Welcome to our latest blog in our series all about the importance of FOCUS for entrepreneurs at each and every stage of their entrepreneurial journey.

In this 5th and penultimate blog in this series we focus on the challenges facing early stage entrepreneurs in the SWIM phase and ensuring that they understand the importance of investing their most valuable asset i.e. their time in activities that genuinely ensure they are building a profitable and sustainable business.

With this in mind, if you’re just at the start of your entrepreneurial journey or have been struggling to really establish your business for a while now, it may well be the case that your primary focus is simply on creating and or maintaining a business that works by generating you a suitable income. 

Experience of starting our own businesses and working with many others has taught us that every business goes through similar start-up challenges. No matter where you are right now, your success will be directly related to the action that you take right now. 

Sadly nearly 80% of businesses fail within their first 5 years of trading. Moreover its a widely held belief that the single biggest reason for business failures is a genuine lack of knowledge amongst business owners themselves. 

• Are you currently wearing every hat in the business, working excessive hours and therefore finding little or no time to work on the business or spend time with your family? 

• Did you perhaps fail to write a clear plan for how the business would grow or are you simply struggling to implement it?

• Do you worry that your plan lacks the necessary detail? Would you benefit from having better systems that help you save time and achieve your revenue goals more efficiently? 

• Are you finding you are still involved in every aspect of the business and therefore unable to even find the time to recruit and train the next team member that could dramatically change your business and life? 

• Will you, without significant change, ever find the time to recruit the right person and onboard them properly so you truly leverage the investment? 

• Do you need to develop a better sales process and more effective marketing strategies to help you realise your revenue goals?

• Have you ever stopped to calculate your hourly rate and shift towards an investment mentality to realise your profit ambitions?

The big question is, by launching a business of your own, have you created a profitable and sustainable business, or have you simply bought yourself a job? 

Sadly our education systems across the globe aren’t geared up to teach you how to be a successful business owner. Consequently, the challenges that we all face as business owners are in many ways inevitable.  

Ambitious entrepreneurs over the world therefore recognise that it makes sense to embark on a proven business education programme so as to learn how to scale and grow your business for the future, whilst avoiding the many pitfalls in order to ensure that you make your life significantly easier and more profitable from the outset.

Current estimates suggest that over 30% of all learning today in a commercial context is delivered online with figures growing year after year. The key benefits of an e-learning model are without a doubt;

Flexibility

As a busy entrepreneur, you’re almost certainly working long hours and the challenges of finding the time for learning is possibly a constant challenge. 

The primary benefit of Online training courses is that they can be taken anytime at a time to suit you. The only requirement would be an internet connection. This ensures flexibility in terms of both time and effort.

Mobility

Today’s e-learning solutions are 100% mobile friendly and since browsers are now available on phones, tablets, and laptops, online courses are not only restricted to desktops; and courses are configured to all types of devices. Put another way you can now learn anytime, anywhere.

Easy on the Pocket

Traditional courses are often cost prohibitive for participants due to the high cost of books and other course materials. However having created the content specifically for e-learning purposes those traditional cost areas are eradicated. Consequently – online courses are extremely cost-effective and can be utilized efficiently.

Community

With contemporary Learning Management Systems, meeting different people and joining forums does not stop at social media sites. Entrepreneurs with similar interests and challenges or with similar learning goals are able to join a community that interacts effectively exchanging questions and ideas with the added benefit of expert support from course originators.

Online Support

With today’s leading providers support is always on hand. Our business coaches are available via email, social media and phone to help whenever you need help & assistance. 

Progress Report

By embedding various tools within the course content you’ll always know exactly where you are and what the next learnings should be so as to ensure that you’re not only learning but embedding the learning in your business too.

Easy Accessibility

In a fast moving world, almost everything is readily accessible. Downloadable online notes, online support, online interaction, training videos that can be replayed, are all designed to help entrepreneurs learn better and faster. The easier courses are to be reached, the easier it is for you to reach your goals.

Information Retention

Online courses help trainees retain and remember information with attractive images, videos, valuable downloadable toolkits and more. Real-life examples are also given to explain concepts better. Displaying information in well-crafted ways lead to better understanding of learning content more than taking notes with pen and paper. 

Based on all of the above – If you’ve already decided that NOW’s the right time for you too to invest in your self-development then our Online Growth Accelerator Membership Programme will definitely be right for you. 

In addition to a world-class e-learning platform, you’ll get exclusive access to all of the tools that our One to One and Group Coaching clients benefit from PLUS regular access to our top executive coaches through our fortnightly online forums/webinars.

Avoiding The Pitfalls

Whether you’re at the start of your entrepreneurial journey or already well on your way, the challenges associated with building a profitable and sustainable business, irrespective of the industry sector, are often considerable. 

At the heart of every entrepreneur’s start-up dream is the old quote that simply states….  

Failure is not an option and yet why is it that so many fail to realise their full potential?

All too often entrepreneurs start their journey without real clarity as to their DESTINATION. Similarly, many entrepreneurs rapidly lose sight of and/or forget not only where they were heading but more importantly WHY they were heading there in the first place. 

As the phrase goes…  “if you don’t know where you are heading, how will you know when you’ve got there?”

Ironically – very few entrepreneurs would dream of building a house without a detailed set of plans drawn up without the help of an expert and yet why is it so few entrepreneurs (a) have any sort of written plan and (b)  any sort of plan compiled with the help of someone more experienced than themselves?