I love to learn new things, new perspectives and new points of view, but there are only so many hours in a day to take things in.  One way I do this is to work and listen to podcasts or videos, and recently I listened to a Google Hangout with Guy Kawasaki, Adriana Huffington and Rich Sheridan. They talked about all sorts of stuff related to productivity, being happy in what we do and how, as entrepreneurs this all fitted into the scheme of things and answered questions from groups of entrepreneurs.

It got me thinking, here are these thoughtleaders, who are known throughout the world, who are sharing their productivity ideas, how to be happy and have joy wherever you work and how the happiness of your team will effect your bottom line; there must be something to it. Here’s why, they all run highly successful businesses, but they are not working 24/7, they take holidays and have time to themselves. It was a great to listen to, and it got me thinking about my own business and how I manage it, in particular, exactly what would impact on my family, my business and myself? It didn’t take me long at all to come up with the 10 questions below that would make an impact for the worse on any business.

Questions you should ask yourself.

  1. How productive am I if I am working a 60 hour week and my weekends?
  2. How often am I taking holidays (real holidays no electronics)?
  3. What am I missing out on with family and friends?
  4. What is my health like?
  5. Am I exercising as much as I should?
  6. Are my team and colleagues happy with my direction?
  7. Am I able to make significant change in my client lives?
  8. Am I getting enough sleep?
  9. Are my stress levels high?
  10. Is burnout around the corner?

There is a pattern in the above questions, they are the thoughts that creep into the mind of every business person at some point.  More often than not when their health has suffered or their business has gone to the wall and are searching for reasons as to why. When this happens it is too late. If you get the warning signs quick enough, you can change the direction you and your business are headed in. I would be asking myself these questions at least six monthly as part of my overall business review.

If your business model revolves entirely around you doing every little thing yourself then you are doomed to fail. Whether you contract a virtual assistant or whether you collaborate with a virtual assistant. Whether you contract a web designer to build you a new site or you have some take care of your social media. We all need help, even me.  I know to bring a broader offer to my clients I need help to do this, to help my business grow so we all benefit from it, I need help to do this.

We need to stop believing that the world revolves around us and that no one can do it better than what we can. That’s just plain silly. Working like you’re the only one that can make a difference will, in fact, not only hurt your health and well being, but also it will also hurt your business. Step back from what it is you do now and take the time to answer those 10 questions above. Make this the next step in the continued growth of your business.

I’d love to read your thoughts, please leave a message below.