Help! World going fuzzy...

[sparklyscotty]

How do you all cope with the feeling of being overwhelmed running your own business?
I am a one woman business. I design, make, sell, market all of my jewellery. I run the website, my mailling list, customer database, acounts, stock list, events calendar... the list goes on, and on, and on.
I kill one task, only for ten more to pop up.
At the moment, my biggest problem is focussing. I can't seem to grasp what is important, what needs done as opposed to what I want done, or how to best prioritize all of my work.
Does anyone have some good advice on how to straighten out my task list???
Thanks in advance for any posts.
-Angel-

[SillyJokes]

I think we all feel this way sometimes, so first off you aren't alone.

I expect there will be people who suggest coaching or outsourcing and I'll leave those things to them.

In the short and low cost term, working with lists is a good start just to get your head round things for a moment. Prioratise things into as many lists as you need.

Do you work full time, what else calls on your time? Kids, family, employment?

Perhaps you have come to a stage where you need to either get someone else in, or find some more time yourself. For me, a couple of years ago, I was working from home with four kids. I got child care and hey presto - an extra 20 hours a week appeared.

Another water shed was going from part time home worker with part time husband to a full time partnership for both of us, giving up the paid employment. This was really driven by the need for more time on the business and the risk was calculated.

Another thing is - are you working flat out but still not making money? In which case you might want to examine your prices - should they go up? Or can you get the jewellery made to your specs more cheaply than doing it yourself therefore allowing you to concentrate on your skills of design.

I'm sure you will be able to get some help with the situation you find yourself in and find other people who can help you with the mundane stuff.

[coxadmin]

Hi Angel

Another option open to you is to outsource some of the tasks that swamp you to a Virtual Assistant (VA). You would book a VA for a specific task or project or on a retainer basis, which is where you and the VA would agree a set number of hours per week or month at an agreed rate.

If you would like more information how I may be able to help you, please contact me.

[TargetTesting]

Hi Angel,
I'd like to say it get easier with time but I think you just get better at handling it.

I find working from prioritised lists works best for me. If your list is getting too long, then break it down into other lists.

It's always important to take a break when you are feeling like that and collect your thoughts.

I've got into the habit of sitting down for 10 mins at the start of each day, reviewing my list(s) while having a cuppa and listing the things that I need to do that day (e.g. legal stuff and project work etc). I then ask myself "What 3 things can I do today that will have the most impact on my business?". I then add these to the list and I'm set for the day.

Sometimes you just need to delegate or outsource so that you can focus on what you are best at and what is best for the growth of your business.


Hope this helps.

Regard
Bill

[sparklyscotty]

Thanks guys. I am definately a list person, and have recently signed up at www.tadalist.com which not only lets me work on lists, but also helps me manage individual projects.
My business has grown as demand has increased, in areas other than jewellery design... people are now asking me to design websites (I do others better than I do my own!) and carry out marketing projects for them, which is a lot more profitable than my jewellery. This is in turn leading to a time crunch because I work part time too.
I just don't think I can afford to give up my salary job. At the moment any money coming into the business goes right back out to advertising, monthly costs, etc.
I guess this is another make or break point that every small business owner has to face.
-Angel-

[kyber]

Thanks for the link to tadalist.com, that has been added to my kit bag of tricks. There basecamp (project management) solution looks interesting as well, think I shall give it a spin.

Stuart

[annethedonn]

Hi Angela

Try a Time Management Course - here is one that we do:

http://training.freelanceoffice.skillspride.com/portal/id/187

This is just one of the 525 IT & Soft Skills courses you'd have unlimited access to for a yearly fee of £99! Good thing is you can try for a month before you buy.

Let me know what you think:

Course Aims
To enable readers to make the most productive use of their days through the use of simple control tools.
Course Audience
Anyone needing to manage their time and work patterns better in order to be more productive during their working hours.

This course can be found in the following categories:
Course Library > Soft Skills

Hope this helps!

Anne

[ian69]

With the proviso that we all know little about how your business works, I'm nevertheless going to swim against the prevailing tide of lists etc. and suggest that you can spend too much time doing things that earn little or no money:
"the website, my mailing list, customer database, accounts, stock list, events calendar" and way too little on what matters:
"design, make, sell, market all of my jewellery".

You really need a stock list? An events calendar?

Just get on with making good jewellery and selling it. Lists create their own worries. I don't do lists, keep stock checks, worry about late payers or an events calendar. I do make a profit anyway.

Still, I'm not in your line of work so if lists are your thing, go for it. I just thought I'd give another view.

[VeryMark]

The thing that worked for me was joining BNI - www.bni-europe.com - you become part of a network that is the physical version of this forum.

The short answer is you need to build an outsourcing network so you do what you are good at and get other people to do the rest - and they hopefully refer potential customers to you and vice versa.

[Webstuff]

Yes, it can help your overall look vastly if you admit you can't do everything yourself. I've always outsourced logo design, and in return had many PHP/webdesign referrals from greatful logo-designers.

[emma, 27]

Hi Angel

I make a list every morning and highlight a couple of things that must be done that day. The only thing with lists is that they are never ending and sometimes it feels as though you have not done as much as you would like.

Perhaps set one day aside each week or every couple of weeks to concentrate on one aspect eg. marketing/mailing lists/paper work. Then use the rest of your time working on your jewellery.

Hope this helps and I am sure it will get easier.

Emma

[microbe]

A Time Management course could be a real help. Or get a book - something like the original One Minute Manager, which is regarded as very old hat (mainly by people with more recent books to plug :D), but has loads of good ideas in it.

I was taught to split tasks into a matrix

Critical/Urgent
Not Critical/Urgent
Critical/Not Urgent
Not Critical/Not Urgent

My problem is I am phobic about forms, so this scheme is of only limited help :( to me, but it is a good start point.

[will7]

I'm in a stage like that right now. Mainly on the marketing front. I just can't find the get-up-and-go to move out and put some flyers out etc. I really will have to do it tomorrow!

I have a deadline, mom says that if I haven't showed signs of a significant income by the end of the summer holidays I have to either get a job or go to college - both options which I do not want to do!

Heh, well, wish me and sparklyscotty luck!

[microbe]

I'm in a stage like that right now. Mainly on the marketing front. I just can't find the get-up-and-go to move out and put some flyers out etc. I really will have to do it tomorrow!I would suggest you try making a list of things you need to do at the beginning of each week, try and work through it, then start again the next week. Never think of it as failure if you don't complete the list though.

In your situation, it might also help to motivate you and get "management" buy-in to your venture if you show your mother the lists, so she can see that you are serious and trying hard.

[Johill]

Hi
I would recommend the E-myth Revisited by Michael Gerber (the E stands for Entrepreneur) - he talks about the fact that to run a business you need the entrepreneur, the manager and the technician - and often in a small business / startup - these roles all fall to one person.

He talks about ways to manage this so that you end up working on your business, rather than in your business - i.e not getting swamped by it. It's interesting - although I disagree with some of it! But it's still well worth a read anyway.

Jo