4 Ways You Can Sharpen Your Focus to Build Your Business

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The day-to-day functions of running a company can send you all over the place. Urgent tasks and problems that crop up have you putting out fires while you’re also managing the less-urgent (but essential) projects at the heart of your business.

Sometimes you need to take a step back and regain your focus. The National Association of Sales Professional shares some ways you can direct your attention to some of the crucial aspects of your enterprise.

1. Hire a Career Coach

Coaches can offer you candid feedback that you don’t always receive from your employees. Even in the most solid work relationships, it can be difficult for your workers to offer constructive criticism. Your career coach can serve as an unbiased expert.

Career coaches can also serve as a sounding board when making complex or difficult business decisions. They can help you explore causes and evaluate possible outcomes. Sometimes you can be too close to a situation; it’s beneficial for you to have a coach who can help you pinpoint personal inclinations that cloud your judgment.

Coaches and mentors can also hold you accountable. They help you prioritize your goals and make sure you’re doing the hard work of following through. Even if other confidants, such as family and friends, let you slide through with an excuse or two, your career coach will make sure you apply the effort and time required to meet your objectives.

2. Organize Your Payroll System

If you’ve been completing payroll manually, you know it involves time and tedious attention to detail. An organized payroll system can automate some of the tasks you complete each pay cycle. It can also help you catch errors that, left unchecked, would result in fines or fees.

An automated payroll system is excellent for companies with many employees, but a payroll template may be what you need if you employ just a few people. Payroll templates can work in conjunction with other tools you may use, such as invoicing software, time trackers, and employee scheduling tools. A payroll calendar can help you consolidate and focus your payroll efforts, minimizing the time needed to complete each cycle, as well as the risks of missed or late payments and costly tax mistakes.

3. Unify Your Branding Identity

Consistency is the key to branding success. Wherever consumers see your brand, online or offline, they should be able to identify it quickly.

The colors in your logo should reflect the emotion you want to invoke. According to one study, up to 90% of a person’s assessment of a product is based on color. Muted shades evoke feelings of calm, while vibrant colors create excitement.

Use language that reflects your company, whether authoritative, entertaining, trendy, or a combination of ideas. Like color, language can elicit a feeling in consumers. To help consumers identify your company reliably, ensure that your content matches your brand.

4. Go Back to School

If you really want to add some skills to your skillset, consider going back to college to pursue your MBA. By doing so, you’ll gain the knowledge and know-how to build and grow your business. Of course, going back to school isn’t easy when you have so much going on, but there are options available to you.

For example, some online universities allow you to tailor your schedule to your family and work life. And depending on your schedule, you can complete an MBA program in around 16 months. It may take some extra work, but the skills you’ll gain as a result will be invaluable.

If you want to expand your marketing reach, consider joining your local chamber of commerce. You can have access to the chamber’s venues across various online and print platforms, increasing your exposure.