As a small business owner, you are the heart and soul of your empire, from the products and services you create to sales and marketing. Achieving clarity and focus while maintaining accountability can be challenging alongside the day-to-day tasks.
When you understand your role and the value of regular self-appraisals, you can significantly contribute to your business growth and keep yourself accountable.
How to maintain clarity and focus as a business owner.
Do you understand your role as a provider?
Whether you provide a product or service, once you understand your role as the provider, you can see the areas that need attention and deal with them. Your responsibilities will include communication (social media content, newsletters, emails, etc), project management (creation of your product or service from start to finish), delivery, marketing, and so much more.
To help you gain clarity, it helps to break down your role into specific tasks and duties. Use a linear timeline if that works for you. Once you see these responsibilities written down, you will clearly understand your full role within the business and be able to set priorities and manage your time.
Here are my key takeaways to help you maintain clarity as a business owner:
- Prioritise your responsibilities and set clear goals.
- Regularly assess your performance and seek feedback from customers.
- Make necessary adjustments to your strategies.
- Embrace accountability.
The importance of accountability
When you make a promise to a customer, it’s essential that you follow through. Accountability builds the know, like, and trust relationships you create with your audience. It sets the stage for your personal and professional growth and success.
How else does accountability impact your business?
Credibility – When you deliver on those promises, it enhances your reputation and credibility. Trust is vital to building a loyal customer base and attracting collaborations and opportunities for business growth.
Customer satisfaction – A happy customer becomes a loyal customer. They then become a repeat customer and cheerleader for your brand. You boost customer satisfaction when you’re accountable for the quality of your products or services and the excellent delivery.
Decision-making – When you hold yourself accountable for anything, you take ownership of your actions and decisions. Only then can you make informed and strategic decisions for the benefit of your business and audience. Accountability helps you evaluate your options and choose the right course of action.
Productivity – You’re more likely to stay focused on the end goal and be more productive when accountable for your tasks. Accountability encourages you to meet your deadlines and complete those projects.
Personal development – Accountability isn’t only about what you deliver for your customers; it also promotes personal development. You may set yourself some personal goals alongside your professional ones. You also become an effective business owner by holding yourself accountable, making mistakes, learning, and building your confidence along the way with your personal goals.
Long-term success – Small business owners face lots of challenges and uncertainties. Being accountable helps you learn and grow through each challenge, building your adaptability and resilience for the long term.
Accountability builds trust, drives your customer satisfaction, and helps you increase your productivity and success. It’s worth prioritising accountability as part of your business growth strategy to help you create a positive business environment.
How do you deal with self-appraisals?
It’s great to have clarity and focus on your business, just as much as holding yourself accountable also has value. However, to maintain these elements, it’s vital that you carry out regular self-appraisals, but where do you start?
- Goal setting. Set yourself SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely). Your goals can be a mix of personal and professional tasks, revenue targets, or even tied to your customer journey.
- Access your performance. Spend time reflecting on your actions and decisions. Have you met all your goals and delivered on your promises? If not, why not? Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses but be objective. If you struggle with this, consider talking with a business coach or booking an Express30
- Get honest feedback. Ask your customers, peers, or mentors for feedback. Constructive criticism can be helpful when you want to identify areas that need more work.
- You can adjust your strategies and make an improvement plan using your self-appraisal notes.
- Monitor your progress. When you monitor your progress with your personal or professional goals, you can easily see where you need to adapt if necessary. Monitoring your progress will be ongoing, but you will reap the benefits of regular self-appraisal.
As a small business owner, it’s important to maintain clarity and focus on your business, embrace accountability for growth and success, and carry out regular self-appraisals.
Business growth is an ongoing journey with many twists and turns along the way. Stay focused, stay accountable, and watch your business shine.
Are you ready to invest in your business and learn more about building trust and credibility?
Book one of my Express30 coaching sessions and gain the clarity you need to drive sales in your business. Do you have a burning challenge with sales, then my Express 30 sessions are designed to solve that issue in just 30 minutes.
“I booked an Express30 session with Jules when I was feeling a bit blocked on my business’s direction. I needed clarity on the services I offer and a boost of confidence to push forward with my plans. Jules doesn’t waste a second and quickly gets to the core of your challenge, ensuring you leave with everything you need and a buzz about your business goals. I can highly recommend these Express30 sessions.” Shelley Wilson, Writing Mentor
Want to find out more? Schedule a virtual cuppa with me, and we can have a chat about the Express30 sessions or my other coaching services.
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