regaining control and reducing your stress.

For your business, you would have time to step back and make sure that:

  • You are doing the right things that will drive it forward;
  • You have a strategy that guides you;
  • Your business stays on course;
  • You can have that creative time to differentiate your business.

Have more time and you really can transform your business.

And what difference would that make to you? Being able to achieve the things I list above and more would give you back the vital certainty and control that you need if your business is to succeed.

And with that you would feel so much better – more relaxed, more confident, more motivated and far less stressed.

You can always find more time by being more productive and effective with your time. But to really free up even more time you need to follow the results of the research and buy it.

For your personal life that means hiring a cleaner and/or a gardener to do the things that you don’t want to do or don’t have time to do – doing that alone will relieve a lot of stress. My wife and I work hard and our spare time is precious. Knowing that we don’t have to set aside some of that precious time to cleaning the house or maintaining the garden if we don’t want to, is a huge stress reliever.

For your business that means outsourcing and investing.

Outsource the mechanical side of your business to those who can do it better, quicker and more cost effectively than you can. Obvious examples here are bookkeeping and accounting, website design and maintenance, social media tasks, events and so on.

Invest in getting help from those who have expertise and experience that you lack. You have your core expertise – this is the core of your business offering. Focus on taking advantage of that as much as possible and invest in other areas of your business.

If you’re not particularly strategic, get help and guidance on how to develop the right strategy for your business. If your marketing is weak, get help with creating the right words that will attract your ideal customers. If you need to know employment law but don’t, get help, it’s a minefield and expensive to get wrong. If you do struggle with your time and productivity, get help.

Help and expertise can range from books and courses, to coaches and consultants. Invest in what you can afford.

A big mistake business owners’ make is to think they can save money by learning and managing all the aspects of building a business themselves. What they do instead is spend months learning how to and possibly years of just not doing it well enough.

In the long run, not only have they used up a huge amount of their precious expensive time, but also their business isn’t anywhere near where it could have been if they’d invested in the help they needed.

What do you currently do that isn’t your expertise and what do you do that are essentially the mechanical aspects of your business and which do nothing to differentiate it?

List these with a view to outsourcing effort or investing in expertise as quickly as you’re able. Get a rough idea of cost and outsource or invest in what you can afford now and tick them off your list. Then prioritise the other jobs you should outsource or invest in and do so as soon as you can afford to and start to tick them off too.

As soon as you begin to do this you will start to free up precious time, your certainty and control will increase and the difference to you and your business can be transformational.

I’ve written an article on outsourcing in my library of free resource. Check it out.

Other posts you may be interested in:

If You Are Struggling IN Your Business You Need To Read This

Don’t Simply Hope Your Business Will Succeed – Make Sure it Will