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As an entrepreneur, there will be times in your life when it is almost impossible to keep your eye on the ball.
Of course, many entrepreneurs who read such a blanket statement may be surprised to hear it; perhaps even disgruntled at the suggestion. After all, entrepreneurs tend to pride themselves on their ability to keep their eyes on the ball; to stay up-to-date with developments; to move with the times, and to benefit from their natural attention to detail.
However, life is unpredictable, and every entrepreneur will experience periods when they’re just not quite able to focus on the business in the way they would prefer. It happens to some of the most prominent entrepreneurs in the world; people who are overseeing multi-million dollar companies… and it happens to small, lifestyle business entrepreneurs too. It’s entirely natural to experience periods when you’re not quite at your best – but when it does inevitably happen, there are three common consequences…
#1- Employee malaise
Distraction and lack of focus can be catching; if your employees notice that you aren’t on top of things, they may begin to experience the same issue themselves. This can result in loss of productivity and higher rates of absenteeism.
#2 – Lack of regulatory adherence
Regulations, and particularly regulations surrounding health and safety, require constant monitoring and updating. If your focus has slipped, then this is one of the first tasks that will likely slip from your grasp, potentially resulting in an accident that leads to an injured employee hiring a lawyer to seek compensation in future.
#3 – Stagnation
A business with a distracted entrepreneur at the helm will often have to focus heavily on the moment, getting through day by day rather than pushing forward into new realms and opportunities. This tends to result in stagnation, where the business is not necessarily failing, but it’s not thriving and surging ahead to new growth, either.
So what can you do to avoid these issues?
Given the problems the above can cause, it’s helpful to acknowledge that there is a strong chance you will, at some point, not have your eyes quite as firmly on the ball as you may have hoped. To help guard against the worst consequences of this, you could consider:
- Employing a management team who can step in if needed
- Appoint a specialist member of staff who focuses on ensuring your business is compliant and up-to-date with all regulations
- Ensure you have good business insurance
- Know the signs of burnout and act if you notice them, as exhaustion is one of the leading causes of a loss of focus from an entrepreneur
- Separate yourself from the business for a short while if you are experiencing particular issues in your personal life
By acknowledging the possibility that your focus may slip from your business, you can take preventative steps and implement strategies that help to mitigate the issues your business may experience when this occurs. This should provide you with the peace of mind to know that even if your focus does somewhat drift from the business for a while, your company will be right there, ready and waiting, as soon as you’re ready to re-engage.
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