One of the gems that I have come to learn over the years is that many of us overcomplicate things. And this of course makes what we are doing so much more difficult and stressful.
In school and in our vocations, we are told many times to apply the KISS principle – Keep It Super Simple. That usually means breaking our tasks down into bite size chunks so that it does not seem overwhelming.
But do we?
No, we continue to think too much, do too much, worry too much, stress too much, sweat too much and/or procrastinate too much.
“Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci
Last week, I spent a wonderful time at my daughter and son-in-laws farmette. Having grown up on a farm in Alberta, I was right at home in this environment. Here, I understood well that you have to do the basics every day in the farm life in order to succeed.
So that meant weeding and watering the organic garden, feeding and watering the chickens, cutting grass, checking the chicken coop and mending it if required, cleaning the veranda, watering the plants and so forth. It meant doing the daily, basic tasks that have to be done to make the environment better.
I didn’t overthink or overcomplicate what had to be done. I did not think about how to weed the garden or feed the chickens, or google all the information that exists on the subject. I didn’t procrastinate and say I’ll do it tomorrow.
No, I just got on with doing it. Why?
Because it has to be done every day or else the consequences are severe – the weeds will take over your garden and your chickens will starve. The farm/ farmette will not grow but weaken, and that is not acceptable!
“Going back to the basics, strengthens your foundation.” An Iota of Truth
Your business is no different. There are certain basics that you have to apply everyday or else you business will become a statistic of the ones that failed. The basics are normally very simple, not difficult, but you ignore them at your peril.
So what are the simple basics in your home based business? Well, here is what I consider to be the important ones:
1. Have a daily checklist.
Don’t rely on your memory to do the basics. Write down what you will do every day and follow it to a tee. No exceptions. All items have to stroked off and by having a checklist you will not miss any of them.
2. Use a calendar.
Put all your meetings, people to call, errands to run, conference calls, etc into your calendar. It will keep you on track, ensure you show up, remove any conflicts, and make you more efficient with your time. You can schedule your down time, your exercise time, time with the children as well, because that is important for your own health and family.
2. Contact prospects.
Yes, this business is about relationships and it means contacting new people on a daily basis and making appointments. So set a goal for each day as to how many you intend to contact. It may be that you use various types of communication and social media to do it but you have to do it.
3. Follow up.
Follow up with people you have contacted. We know that it can take up to 7 exposures before someone will join you in the business. So keep dripping on them, keep them informed about the business and the benefits it provides.
4. Talk to your success leader and your team.
You are a part of a team, and you need to be aware of what is going on above, below and around you. Furthermore, you can provide advice or receive advice at the same time. It shows that you care about your team members and your leader.
5. Develop yourself.
Take the time every day to learn something new or do something for your personal development. It could be reading every night, learning a new skill , practicing your existing skills, taking a course, plugging in to leadership training, learning how to do webinars, etc. You need to grow if your business is going to grow. So spend the time doing it every day.
So these are 5 simple basic actions that can help you grow your home based business.
It takes self-discipline and accountability. If you cannot be accountable to yourself to do these, then get an accountability partner, to keep you “out of the weeds”.
By applying yourself and doing the fundamental things every day, you will become stronger, more efficient, more capable and definitely more successful with your business.
And you will get “Back to the Future” you want!!
“Excellence is achieved by the mastery of the fundamentals.” – Vince Lombardi