6 Ways Impatience is Slowing Your Business Down

So many people are not patient. They want things done fast. They chase after one shiny object after another. They quit when things get hard. But Success – big success – takes time. So take your time, slow down, and realize what could come if you plan for five to ten years instead of one.

If you’re patient and let compound interest do its magic, you will achieve success far easier than most people. Jeff Bezos once said:”…if you’re willing to invest on a seven-year time horizon, you’re now competing against a fraction of those people, because very few companies are willing to do that.” 

That’s easier said than done and I know that first-hand. It took me one year to get out of debt. It took me a few more years before my business was making millions. Over the years, there have been some significant ups and downs: firing employees who stole from the business and managing the business through economic downturns. 

If I wasn’t patient, and if I didn’t believe in myself, I would have quit a long time ago. Out of that experience, I learned these signs of impatience that can be killers of your success.

As you plan out your long-term vision, look out for these six signs:

Too big, too soon

When you first start a business, you don’t know a lot of things: you don’t know who the top performers are, you don’t know the best marketing strategies, and so on. Before you even think about scaling, you need to nail the fundamentals and get some hands-on experience. 

It’s like if you go to Vegas and you’re not an experienced poker player, starting on the million-dollar table is the worst thing you can do. Start around the small table first. 

From 2007 to 2014, I was playing a bunch of different roles in the business, whether it was being the technician or marketing guy. This helped me understand the different parts of my business, which then helped me scale faster than others.  

No savings

If you don’t have enough money saved up, or if you have a lot of credit card debt, you won’t be able to survive tough times like a recession. That’s why it’s so important to understand your finances and to have the financial discipline (more on this later). 

The key is saving more than you spend, and that’s what you do whether you make $30,000, $300,000, or $3 million. In the early years, I worked a lot as a technician in my truck to pay off debt before hiring and scaling the business.

No systems 

If you left town for a month but were not allowed to look at your computer or phone, what would your business look like when you’re back? The answer usually is “it’s not good”. And I’ve been there… I’d never forget the feeling of running out of money when I was in my early twenties. If I had to pay a phone bill, I would have to work more. 

To build real wealth, you need to work on the business, not in the industry. Delegate to your team, as well as build systems and processes. Take some time out of your week to do all these, no matter how busy you are.  

Not continuously learning 

You don’t have to figure things out from scratch. There are already people who have answers to your challenges. In other words, the key to every business problem is to find someone else that’s already solved it. 

Buy their book or course, or meet with them in person. And if you can, work for the best for free and learn how they plan their days and manage their business. If I could go back in time, I’d figure out how I could intern for a billionaire for free!

Depreciating assets 

Rather than reinvesting into their business and making their business more efficient, they go buy a fancy new car or motorcycle – things that go down in value vs. go up in value. They have no discipline! A study that studied self-control shows that kids who were able to wait before eating the marshmallows were way more successful as adults. 

Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t enjoy life when you can – you could just rent luxury assets vs. owning them, for example. But you should always have this in your mind when buying stuff: “If I invest in this now, do I get more or less value in the future?” 

Multiple businesses at once 

As they start getting successful, a lot of people get distracted. They start a bar with a buddy, they flip houses, they invest in stocks…. in other words, they take money out of their core business, which slows down the growth. 

Even if they don’t work on multiple businesses, it’s common for leaders to pursue multiple priorities and get pulled into a million directions. 

Ask yourself, are you focused on the One Thing that will move your business forward? Your calendar doesn’t lie.

Source: Incafrica.com