How to get off the tools and focus on your future

Getting the most out of your business without working around the clock

When you start out in business there is normally some driving force or ambition that convinced you to create, or purchase, your own business – the why. Over time this can evolve, however, more often than not it gets lost among the day-to-day challenges of running your business.

Know your purpose

When work starts to consume you, our focus is on reconnecting you with your purpose - starting with the why. What is the purpose of your business, why are you on this journey, and how do we get you focused back on achieving that purpose?

Time and time again we hear similar stories and driving factors from business owners.

Here are the six most common reasons that are shared with us:

1. Purpose: Realising your aspirations or vision. Sometimes we enter this whirlwind business world because we feel we’ve found our true calling, or we’re setting out to bring our big ideas to life.

2. Growth: You’re looking to achieve growth in sales, profit, or market share. Without growth, there are fewer opportunities to reinvest in the business to enable rewards for employees, investment in new technology, or the flexibility to change how you work e.g., a 4-day working week.

3. Reward: The gratification aspect. Your business rewards yourself and/or your employees.

4. Lifestyle/Protect: You’re in business because it enables you to live the lifestyle that you choose, and allows you to create wealth away from your business.

5. Sustainability: You're in business with sustainability in mind and reducing your impact on the environment.

6. Social Good: Contribution to the community. Often interchangeable with Purpose, Social Good is wanting to achieve a bigger picture impact made by your business efforts.

These six ‘whys’ create the Velocite Business Purpose Model.

Reshaping Your Business

Once you’ve determined your ‘why’, we can work alongside you to move forward, guiding you to reshape your business and - yep, you guessed it - get off the tools and focus on your future.

To enable any of the outcomes mentioned above - as a business owner, you must have enough time to focus on the right areas, generate surplus cash flow to invest where necessary, and be consistently profitable.

You might be wondering how this could be possible when there already are not enough hours in a day?

The expert team at Velocite has identified the key steps involved in the journey from being ‘on' the tools to getting off them. Using the Velocite Business Reshape Approach, you’ll gain clarity on how to realise your goals.

The first step is to create time and energy, by identifying which areas or functions in your business you need to let go of. These are usually the mundane administrative tasks that take up a lot of your time, which could be better performed by someone else, or by leveraging technology.

Key Enablers for Business Success

Across the bottom of our tool, you’ll see these key enablers that will allow you to move up the curve and toward your goals and vision over time.

People, Processes & Technology

Are your processes as efficient as they could be? Are you leveraging technology in your business to your best advantage? Are your team assigned to tasks and roles that are their best fit?

With heaps of tech options available for automated systems in business management, a few easy adjustments in these areas could massively boost your business's efficiency and overall administration.

Target Market & Customer Experience

Are you clear on who your target market is? Does your product or service align with what is important to them? Do you have a key relationship management plan in place? Are you clear on what you want your customers to experience when working with you?

It is critically important to understand who your target market is, who your ideal customers are, and what is important to them. When you are clear on who your ideal customer is and what is important to them you can focus on ensuring you are meeting their needs consistently and to the highest possible standard.

Financial Capability

Are your financial targets clear? Have you got performance measures in place? Do you know which areas of the business make you money? Did you know that the general rule of thumb is 20% of your customers make up 80% of your sales?

Having a strong understanding of the key numbers in your business is critically important as you begin to step out of the day-to-day running of the business.

Empowerment & Culture

Do you have a culture of empowerment in your team that enables your people to take on more responsibility?

They say people don’t leave bad jobs, they leave poor management. Ensuring your team feels empowered and respected not only increases productivity, but the general feel of your workplace, and has a domino effect on every touchpoint of your business. This can come back to our first point - are your team in roles that allow them to work to their strengths?

Strategic Planning and/or Succession Planning

Is the direction of your business clear? Do all of your team know what you’re striving towards? Have you got an exit plan in place, or a transition plan to bring in new owners?

With everybody on the same page, you’ll be able to reach your goals much faster. Likewise, keeping your plans and goals in your little black book or dropping a business sale on your team members can be detrimental to your team culture - keep your plans clear so you can follow your plan collaboratively!

Grow toward your end-goals

Busyness, while common, will essentially slow your growth and prevent you from achieving the vision and aspirations you set out when you started in business.

We’re in your corner and we want you to succeed - if you’re ready to get off the tools and Reshape Your Business, it’s time to get in touch!

Still unsure of the changes you need to make to realise your goals? Take our quiz to find out!

Quiz