How to boost your business mojo

Are you still as in love with your business as you were on day one? If you’re not, how do you get back to that point?

Chances are you were excited, enthusiastic and full of energy had just a touch of nerves when you started your business.

I’ve been in business for 17 years and I can still remember where I was when my husband phoned me to let me know that the ATO had issued my tax agent’s registration.

Over those years my business mojo has waned, but it has never taken me long to get back on track because from day one I have had a clear vision of what I wanted from my business.

Then, I was simply true to that vision.

Looking back, there were probably times when I made decisions or took actions that didn’t completely align with that vision and could have impacted my business mojo.

For example, I may have taken on a client that I shouldn’t have or juggled too many things that negatively impacted on myself or my family.

Sound familiar?

If you find yourself in a situation where it feels like you’re losing your mojo, you just need to think back to the reasons why you went into business in the first place.

Did you want to truly work for yourself? Did you want to leave the corporate world behind? Did you want flexibility?

Knowing why you went into business in the first place is the starting point to getting your mojo back.

Once you know what those reasons are, you can reflect, regroup, and get rid of the things in your business which doesn’t gel with that vision.

Remember, this is your business and you have the right to run it your way.

If you feel you have lost some of your business mojo, you can do worse than to really look at your business from five key perspectives to see if it still gels with your vision.

Clients

• Are you still working with your ideal clients?
• Do you really need to be all things to your clients?
• Do you need to reset your boundaries with some clients?

Work

• Are you still doing the work you love?
• Would it give you more joy to delegate or outsource some work you are doing?
• Is some of the work you do not profitable and you would be better off not offering that service in the future?
• What work will you be doing in the future? Is the work you’re doing now setting you up for this?

Staff

• Do you have the right people working for you?
• Do you need to conduct staff reviews to clarify roles, responsibilities and expectations?
• Do you need to recap staff on your business’s culture?
• Do you need a system to hold staff accountable?
• Do you need to let go a bit and give staff more autonomy?

Finances

• Do you have your finances under control?
• Are you taking advantage of automation and timeliness that cloud accounting software packages such as MYOB Essentials deliver?
• Are you monitoring your results weekly or monthly?
• Do you have the right advisors on your team helping you make timely, informed decision?

Balance

• Do you have balance and flexibility in your life?
• Are you looking after your own health & wellbeing
• Are you receiving adequate remuneration for the time being spent in your business?
• By revisiting all these things on a regular basis, you can identify the key elements which still give you joy and the things which contribute to your burnout.

A good place to start would be to write up an agenda or checklist that you can refer to each time you sit down, whether that be monthly, quarterly or half yearly.

Finances should, however, be reviewed monthly.

Online accounting software such as MYOB Essentials has everything you need to take care of business.

Get into the habit of setting aside non-negotiable time to review your business, whether that’s sitting in your office, a coffee shop, or even overlooking the water.

Remember you only have so many hours in the day, days in the week, weeks in the year, years in your life, so ultimately, it is up to you to use those hours in the optimal way to make money, create goodwill in your business and enjoy a fulfilled life.

First published by MYOB 25 Oct 2016