Written by: Melanie Yost, LCSW
Business Mentor for Helping Professionals

Staying focused is often one of the most difficult parts of being an entrepreneur. It is up to us to keep on track, stay motivated and hold ourselves accountable. In order to get more clients, make more money and grow your business, you have to create the time to work on your business as well as in it.

Working on your business means doing all the things that make your business run so that you can get more clients and make more money. In order to grow your business and keep attracting new clients to you, you have to spend at least 2 hours a day marketing and working on your business. Yes, you read that correctly, 2 hours a day. If you are freaking out and wondering where you will find the time, it is important to be honest and look at what is draining your time and energy.

We all have obligations outside of our business. We are parents, spouses, children, and volunteers. That’s what makes us whole and balanced people. Some people get so wrapped up in the outside obligations that they allow themselves to be pulled away from their business. Your business is like a child. It won’t grow and thrive without your attention, care and nurturing. Take an honest look at how you are spending your time and whether or not you are spreading yourself too thin.

Next, we all have emotional drains that zap our energy and eat up our time. You know, the needy friend, the dysfunctional relationship, the draining client or the dependent adult child. Unresolved issues that causes regret, a secret that you don’t want exposed or an unresolved money issue are also emotional drains that can paralyze you and keep you stuck in your business.

Finally, we all have time wasters. When stressed and overwhelmed, we have our behaviors and coping mechanisms that we use to avoid reality and deal with overwhelm. These can include obvious time wasters such as playing video games, watching TV, or calling friends. But they can also include things that can be productive but the amount to time we devote to them make them an avoidance tactic and a time waster. These include surfing the internet, checking email, daydreaming, reading or cleaning/organizing.

Take an honest look at how you are spending your time and what takes your emotional energy. In order to find the time to spend working on your business, you have to start setting boundaries around your time and energy. That means saying “no” more often, delegating some of your responsibilities and making yourself less available to needy people in your life. Setting boundaries will allow you to easily find time you need to work on your business so you can get more clients and make more money.

You are the CEO of your company and are responsible for structuring your time, setting the work standard and developing the discipline to sticking with it. No one else will do it for you. If you do not take control of your time and make your business a top priority, your business will not grow.