5 Things Most Entrepreneurs Are Wasting Time On & How To Fix It
So, are you wasting your precious time, or are you a wise #girlboss?
I'm asking you this as I see a lot of great entrepreneurs online focusing on all the wrong things and wasting their time instead of working on the things that really matter.
There will always be small things that we will want to focus on and fix, instead of tackling bigger tasks, that is how procrastination works. And that's OK, the sooner we accept that we do make mistakes like that, the sooner we can move and start working on improving.
So, today I wanted to give you alit of five things I see entrepreneurs wasting time on and how to fix them and start working on things that truly matter.
Let's jump in.
5 Things Most Entrepreneurs Are Wasting Time On & How To Fix It
Let me ask you a question. Do you spend most of your time doing these things?
- Desperately trying anything to grow your followers?
- Creating your website without even clearly understanding what your offer is?
- "Perfecting" your unique business idea in your own head, without actually speaking with your potential customers and receiving feedback?
- Working 24/7 without clear priorities & key performance indicators?
Then I need to tell you that there are ways to make better use of your time. You need to start focusing on things that matter in your business.
#1: Reaching 10K (or more) followers doesn't guarantee sales if the audience doesn't care about what you do.
You need to focus on growing an audience that is there to see you and invest in what you have to offer. The number of followers you have is just a vanity metric that does not guarantee your business success.
Have you not heard the story about this influencer with millions of fans, who didn't sell any hoodies with her brand launch?
Yeah, having a lot of followers doesn't mean anything if your audience is not the right audience for you and your business.
What you should be focusing on instead:
Focus on building a community of people who are obsessed with you and your offer. Don't try to be for everyone and only speak to people who are your ideal customers.
You can start by creating your ideal customer avatar and then tailor your content and social media strategy to reach and attract those people. And it doesn't matter that you might not get thousands of followers this way, as long as those few you have are there for you.
#2: Random content doesn't position you as an expert.
I see people posting whatever they feel like, as long as it's posted and out there. When people see you on their feed, and they see content that doesn't serve them in any way, they're not going think that you're an expert.
Yes, it's always cool to see a dog or a cat, but if you're trying to become an expert in an industry that has nothing to do with animals, maybe keep those posts for occasional stories. And share content that is strategic and serves people in some way.
What you should be doing instead:
If you want to be an expert, learn to create content that is strategic, and serves your purpose. Get yourself a content calendar and plan your content carefully.
Prepare in advance, don't leave it for the very last minute as you're not going to post your best content. Listen and see what your audience wants to hear from you. What things are hard for them and what problems they have.
Create content that helps solve those issues for them, and then you'll be seen as an expert in your field.
#3: A beautiful website without a great offer is pointless.
A lot of new entrepreneurs spend hours and hours on their website design, colors, and fonts. They invest a lot of time in making it look as professional as possible.
Yet, their website doesn't have a purpose as to what is the point of a pretty design when there is no value to people when they visit?
You're not going to see results if your website is going to be pretty, but there won't be any offer or value for people who visit it. And you only have one chance to leave a good impression and make people come back for more.
What you should do instead:
Of course, a beautiful professional website is very important for your business. No one wants to visit a website that is outdated and hard to navigate.
However, don't spend all of your time on it, trying to perfect it. Get yourself a nice responsive design from Creative Market or Etsy, apply it to your website and then spend the rest of your time working on valuable offers.
Create a blog that delivers lots of valuable content for people who are visiting and craft a service page where you present your offer in a way that is hard to resist.
How are you supposed to get more paying clients when they don't know what your offer is? Focus on this instead of your website design.
#4: Non-stop hustle doesn't move you closer to where you want to be if there is no strategy behind your hustle.
Being busy has become the cool thing to do. People think that if they're busy, their important and better than anyone else.
But the thing is, working hard alone is not going to get you far. If working hard was the only thing needed to be successful, there would be so many more people who are successful.
What you should do instead:
Focus on working smart, not hard. Busy is not a badge of honor, so stop trying to fit in as many working hours in your day as possible.
Create a strategy, a plan that will get you where you want to be. Get help by outsourcing or hiring a business coach. Do everything you can to be smart about your business and your time, and only then you'll start seeing results.
#5: "Perfect" business idea doesn't mean you will succeed if you won't stay accountable & take action now.
A lot of people say that they have great business ideas, but you don't see many people executing those ideas and running successful businesses. Don't be one of those people.
I know that it's comforting and easy to say that you're not acting on your business because you're trying to perfect the idea, or you're waiting for the right time to start.
But let me tell you a secret - your business idea is never going to be perfect and the time is never going to be right.
What should you do instead:
Start acting and executing now. Launch your business and improve and adjust as you go. That's the only way you're ever going to get anywhere.
Instead, it is all pretty simple. It's all about getting your idea out there to the world & testing & improving based on real feedback & building real connections.
Final thoughts
Well, this was a long list of things I see new entrepreneurs make that are keeping them unhappy and unsuccessful.
I hope that you found value in this post and that you won't be making these mistakes and that you're focusing on the things that matter in your business.
And hey, if you're one of those people who focus on the wrong things, now you know that you're doing it, so it's time to make a change and start building that success you've always dreamed of.
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