Some of the key tools to assist you in creating this independence:
Independence – Key Tools
The Time Matrix
If your business has a dependence on you – whether it is low or high dependence – the very first thing to establish and define is the exact nature of this dependence. It is only with this clear start point can you look at how you can reduce this dependency and what areas to target first for the biggest impact.
When I ask business owners who are working 40 plus hours per week what they are spending their time doing the answer is usually very vague – just busy all the time from one thing to the next. Never enough time in the day to get everything done. I like specifics and so this is all about specifics.
Stephen Covey defined the 4 Quadrants in relation to Time Management.
In order to take your business to the next level, it requires you to put some attention into doing this. Quadrant 2 is where this happens. This is really the “working on the business:” area rather than “Working in the business”
What is essential to understand is how much time you are spending in each of these quadrants.
When I work with business owners to either Franchise their business or look at how to develop a leverageable and scalable model I need to understand where their headspace is at and what is holding their attention on a daily and weekly basis. This will have a significant impact on their ability to put the required energy, thinking time, and space for this development activity on their business. Prior to doing this, I found that it was very difficult to get things completed in a sensible time frame and things just got stuck.
In order for you to create your Ideal Business model – which requires implementation, change, and different activities – space will be needed. This will need clearing your desk to create this space so that it can evolve in a time-effective manner.
For me, I look very closely at what I am spending my time on and if it makes any sense to do any of the tasks or activities I am on. Fortunately, I do not like repetitive tasks and roles so I am always looking at how quickly I can remove myself from them – this is now hard-wired into my approach and thinking in relation to how I go about starting, growing, and scaling a business.
I have framed up this approach called the Time Matrix.
Take note of the next two weeks of every 15-30min block during your day over a 24 hour period inside and outside work and write down what you are doing in that time. It may sound extreme but the results will be extremely valuable data to you moving forward as a business owner.