Skills and Traits of Successul Entrepreneurs. Time Management Tactics

In Marketing We Trust
In Marketing We TrustM.D of an Optimisation Agency (aka Analytics, BI & Conversion Optimisation) - We Are Hiring
Entrepreneurs Skills for Success

     Manly Entrepreneurs Meetup
            10th April 2013
Skills and Traits of Successul Entrepreneurs. Time Management Tactics
Credit
Personal Characteristics




Optimism                Drive and Persistence
Vision                  Risk Tolerance
Initiative              Resilience
Desire for Control                              Credit
Interpersonal Skills




Leadership and Motivation   Personal Relations
Communication Skills        Negotiation
Listening                   Ethics
                                                 Credit
Critical and Creative Thinking Skills




Creative Thinking           Problem Solving
Recognizing Opportunities       Cause & Effect Analysis
                                The 5 Whys Technique
                                CATWOE

                                                          Credit
Practical Skills




Goal Setting                Decision Making
Planning and Organizing        Decision Tree Analysis
                               Grid Analysis
                               Six Thinking Hats
                                                        Credit
Knowledge




Business              Opportunity-specific

Entrepreneurial       Venture-specific
                                             Credit
Action


 Do

Doing

Done
Get Sh*t Done, On Time




TIME MANAGEMENT
4 Questions
• Someone else who should be doing what I’m doing
  right now?

• What I’m doing right now worth my hourly rate?
   – Cost to get someone else to do this?

• Something else I should be doing that only I can do?
   – Avoiding doing a higher value activity that I hate?

• Bad Cust./Employees XP because I’m not responding?
   – Should they be depending on me?
Prioritise
                       High Importance


                                    Important
                 Urgent
                                    Not urgent
               Important
                                  Decide when
               Do it now
                                    to do it

High Urgency                                     Low Urgency

                 Urgent               Not
                 Not                important
               important            Not urgent
               Delegate it           Dump it


                          Low Importance
Know your worth
Average Work Week             60hrs
Hours per annum               3k
Time frame for sale           5 years
Total hours invested          15k
Exit worth                    $5 Mln
Salary paid (60k/yr)          300k
   (5,000-300k)/15 = $313 per hour
Identify time-wasters


• Keep a log of your activity for a week



• Create a template or shortcut
Harness technology
Become Master of your own time




To-do lists get to the point where they're
unworkable. Appointment books work
Become Master of your own time




    • Spend 50% of your time doing the most
      productive activities and conversations
Credit
Become Master of your own time




    • Schedule time for interruptions
Credit
Become Master of your own time




   • Take the first 30 minutes of every day to plan your day.

Credit
Become Master of your own time




   • Take 5 minutes before every call and task to
     decide what result you want to attain.
Credit
Become Master of your own time




   • Put up a "Do not disturb" sign when you absolutely have to get
     work done.

Credit
Become Master of your own time




   • Block out distraction like social media unless these tools generate
     business.

Credit
Get It Done. Today
Tech Tools
Accounting – Xero or Saasu + Interactive Accounting
(Disclaimer, I know those guys)
Doc sharing – Google drive or Dropbox
Collaborative documents working – Google Docs
Code development - Github
Project management – Basecamp
Learning/Classes – General Assembly or Udemy
Gmail tools –Rapportive, Boomerang, Streak
Twitter audience analysis – Followerwonk
Find Keyword popularity – Adwords Keyword Tool
Search trends – Google Insight for Search
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Skills and Traits of Successul Entrepreneurs. Time Management Tactics

  • 1. Entrepreneurs Skills for Success Manly Entrepreneurs Meetup 10th April 2013
  • 4. Personal Characteristics Optimism Drive and Persistence Vision Risk Tolerance Initiative Resilience Desire for Control Credit
  • 5. Interpersonal Skills Leadership and Motivation Personal Relations Communication Skills Negotiation Listening Ethics Credit
  • 6. Critical and Creative Thinking Skills Creative Thinking Problem Solving Recognizing Opportunities Cause & Effect Analysis The 5 Whys Technique CATWOE Credit
  • 7. Practical Skills Goal Setting Decision Making Planning and Organizing Decision Tree Analysis Grid Analysis Six Thinking Hats Credit
  • 8. Knowledge Business Opportunity-specific Entrepreneurial Venture-specific Credit
  • 10. Get Sh*t Done, On Time TIME MANAGEMENT
  • 11. 4 Questions • Someone else who should be doing what I’m doing right now? • What I’m doing right now worth my hourly rate? – Cost to get someone else to do this? • Something else I should be doing that only I can do? – Avoiding doing a higher value activity that I hate? • Bad Cust./Employees XP because I’m not responding? – Should they be depending on me?
  • 12. Prioritise High Importance Important Urgent Not urgent Important Decide when Do it now to do it High Urgency Low Urgency Urgent Not Not important important Not urgent Delegate it Dump it Low Importance
  • 13. Know your worth Average Work Week 60hrs Hours per annum 3k Time frame for sale 5 years Total hours invested 15k Exit worth $5 Mln Salary paid (60k/yr) 300k (5,000-300k)/15 = $313 per hour
  • 14. Identify time-wasters • Keep a log of your activity for a week • Create a template or shortcut
  • 16. Become Master of your own time To-do lists get to the point where they're unworkable. Appointment books work
  • 17. Become Master of your own time • Spend 50% of your time doing the most productive activities and conversations Credit
  • 18. Become Master of your own time • Schedule time for interruptions Credit
  • 19. Become Master of your own time • Take the first 30 minutes of every day to plan your day. Credit
  • 20. Become Master of your own time • Take 5 minutes before every call and task to decide what result you want to attain. Credit
  • 21. Become Master of your own time • Put up a "Do not disturb" sign when you absolutely have to get work done. Credit
  • 22. Become Master of your own time • Block out distraction like social media unless these tools generate business. Credit
  • 23. Get It Done. Today
  • 24. Tech Tools Accounting – Xero or Saasu + Interactive Accounting (Disclaimer, I know those guys) Doc sharing – Google drive or Dropbox Collaborative documents working – Google Docs Code development - Github Project management – Basecamp Learning/Classes – General Assembly or Udemy Gmail tools –Rapportive, Boomerang, Streak Twitter audience analysis – Followerwonk Find Keyword popularity – Adwords Keyword Tool Search trends – Google Insight for Search

Editor's Notes

  1. Do you have the mindset that's typical of successful entrepreneurs?Optimism: Are you an optimistic thinker? Optimism is truly an asset, and it will help get you through the tough times that many entrepreneurs experience as they find a business model that works for them.Vision: Can you easily see where things can be improved? Can you quickly grasp the "big picture," and explain this to others? And can you create a compelling vision of the future, and then inspire other people to engage with that vision?Initiative: Do you have initiative, and instinctively start problem-solving or business improvement projects?Desire for Control: Do you enjoy being in charge and making decisions? Are you motivated to lead others?Drive and Persistence: Are you self-motivated and energetic? And are you prepared to work hard, for a very long time, to realize your goals?Risk Tolerance: Are you able to take risks, and make decisions when facts are uncertain?Resilience: Are you resilient, so that you can pick yourself up when things don't go as planned? And do you learn and grow from your mistakes and failures? (If you avoid taking action because you're afraid of failing, our article onOvercoming Fear of Failure can help you face your fears and move forward.)
  2. Leadership and Motivation: Can you lead and motivate others to follow you and deliver your vision? And are you able to delegate work to others? As a successful entrepreneur, you'll have to depend on others to get beyond a very early stage in your business – there's just too much to do all on your own!Communication Skills: Are you competent with all types of communication? You need to be able to communicate well to sell your vision of the future to investors, potential clients, team members, and more.Listening: Do you hear what others are telling you? Your ability to listen can make or break you as an entrepreneur. Make sure that you're skilled at active listening and empathetic listening.Personal Relations: Are you emotionally intelligent? The higher your EI, the easier it will be for you to work with others. The good news is that you can improve your emotional intelligence!Negotiation: Are you a good negotiator? Not only do you need to negotiate keen prices, you also need to be able to resolve differences between people in a positive, mutually beneficial way.Ethics: Do you deal with people based on respect, integrity, fairness, and truthfulness? Can you lead ethically? You'll find it hard to build a happy, committed team if you deal with people – staff, customers or suppliers – in a shabby way.
  3. Many people think that you're either born creative or you're not. However, creativity is a skill that you can develop if you invest the time and effort.Creative Thinking: Are you able to see situations from a variety of perspectives and come up with original ideas? Problem Solving: How good are you at coming up with sound solutions to the problems you're facing? Recognizing Opportunities: Do you recognize opportunities when they present themselves? Can you spot a trend? And are you able to create a plan to take advantage of the opportunities you identify?Clients – Who are the beneficiaries or victims of this particular system? (Who would benefit or suffer from its operations?)Actors – Who are responsible for implementing this system? (Who would carry out the activities which make this system work?)Transformation – What transformation does this system bring about? (What are the inputs and what transformation do they go through to become the outputs?)Worldview – What particular worldview justifies the existence of this system? (What point of view makes this system meaningful?)Owner – Who has the authority to abolish this system or change its measures of performance?Environmental constraints – Which external constraints does this system take as a given?
  4. You need knowledge in several areas when starting or running a business. For instance:Business knowledge: Do you have a good general knowledge of the main functional areas of a business (sales, marketing, finance, and operations), and are you able to operate or manage others in these areas with a reasonable degree of competence?Entrepreneurial knowledge: Do you understand how entrepreneurs raise capital? And do you understand the sheer amount of experimentation and hard work that may be needed to find a business model that works for you?Opportunity-specific knowledge: Do you understand the market you're attempting to enter, and do you know what you need to do to bring your product or service to market?Venture-specific knowledge: Do you know what you need to do to make this type of business successful? And do you understand the specifics of the business that you want to start? (This is where it's often useful to work for a short time in a similar business.)
  5. Carry a schedule and record all your thoughts, conversations and activities for a week. This will help you understand how much you can get done during the course of a day and where your precious moments are going. You'll see how much time is actually spent producing results and how much time is wasted on unproductive thoughts, conversations and actions.
  6. Any activity or conversation that's important to your success should have a time assigned to it. To-do lists get longer and longer to the point where they're unworkable. Appointment books work. Schedule appointments with yourself and create time blocks for high-priority thoughts, conversations, and actions. Schedule when they will begin and end. Have the discipline to keep these appointments.
  7. Plan to spend at least 50 percent of your time engaged in the thoughts, activities and conversations that produce most of your results.
  8. Schedule time for interruptions. Plan time to be pulled away from what you're doing. Take, for instance, the concept of having "office hours." Isn't "office hours" another way of saying "planned interruptions?"
  9. Take the first 30 minutes of every day to plan your day. Don't start your day until you complete your time plan. The most important time of your day is the time you schedule to schedule time.
  10. Take five minutes before every call and task to decide what result you want to attain. This will help you know what success looks like before you start. And it will also slow time down. Take five minutes after each call and activity to determine whether your desired result was achieved. If not, what was missing? How do you put what's missing in your next call or activity?
  11. Put up a "Do not disturb" sign when you absolutely have to get work done.Practice not answering the phone just because it's ringing and e-mails just because they show up. Disconnect instant messaging. Don't instantly give people your attention unless it's absolutely crucial in your business to offer an immediate human response. Instead, schedule a time to answer email and return phone calls.
  12. Block out other distractions like Facebook and other forms of social media unless you use these tools to generate business.Remember that it's impossible to get everything done.
  13. Also remember that odds are good that 20 percent of your thoughts, conversations and activities produce 80 percent of your results.