How to Prioritize Consistency in Your Startup

by Startacus Admin

Motivation is fleeting; consistency is everything.

When operating a startup, tasks pile up fast, resources are limited, and every day is a challenge. Consistency is the key to moving forward and making progress. Without it, your business will get backlogged and crumble.

Here are six ways to prioritise consistency in your startup.

Get the Right Tools 

Having the right tools in place can make all the difference in the early days of your business. They can help you stay on task and ensure things get done when they're supposed to. The tools you use should also reflect the changing times in the business world.

For example, rather than desperately searching where to fax near me when an important contract comes in while you're traveling, invest in an online fax service with digital signature capabilities. Rather than breaking up the day to post on social media, invest in an automated scheduling tool. 

Having the right digital tools in place makes consistency intuitive and natural when running a business.

Let Go of Perfection

As an entrepreneur, you'll need to let go of your ideas of perfection. Being a perfectionist can lead to analysis paralysis, which kills productivity and derails consistency. 

Yes, it's important to proofread your work and produce something that you can be proud of. However, overthinking leads to delays and second-guessing yourself. Eventually, a decision has to be made, and as an entrepreneur, you're the one who will have to make it. 

Prioritize your tasks, write pros and cons, and set a deadline for decision making.

Create Action-Focused Goals

Why do so many people fail at their goals? The primary reason for failure is the focus on the result rather than the steps to get there. Once you've set a goal, it's time to reverse engineer it and write out your daily tasks to get there. Make these small, manageable tasks a part of your daily routine, and you'll consistently make progress in your business. 

For example, if you hope to secure three new clients by the end of the month, consider how you'll do it. What actions need to be done this month? This week? This day? Once you know, make it happen.

Create Standard Operating Procedures

Standard operating procedures (SOP) create a consistent work environment that helps with outsourcing and time management. You can build an SOP for every task in your business, from reviewing client files to executing the work.

One of the overarching benefits of having SOP in place is the continuity of your business should you need to step away. This is vital for solopreneurs who experience a family emergency or illness. By creating SOP documents, you can subcontract your work and keep your business consistent.

Learn Smart Time Management Practices

Everyone knows that time management is important. However, knowing how to implement time management is something else entirely. 

There are many methods to improving time management, from using the Pomodoro technique to implementing time blocking. Find an approach that works for you and build a daily schedule that allows you to get your work done. 

Regardless of what approach you take, remember to be realistic about your commitments, and incorporate buffer time.

Seek Accountability

There's a common belief that you can only truly be accountable to yourself. This belief is true for many reasons. However, plenty of people thrive from a sense of external accountability and the feeling that they're failing others rather than themselves.

Seek accountability by hiring a reputable business coach, joining a mastermind group, or creating an advisory board for your startup. By having someone else support you and pay attention to your progress, you'll become more consistent in your business actions.

Consistency is what determines whether your startup will still be here a year from now. Keep moving forward using this advice to guide your path.

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Published on: 5th August 2020