Who am I today? Juggling your Roles as a Solopreneur

Posted: 4^th September 2017

By: Sandra Garlick MBE

When you first start your business it’s with a burst of enthusiasm and euphoria that you’ve finally made it. You no longer have to conform to any structure or rules other than your own. It’s frequently a lifestyle choice so that you can work around your own family commitments.

The decision to have that work-life balance with more free time whilst earning an income soon fades as you realise that there is no IT department, no accounts department and certainly no admin assistance…it’s YOU!

So here you are, probably sat late at night, when the chores are done carefully planning, responding to emails, doing your invoices and your admin. Where has the work-life balance gone?

Here are some simple short cuts to managing your time and juggling those all-important solopreneur roles:

1. It’s really important to allocate time each week to work on your business as well as in it
   • Block out some time in your diary or calendar where you focus on one particular task to support your business. It could be invoicing, dealing with your expenses or simply updating your business plan.
   • Set yourself a specific goal you wish to achieve, break it down into bite-size chunks so at least the task becomes more manageable and achievable.
   • If you don’t finish it, don’t beat yourself up, just allocate another block of time to complete it.
2. Work efficiently
   • Do you need to print everything off and then file it?
   • Can you work electronically and become paperless, saving your documents in folders in Dropbox or another online portal?
   • Have an organised filing system so that you keep everything where you can easily find it, wherever you are. You will save a fortune on stationery too.
3. Allocate days for spending time on different aspects of your business and prioritise them
   • You are probably the networker, the marketer and the social media guru. If you are out networking all the time, then how are you going to do the work?
   • Social media can, if you’re not careful, eat into your day.
   • Allocate chunks of time for each. Colour code your diary entries according to the priority.
4. Manage your time effectively
   • In the early stages of your business you probably can’t afford to employ people or outsource so you become the receptionist, the typist, the cleaner and the coffee maker.
   • If you need to spend time sending and responding to emails, have a simple system for doing so. If you keep stopping your current task to deal with an email, your day soon disappears.
   • If you do need to work in the evening, save your emails as Drafts and send them first thing in the morning. Reflecting on them the next day is a good idea too in case you spot a typo.
5. Take time out for you
   • It’s very easy to get all consumed in your business venture.
   • Don’t forget about yourself, your family and your friends.
   • Diarise some time away from your business and spend it with those you care about, you will be more productive as a result.
   • Have fun. If you are not enjoying what you are doing, it will soon become tedious.

Sandra Garlick works with businesses owners from pre-start through to exit. Sandra is a business mentor and public speaker.  She regularly advises on business growth and strategy.

www.sandragarlick.com

@SandraGarlick    @SGBusConsulting   @WomanWhoAwards