Member Articles

Being an entrepreneur is about making tough phone calls – to suppliers, to business prospects, to potential clients, lawyers, accountants, and even competitors. It’s not pleasant but it definitely gets easier the more you do it. If you stick to doing this once a day eventually it will not be a big deal at all. (I’ve now learned this through my own experience.)

3. Spend 20 minutes each day thinking about daily, weekly, and monthly priorities.I like to write things down so I have a notebook where every day I make a list of daily, weekly, and monthly to-dos and priorities. This forces me to not just think short-term and allows time to plan ahead and work out initiatives that might need lead time.

4. Connect with at least one customer per day in a personal way.

Whatever your business is, whether you’re selling a product or service, you have customers. And the best way to build a successful business is to connect with your customers who will then spread the word about your business to new prospects. If you write a blog or send out an email newsletter to your customers, that’s great. But every day aim to connect with at least one customer personally. Send a thank you note to a recent customer. Reply to a comment left on your blog. Send a personal email as a reply to a customer service inquiry. Customers are people – make sure they get to know you as a person.

5. At the end of each day, write down one what went great and what needs some more work. (Look at your notes first thing in the morning the following day.)

This need not be a long and exhaustive list, but I find as an entrepreneur that what I have no time for is reflecting on the business – there is just too much business to actually do! So I’ve made this a rule for myself and by sticking to it I think I’ve learned a lot. And reminding myself about the things that go right has turned out really important. Running a business involves constant challenges and disappointments – not growing fast enough, too much competition, not making enough money, etc. Making notes about things that do go right is a great shot of positive energy and optimism that I think we ALL need as entrepreneurs.

Do you have daily habits that you stick to as a small business owner? I’d love to hear them!