As part of Small is Beautiful 2014 programme, we hosted a World Café session as an opportunity for participants to discuss the talks they'd heard so far and to process what they'd learned.

The session was also a fantastic opportunity for the microbusiness owners in attendance to discuss the challenges of running a solo or micro enterprise.

Some of the key issues covered work-life balance, interacting with clients, and balancing workflows. In this blog series we'll be taking a look at some of those questions and challenges and giving some suggestions on how to resolve them for your own business.

One of the comments that many of our delegates made at our World Café discussion was that they wanted to spend more time working ontheir businesses – not just in their businesses.

What they meant was that they wanted to make more time for business development, thinking up new ideas, experimenting, and otherwise honing their craft – rather than focussing on current clients and product sales.

Here are some of our tips for making time to work on your business.

 

 

Put time aside

It can be scary to think about taking time out of your current schedule to work unbillable hours in your business, but it is also one of the keys to success.

Many of our delegates expressed worry about missing out on a half-day's pay to take an afternoon out. But just as you have to spend money to make money, you have to spend time on your business to create opportunities for changes and growth.

Some entrepreneurs take as many as 2 days per week to work on their business. If you can't manage that, why not begin with half a day each week?

Look at your calendar and work out when your quietest morning or afternoon lies. Is it first thing on Monday before queries start coming in, or is it Thursday afternoon after you've ploughed through your inbox? Identify the best time and reserve it now. Experiment if you must, but keep that time sacred. You'll come to rely on it soon enough!

 

Review your rates

If you really can't afford to take some time out, ask yourself: why is that?

Is your pricing model working for you? Are you running a deficit? These are problems that you need to fix right away. Again, this will require taking some time away from your client work, but streamlining your offering and getting rid of time-wasting clients or processes can make a big difference to the future of your micro.

For more on this, check out the 99U podcast episode on The Art of Negotiating for More Money.

 

Set goals

Setting short- or longer-term goals for your business development days will keep things running smoothly, and can give you a good structure for working on your business.

Not sure where to start? Try asking yourself some questions about your business and look for things to change.

Are you happy with your current schedule?
What about your rates?
Which work do you most enjoy, and which tasks suck your energy?
What would you most like to be working on this week?
What are some areas that you'd like to improve?

For the last point, work through each segment of your business activity. These may include: business development, products or services, client relationships, sales and marketing.

Once you have some goals in mind, schedule these in for your future business development days.

 

 

Find your space

Do you find that it's difficult to work on your business with the distractions of working in your business day getting in the way?

Try creating a new space for yourself that will get you into the mood for working on your business.

This might mean turning off your email notifications, getting offline, or even getting up and out of your office or studio to think.

If you have coworkers, perhaps you can make an afternoon of it. Take yourselves out for coffee and cake or to a quiet room with a whiteboard and start brainstorming and sketching out your plans.

Creating that space can make a world of difference.

 

 

Find your people

Woth that in mind, working in a microbusiness can be a solitary affair.

Which people energise you and get you thinking creatively about your business? Find them and use them.

If you're a freelancer, perhaps you can set a regular date with someone in a related field. It could be a mentor or a peer, or just a friend with similar interests. Perhaps they can help you to practice your pitches, chat through the challenges you're working with, or even blow off some steam.

Meeting up with fellow microbusiness owners is also a great way to connect and share contacts. See if there's a local meet-up near you and make some time to work on your business from a new perspective.

 

 

Stick to it

We're all busy, and it can be easy to let things fall by the wayside. That is why, even with the best intentions, the issue of working on our businesses comes up time and time again.

The only way to work on your business is to make that decision and stick to it.

Good luck!

 

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Your turn!

What are your top tips for working on your business? Share them in the comments below or tweet yours using #smallisb to share it with the Small is Beautiful community!