Becoming a Dad Inspired Me to Grow My Business Even Faster Lots of entrepreneurs seeking their "why" find it when they tuck their kids in at night.
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There's a misconception that parents aren't able to do what they want because they have kids. They think they aren't able to travel as much, grow a business as well as they could or have the lifestyle they have dreamed of. Parents put the blame on their kids, while at the same time putting the biggest excuse on themselves. While understandable, there is so much more growth waiting patiently at your fingertips as a parent.
I'm a great example as to why this isn't the case. As an entrepreneur who teaches companies how to profit from digital marketing, my business grew by 54 percent during the first year of being a dad. I had one of my biggest months within the first 30 days she was born.
Related: A Founder Shares 4 Lessons Motherhood Has Taught Her About Running a Business
While I understand where parents are coming from, there is still so much you can do. I noticed that I became more focused, disciplined and efficient when I found out I was going to be a dad. I knew I would have more responsibility not only for my wife, but now my soon-to-be daughter. Here are three strategies parents can use right now to grow their businesses while giving their kids the perfect amount of attention.
1. Create systems that work while you play.
There are more opportunities than ever with the increase in technological advances. These opportunities should be leveraged and taken advantage of. The more work you can automate and streamline, the better you will become at your business and the more free time you will have to do what you want, when you want. Ask this question while running your business -- how can I automate this task and make it easier on myself while creating more freedom in my business? As soon as I started leveraging automations, I noticed that my business started to grow.
Related: 8 Productivity Tips for Entrepreneurs With Kids Waiting for Them to Get Home
2. Share the love, and hire out specific, repetitive tasks.
While creating systems with automations and technology, hire out a team that manages theses automations. You will want to do this for tasks that can't be automated. You will never be able to grow and enjoy the lifestyle you want if you are doing everything. Some tasks will not be able to be completely automated. This is where your team comes into play. If you struggle with hiring teams because you like complete control of your business, think of it this way: Money is replaceable, but time is not. Business loves speed, and the faster you can consistently grow, the more results you will produce for yourself. Share the workload and bless others at the same time by allowing them to grow with you.
3. Work on your business and not inside it.
Don't be a slave to your own business. You created the business to give yourself more freedom to do the things you love with the people you love. Work on your business from a bird's-eye view and oversee it. Don't work to work. Every minute you have should be purposeful and meaningful. Make sure you have task management software like Asana or Slack to see that tasks and projects are completed on time. When you have ideas come in your mind during planning sessions or while brainstorming, make sure they go inside of a specific task in your task management tool and that you don't erase it until it's complete. This will force you to become more efficient as you work and will force you to get as much done as possible with the amount of time you have.
Related: 10 Reasons Why More Parents Should Become Entrepreneurs
At the end of the day, family is what matters most. You will need to find balance between working in your business and spending quality time with your family. You will find speed bumps along the way. The faster you can iron out the wrinkles in your business, the faster you will be able to watch your business grow as you begin to enjoy more freedom and time with your family.
Here is where you should start. Spend half an hour looking at your business as a whole. From the above steps, choose an area that is weak, but not the weakest. Apply one of the given steps above and watch how easy it will become. Do the same thing for the rest of the areas that need work, and you'll start to see that the weakest part of your business will automatically start to become strong as the other areas are perfected.
