Don’t build to your own destruction

There are two components of economic freedom: money and time. It is not unusual for entrepreneurs to trade one for the other. You could have all the money in the world but without the time to enjoy it, it is useless. The idea is to grow smartly. Growing too big too fast could suck out the joy of the entrepreneurial life. As an entrepreneur, it is not advisable to consistently trade money for time. But, with smart planning you can have both time and money without wearing yourself out.

Give up control.

You cannot do it all. If you want to grow your business but keep the high level of customer service your customers have come to expect from you, you have to learn to give up control. You don’t have to do everything yourself. Being the go to person for every little task in your business is not sustainable. Automate when possible and delegate if not. The only things left on your schedule should be the things only you can do.

Clearly define your problem

Without goals, you can’t have a strategy and without a strategy you don’t fully understand where you have problems. You have a sense that things are not working the way you want, but are not sure why. Develop goals for 2016 and have strategies to accomplish them. By doing this you can readily see what problems you need to solve for your business to grow.

In summary, I can give the small business owner a lot of advice, but I believe less is more. The less you have to focus on the more you can do. I hope you gain clarity this upcoming year. With clarity, you gain focus and with focus you grow more efficiently.