Successful entrepreneurs realize the value of their time and are able to distribute it properly. Here are eight rules of efficiency that are observed by the creators of the well-known websites and blogs, business coaches, authors of books and speakers.
Author of the book Successful Mistake with the nickname Turndog has gathered the opinion of 100 entrepreneurs on how to achieve success. One can derive a lot of useful information from the stories that have been told, the mistakes that have been made, and the lessons that entrepreneurs have learned.
Here are eight ways to manage your time and energy better, which are used by many of the interviewed entrepreneurs.
1. Use Follow-Up Reminders
The value of resending emails cannot be overestimated if you want to ensure that you will receive a response to your letter.
One email is often overlooked: it can get lost among other letters. The recipient will decide to respond later when he/she has time and will never do this. But if the same email comes a certain time after the first one, the chance to get an answer is sharply increased.
To remember which messages should be resent and to automate this process, you can use services like Boomerang or SaneBox.
With the help of these programs and applications, you can set the time of sending emails, as well as the time of resending them if the message is not read or even opened.
Well, the delayed email sending service will help you remember about sending messages, no matter how many customers you may have.
2. Email Templates & Personalization
If you send the same text over and over again, save a proofread copy somewhere and paste it in the email. Thus you will save time and be able to avoid stupid mistakes that could accidentally sneak into your text, especially if you type a message in a hurry.
But still do not forget to personalize each letter, adding a unique introduction. Your customers are not idiots, they will notice that the letter is “robotic” and, most likely, will not finish reading it.
3. Answer the emails with short sentences
Marianne Cantwell, the author of the Free Range Humans book, checks her email twice a week. Srini Rao, the founder of Unmistakable Creative, has removed almost all applications from the phone because they interfere with his work.
If you are not ready for such drastic measures, just try to spend less time checking emails and writing responses.
Respond to an email in a few short sentences – it will save you a lot of time.
4. Less is better
Many people, when they first send emails to potential customers, try to get them interested with the help of a long text, listing all the advantages and reasons to respond to this letter.
This is a fundamentally wrong approach. Firstly, your customers do not have time to read everything you wrote. And you too might have used your time more reasonably.
Greg Hickman, marketer and entrepreneur, uses the rule of five sentences to write an email. So his letters are usually as short as SMS.
Try to use this rule, and your emails will become more meaningful and readable – a little meaningful text instead of a vast sheet of words that nobody wants to read.
5. Understand yourself better
Ari Meisel, the author of Less Doing, More Living, has achieved success through self-understanding. When he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, Ari deepened the understanding of himself, analysed all his life and was healed within a few months.
- To grow and develop, you need to better understand yourself.
- Keep track of what you do and do not do and check how much time and money it takes.
- Only through constant monitoring, you can see the direction for the development and improve your performance.
6. Check each idea
Clay Collins, co-founder of LeadPages.net, advises checking each idea before you implement it in life. However, he is not the only entrepreneur practicing this approach. Many other businessmen also believe it is rational.
Before you implement any idea, no matter how beautiful it may seem to you, it is worth checking whether people need it. Otherwise, it is like arranging a dinner with a man without knowing whether he would like to dine with you.
7. Escape for a while
When Corbett Barr, a blogger, entrepreneur and founder of Fizzle, lost his business, he went to Mexico for a six-month tour. Designer Desiree East escaped the problems in Bali for six months.
As strange as it may sound, sometimes it is useful to escape to find new ideas and shift the focus on the right things. In the long run, it helps save time, money and nerves.
8. Learn to say “no”
This is an important skill, without which you can lose everything. For example, entrepreneur Erin Blasco lost her business because of this and regained it only after she had learned to say “no.”
This does not mean that you have to reject all the opportunities that are offered. Just learn to feel comfortable giving up something else – a cup of coffee, a Skype conference, or introducing innovations that you do not like.
