One of the greatest challenges of any business owner is to spend their time in activities designed to build a successful thriving business however the reality for many of us we try to shoulder most of the burden and responsibility sometimes at the detriment of ourselves and the business.

In this guest blog by Husband and wife team Amal and Santa Simothy of Accountingpreneur explains the difference between busy and productive and why you should delegate more to spend time being creative within your business.

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Many entrepreneurs work from fingers to the bones in their business. But they have very little to show for it in terms of happiness, money, profit, value add and wealth accumulation.

Entrepreneurs are too engrossed in matters that are of little or no value. This leads them to having a business that is not worth a lot or even if valuable, it is dependent on the owner.

Imagine focusing 80% of time on things that will contribute only 20% in the business. It is like working hard without any focus on profitable areas. This can be coined to be like a glorified employee in your business.

Have you ever wondered why this is so?

There are many challenges entrepreneurs face however in this article I want to focus on a challenge of many. If addressed, it can be a real game changer in the life of an entrepreneur.

Let me make a simple distinction between the two opposite elements that are key in the making or breaking of a successful business.

I am certain it will take you aback and may even lead you to think and figure out what is currently working for your business and what needs changing or improving for better results.

I’m talking about…

Busyness entrepreneurs versus Busyless entrepreneurs.

Mr Busyness Entrepreneur is the life of an entrepreneur who is always fire-fighting. Mr Busyless Entrepreneur is the life of a successful entrepreneur. Be patient and you will find out for yourself!

For Mr Busyness Entrepreneur, there is always too much to do and too less time as everyone wants a piece of your time or disruptions is rife. Frustrations are at its highest level leading to stressful days and nights.

Most of the time Mr Busyness Entrepreneur is running the business blindly and is solving issues upon issues. He sees no light at the end of tunnel and keeps on doing this day in day out. He has not taken time out to see things differently. It feels like a mosquito battling against a window pane and can’t get out.

We all know that most entrepreneurs (It applies to many people too who) live life like that. That is entrepreneurs wear different hats. They are trying to do everything. It does not get any easy as they run like headless chickens to get things done. In that process, many things get left out and good if not great ideas get buried and rarely revived or actioned upon. Overwhelming states kick in almost every day as lack of planning and reactive mode sets in. This result in cash crisis and lack of good service to clients/customers.

Why do you think many entrepreneurs try to do everything in their business? It’s the money fear factor that brings them down and keep them busy to play small. They think being more busy means more money will come in and are always chasing the money.

However the key is to focus on 20% of the business that will bring 80% of the results/income and delegate the rest. Of course a great trustworthy and competent team who believes in you and is congruent to your goals is an absolute must.

Now it is time to switch to the other side of the coin – My Busyless Entrepreneur.

Mr Busyless Entrepreneur has more time in hands. This does not mean he does not do anything and just give orders. He is just smarter and focussed on highest value activities. He does the 20% activities that brings 80% results or profits in the vault.

Mr Busyless is proactive and allow time for being creative. Hence he has a creative mindset because it is not cluttered with a million things to do. He acts smartly. He has the right advisors besides him and he spends on the things which he sees as an investment but which Mr Busyness Entrepreneur will see as a cost.

Mr Busyless entrepreneurs ask the right questions. They constantly focus and spend time planning and growing the business rather than just stuck in the mode of doing or just getting stuffs done.

They operate from a different perspective with a mind shift unlike busyness entrepreneurs. They delegate work that are not their strength and focus on things where they are strong. Most importantly, they know and understand their business numbers and plan their business based on this.

They are committed to growth while staying open to the skills required and if they do not have it, they will hire someone with the skills for efficiency in the business.

Busyless entrepreneurs do not believe in a one man show and business is not about their ego. It is about a team result. Their business is based on a system and not on them. With that, they are able to nullify or void most of the top entrepreneur challenges.

This leads me to conclude on this note.

Busyness is the root cause for many of the challenges that arise and leave many entrepreneurs getting caught in the vicious circle of doing.

‘Less is more’ is a cliché but it explains it all. I mean focus on doing less activities that produce low value to your business, and in turn focus on doing more important things with more clarity. This will lead to getting better results and the mind will be de-cluttered and more creative.

The trick for a Busyless entrepreneur is to delegate. Shift from doing everything and focus on the most important and valuable work.

Team work is also key. When you make that shift, you’ll see the difference in your business as everything will shift in that response.

I will leave you with the following questions. Acting on well thought questions will bring the change or shift you want in your business.

– What is it you are really good at and what you really need to focus on right now?

– Are you focussing on high value activities and/or what is the value of each activity?

– What is most important to you and your business?

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About the authors

Amal and Santa Simothy run Accountingpreneur an accountancy practice built on a collective 30 years of practical experience in owning, running and building businesses are service is designed to ensure that the clients they work with achieve their potential in every way.