Are You Failing to Take Action?

In Lack of Progress on Your Goals I wrote about how to get a handle on your goals. Point number 3 "No action – you are simply not working on your business weekly." It can be difficult to take meaningful action to achieve your goals. So much can get in the way.

The Technician

In a normal business environment, we are busy being the technician in our business, as Michael Gerber writes in The E-Myth Revisited. We spend our time doing the work that's necessary to run a business like completing paperwork, opening mail, reading email, investing assets, sending statements, addressing compliance matters, chasing down lost paperwork, answering client's concerns, and the like.  When we are being the technician, we are living in the present and ignoring the future.

While the above are all necessary actions to run a business but they won't GROW a business. In order to grow a business, we need to be the Entrepreneur and work ON the business by taking action to grow. It's not always easy to take action because we may be so mired in busywork that we can't see the forest for the trees. 

So how can you take action?

For most of us, having too much to do can be the biggest challenge to taking meaningful action. When we write our "To Do" list with 47 things to accomplish, it's unlikely we'll get through everything.  You first need a clear, specific, measureable goal.

Start with your Business Plan. What do you need to accomplish to achieve your goals? Let's say you want five more ideal clients. What would that look like?  Imagine your day if you have achieved your goal.  With five additional clients what work and activities are you engaging in? If you can see yourself being this person, you are more likely to achieve what you want.

"You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you."  James Allen

What actions are necessary to get those clients? What strategies and marketing activities do you need to be taking action on, right now?  This is what should be on your "To Do" list at least one to two days per week.