I’m writing this blog after being in a hiatus of delay because admin was choking my flow. Things built up and built up and it came to a point where I couldn’t move forward because I was stuck in admin hell. It eventually became an excuse for not moving forward and not dealing with admin because it was ‘overwhelming’. Of course, it’s going to be overwhelming if it’s not dealt with. So here I am, post admin clean up sharing what I realised and was able to move through.
As small business owners our focus needs to be on growing and moving the business forward so we and our business can thrive. This hasn’t always been my primary focus as many of us could attest that sometimes ‘life’ gets in the way. For me one of the issues getting in the way was an obsession with all things admin, coupled with the insistence that I could do it alone.
I told myself regularly that I can be all things in my business, until eventually I realised that both my business and personal life were being affected. It came to a point where I was spending so much time on admin that I wasn’t focusing on the purpose of my business and what was actually needed to get the business moving and out into the world. That was a stop moment for me.
I spoke to a few small business owners to get a feel for what others were experiencing and they all said very similar things in that they were struggling to grow their business and didn’t feel the joy and expansion they did in the beginning because they were caught up in admin hell.
By the time they managed to sort their admin, they were too tired or too over the whole thing to focus on getting their offering out to the world. I’m not in any way saying that admin is unnecessary, rather that allowing it to stop the flow in your business and put a pause on your joy and expansion is not the way to run or build a business.
So, you’ve got to the point of realising that something has to change, particularly if you are not feeling joy, expansion and flow in your business. Great that you’ve got to that.
So what’s next?
There are a few things to ask yourself when coming out of the admin swamp. They may seem obvious and very simple, but none the less they are great things to consider and some of the 101s I’ve found that can support us in coming back into flow.
Can I manage my time better?
Is my workload such that I can’t manage the admin and the rest of the business?
What is the biggest sticking point in the business that is keeping me awake at night?
Is the sticking point preventing me from feeling the joy and flow in the business?
Would things improve if I had additional support?
These are super simple questions that just by asking them and answering honestly, you become aware of what’s choking your flow.
Ultimately, what it comes down to is that you don’t need to do your business alone.
Are you spending more time out of flow than in it? What is this costing your business? Would you be better off getting support, taking that weight off your shoulders and strutting your business stuff out in the world?
Your flow never needs to be choked and if it is, ask yourself why. What’s got in to interrupt what is otherwise as natural as breathing for all of us.
As in my business by-line, everything is about simplicity, order… and FLOW!
To find out more about our professional services for business, visit our services page here.
Kommentare