Balancing Time And Life To Grow A Predictable Revenue Business

My Journey, Starting Businesses, Learning Sales, and Managing Everything

I wrote a book called Predictable Revenue, and prior to that, I worked at Salesforce working to create the outbound emailing team. I’ve also been running my own businesses for years.

That’s actually why I went over to Salesforce because one of my businesses failed and I wanted to learn sales so I’d never be put into that position again. Working at Salesforce I got to learn from some of the best in the business.

Over the last several years I’ve worked as a consultant with outbound teams, and what I’ve learned is that what most are doing hasn’t been working very well!

For most business owners who want to grow, they’re already incredibly busy. They don’t necessarily have the time to build and manage a sales team from scratch. I get that. In my own life, I have 9 kids. I also have my jobs with several businesses and my career as an author to manage. For me, scheduling is non-negotiable.

That’s the only way I’d be able to accomplish everything I need to in order to achieve the goals I have for my family.

Every business owner needs to decide if they want to be a simple business or a growth business. I’ve decided that the only way for me to succeed is to be a growth-oriented business.  
This means my business is going to cost me more in time and money, (less time with my family and on outside projects) but also that it has the potential to yield you a greater reward.

You can be successful and have a great life with either option but it’s important to choose so you can be accountable for what you’re putting out into the world. Sometimes you’re going through things in your life that force you to put the breaks on your business goals.

Everyone has different obstacles that they have to navigate.

These are the big issues and choices that ultimately affect our day to day realities and bottom lines. When you’re a growth company you have to be willing to make those investments in hiring new people, training them, and setting up systems to scale your reach. If you’re trying to keep it simple then you have a different set of choices to make.
 

Making The Time Investment

First of all, you need to make the time investment. There’s no way you’ll be able to make progress if you can only dedicate yourself in 5 minute time blocks.

For me I know having deadlines and set time blocks on my calendar goes a long way. If you want to learn how to close outbound sales then it may take you an entire year of trial and error before you make headway.
 

Time Blocks

Again, I have a big commitment to my family and I can only work about 20-25 hours a week to manage my responsibilities to them. When I decided to write a book my time was being crunched down even more.

I blocked out Wednesdays as my writing days. Typically I was only able to do this twice a month.
 

Deadlines

I also utilized deadlines to hold myself accountable to my commitment.

I would post them publicly on my blog and social media so my audience would see them. That’s the power of positive group pressure.

Learning new aspects of business is just like any other lifestyle change such as diet and exercise.

It requires a commitment of not only time but also energy. Nothing you do is going to work without a support system to fall back on.

This is what you want to consider before you dive in 100% with plans to grow your business. Whatever you decide, stay in alignment with your big goals.

 

Action Steps

1. Decide if you want to be a growth business or a simple business.
2. Use timeblocks to give yourself the space to learn new skills and grow.
3. Set public deadlines so people will hold you accountable.
4. Stay committed to your goal and give yourself the time and energy to achieve them.

 

Result You Will Achieve

Improve your time and energy management techniques to adapt your lifestyle to your business pursuits.

 
This article is based on an EHQ interview with the mentor.