WHAT should entrepreneurs be doing with their time?
Of all the resources available to mankind, time is the only resource that is given to all equally. We all have been allotted the same number of hours in a day –24hours; everything else rests entirely on how we choose to use it. What I choose to do with my time will determine the outcome of my life. If my life turns out well, it means I used my time well. Your time and your life are inextricably linked, what you do with one will be the direct outcome of the other. As entrepreneurs, we are not excluded from the burden of time; rather, we bear more of this burden. As people who take on risk in order to make change happen, entrepreneurs are held more accountable for the use of their time. Because humanity relies on entrepreneurs for the provision of goods and services that can improve the quality of life, the burden of time is heavier on the shoulders of entrepreneurs. We cannot afford to be lazy as entrepreneurs with the use of our time. As an entrepreneur, here are 5 highly productive ways to be spending your time;
The 5c’s of effective time management for entrepreneurs
Create – The first use of your time as an entrepreneur is for creation. The very word entrepreneur describes a person who undertakes risk for the purpose of creating something worthwhile. Entrepreneurs make ideas happen. That’s who they are, that’s why they exist and that’s what makes them different. The day you cease to create is the day you start becoming irrelevant as an entrepreneur. Your purpose as an entrepreneur is the creation of unique and useful products or services that helps humanity solve their everyday problems cheaper, faster or better. If you don’t create, you’ve failed mankind as an entrepreneur!
Consume – The second use of your time as an entrepreneur is for consumption. What should you be consuming as an entrepreneur, Knowledge, ideas, thoughts and experiences? After creation comes re-creation – the refilling of used up energies. Every act of creation is emptying yourself into something else greater than you. Creation is bringing ideas to life; you cannot bring something to life without giving up something in the process. Creativity is simply using up existing energy or resources for the production of more. Consuming is how you sharpen yourself as an entrepreneur. It is time spent on personal development.
As entrepreneurs, to do more we must be prepared to give up more and as we give up more it becomes naturally expedient that we take in more. You’ve heard of the saying; “you can’t give what you don’t have”. Your time after creation must be spent learning, thinking and observing. All three are essential to your success as an entrepreneur. If you learn more, you will ultimately do more. If you think more, you’ll ultimately come up with more ideas for improvement. And if you observe more, you’ll ultimately discover more opportunities to exploit.
Collaborate – No man is an island and one is too small a number to achieve greatness. The third use of your time as an entrepreneur is for collaboration. Because you cannot do it all by yourself, you must always be on the lookout for worthy vision partners to synergize with. Collaboration is the use of your time for networking and forming of strategic alliances. As an entrepreneur, you cannot afford to be a jack of all trade and master of none. You need others to make ideas happen. Trying to go it all by yourself will only lead you to the deadliest business trap ever. So a good use of your time must be spent looking for other like minds to team up with and make great things happen. Join trade associations or professional associations, attend industry building events, form strategic partnerships with other companies and build a global support team through the help of the internet via social networks.
Communicate – The fourth use of your time as an entrepreneur is for communication. Your ideas won’t speak for themselves; your products won’t speak for themselves neither will your vision. The first customer of your business is you the entrepreneur, are you happy with what you’ve created? Do you believe in what you’ve created? Can you bet your life on what you’ve created? Communicating is the use of your time as an entrepreneur for marketing. You must become the spokesperson of your ideas, products, services, visions or dreams. The legendary Steve Jobs of Apple was exceptionally good at this. He literally made a festival out of everyone of Apple’s product launch. He put his money where his mouth is. He was a huge fan of his own creations and he never missed an opportunity to tell the world how great he thought of them.
Control – The fifth use of your time as an entrepreneur is for controlling. After all is said and done, nothing no matter how great can continue to function without adequate attention. Every creation needs to be tended to properly. The whole of your time spent on the four previous highly productive activities would have been a complete waste if you overlook this last one. Controlling is the use of your time as an entrepreneur for managing your business. You certainly don’t want things to fall apart in your business, controlling is how you ensure things go according to plan. It is the use of your time to create an organizational culture, and design an operational structure built around core business processes or systems of how your business can run successfully over a long period of time with or without your physical involvement.
