Kandi here. I just returned from spending 7 days in New York City. What an amazing week! If you’re anything like me, you sometimes need a break from business and reality. Since I was spending 3 days in Stamford, CT (just an hour outside of NYC), for business, I decided to extend my stay and take some time for me, to reenergize myself, reconnect to my purpose, and I did just that. Rather than staying in a hotel, I chose to sublet a Manhattan apartment and so I got to experience the city as a real New Yorker! What a fast-paced city, but I was surprised by how friendly and helpful New Yorkers are. The movies make them out to be stiff and rude, and my experience was nothing like that.
I spent 3 days with the most incredible entrepreneurs from around the world. We have created strong friendships in the last year of working together, but our time together last week provided me with some lessons, I’d like to share with you. I hope they serve you in some way.
Too often, we entrepreneurs run ourselves ragged in our businesses. We are pulled constantly from one thing to the next. We need to actively find focus. It’s important to find focus by delegating to your team, creating well-trained staff, respecting your time, schedule, and calendar, and outsourcing the activities that are a drain on your business (accounting, cleaning, billing, website work, marketing, public relations, and human resources just to name a few). Your time is your responsibility, and it’s your duty to ensure that you are not overwhelmed so that you can "show up" in a big way for your business.
We entrepreneurs are also very hard on ourselves. We often don’t take the time to celebrate our small or large successes. Instead, we move on to the next goal, the next project. We set strict, sometimes unrealistic goals and deadlines and when we are unsuccessful at meeting them, it takes a hit on our confidence, which prevents us from moving forward the next time, or causes frustration. Take time every day to celebrate your accomplishments for that day. Implement a system to track goals you set (no matter how small) and whether you met them. I constantly amaze myself at what I accomplish every quarter because I establish goals, and track them. It creates confidence, which I believe breeds success.
Make time for the things that matter most. Work smarter, not harder. We sometimes equate being busy with being successful and that is so far from the truth! It’s not about doing everything right, it’s about doing the right things. Be strategic and focused rather than busy. There’s no point working on things that don’t give you results. Your business needs you to be focused and energized, and if you’re stressed and overwhelmed, you will not show up for your business and your business will suffer as a result. Work more strategically. Work less hours by ensuring your time is respected, uninterrupted, and work on the strategic, most important things in your business.
I could go on all day but I wanted to share with you the lessons that spoke to me the most, the issues that I find are a common denominator in the businesses of our clients. Entrepreneurship is a full contact sport, but we are the coaches building the teams, training the teams, leading the teams, and creating the legacy. When we have strategies, and we show up energized in our business, there’s only one option: WINNING!