You can’t manage time, you can only manage yourself. Store owners are among the busiest people I know. I have been working for or with furniture and mattress store owners for thirty four years.
Know Yourself- Are you more productive in the morning, afternoon or at night?
First things first- Take care of your health, your energy and your creativity first. Without your health you aren’t any good to anyone including yourself. Make sure you pay attention to exercise, diet, and sleep. Guard your energy. Your customers, your staff and your family need you to be a leader and a positive influence. You can’t do that without energy. Stay away from negative people and start your day with your ritual of thankfulness and/or prayer. Your creativity is the first thing that goes when things are sliding in the wrong direction. Consider it an early warning system to correct your attitude and thinking patterns when you aren’t as creative as usual. Take action now or sooner. Take a walk or listen to some music. Watch a funny video. If none of this works evaluate your rest, diet and exercise.
Free Yourself from dependent business relationships. Seek to liberate yourself from the day to day operations of the store as much as you can. Coach and empower your staff to take care of your customers just like you would. Continuous feedback is the key. I said the word coach on purpose.
Get used to saying no. Get comfortable with no. This is the key to winning back your life from the chains that you put there in the first place.
Because there are so many things to do everyday in every store you must prioritize the work for everyone and then circle back and make sure the work was done and done right. The time you invest in coaching your staff is a real leverage point in your business.
Alone time- You must create space in your schedule to work on your business instead of in your business.
Single handle- Once you pick it up finish the task. Don’t pick it up unless you can finish it.
Define for your staff boundaries- Your staff needs to know when and how to approach you. If you don’t create some space you will never get your work done.
Build a Schedule. Make it sacred. You must respect your word as law. If you don’t respect yourself no one else will. Your internal dialogue is important and it is the key to all other communication. Keep it real and Keep it positive!
Activity doesn’t equal results- Do not let yourself off the hook. Make sure that you create a culture in your company that values results.
To Do List- Only put important tasks on it. Do not write trivial things down. Pick a handful of important tasks and get them done.
I hope this helps you build a stronger more profitable business and helps you to enjoy your business more. Please call or email me with any questions that you have. Finish the week strong!
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Wishing You Success!
Pete
p.s. I would love to hear from you! Please leave a comment or email me at peteprimeau@ameritech.net.