Last week I completed the SLAP Boot Camp (valued at $200), a course put on by Silver Lining to help small business owners grow. My friend Carissa Reinger is the CEO of Silver Lining and developed the SLAP Methodology which has been used by over 10,000 small businesses to grow. When she first started the company 9 years ago, she interviewed 400 small business owners to find out their biggest challenge. Through the interviews she found a common theme which she calls “The Cashflow/Capacity Catch-22″.
Small business owners never have enough time. They also never have enough money (i.e. cash flow problems). The problem is that they need more time to make more money, and they need more money to have more time. Growth in a business requires for time and money, and time and money are resources that all small business owners do not have enough of. That’s why Carissa calls it the Cashflow/Capacity Catch-22.
What’s the solution? Focus.
“Every time you say ‘yes’ to spending a minute of your time or $1 of your money, make sure you are saying yes to something that will grow your company,” Carissa says in her course. It’s about spending the time and money that you do have in the best possible way.
How do you do this? First, you have to identify what you want your business to focus on by answering the following 3 questions:
– What do you do?
– Who do you do it for?
– What is the scale that you want to do it at?
Every time you make a decision to use your time and your money, ask yourself 3 questions:
– Is this opportunity in alignment with my What?
– Is this opportunity is alignment with my Who?
– Is this opportunity in alignment with my Scale?
Going through this process helps you as the small business owner to clarify whether the opportunities you have to spend your time and your money will actually help your business grow.
In my own experience I find that many small business owners (including myself) have a hard time finding focus. The reason we started our own business is because we wanted the flexibility to call our own shots, choose our own work, and serve the customers we want. But many times we end up saying “yes” to too many opportunities, many of those opportunities distract us from growing our business. It’s hard to say “no” to people. It’s hard to say “no” to exciting opportunities. It’s hard to say “no” to new ideas (especially when they are your own).
The hard truth is that we can’t have it all and we can’t do it all. The sooner we come to terms with that reality, the more selective we will be with how we spend our time and money, and the quicker we will grow our businesses. Less really is more.