How to Work Effectively as a Business Owner

Importance of Working Effectively

• Lecture on optimizing work to increase profitability.
• Challenges common beliefs about hard work and outworking others.

Defining Work

• Traditional definitions (science, time spent, effort) are not effective for knowledge work.
• New Definition: Work = Outputs; Outputs = Volume × Leverage.

Increasing Output

• Formula: Volume × Leverage ÷ Time = Work efficiency.
• Visuals to illustrate how volume and leverage affect output.

Focus on Work Volume

• Most businesses underspend on volume-related activities.
• Identify and remove low-impact activities.
• Key inputs: Get more customers, increase their value.

Key Actions to Grow Business

1. Get More Traffic:
   • Advertise more and better.
   • Increase conversion rates.
2. Increase Customer Value:
   • Raise prices.
   • Decrease cost of goods sold.
   • Encourage repeat purchases.
3. Daily Practices:
   • Spend four hours a day on high-impact activities like advertising, sales practice, improving offers.

Leveraging and Focused Work Time

• Maker Time: Long blocks of uninterrupted time for high-impact work.
  • 14 work blocks per week.
  • Requires an empty calendar.
• Manager Time: Short, flexible blocks for managing tasks.
  • 100+ slots per week.
  • Important to manage both effectively.

Creating Maker Time

• Decide the most critical project to work on.
• Early morning focused work hours (e.g., 4 a.m. to 9 a.m.).
• Turn off notifications, use isolated spaces.
• Recognize there are no true emergencies.
• Consistent sleep schedules.
• Use any uninterrupted time, including weekends.

Buying Time To Increase Productivity

• Time Audit: Identify low-impact personal tasks (e.g., cooking, cleaning).
• Outsource these tasks to free up time (approximately $1,500/month for 96 hours).
• Reinvest saved time in high-impact work.
• Avoid using saved time for non-productive activities.

Summary

• Clear differentiation between Maker Time and Manager Time.
• Consistent focus on high-leverage activities.
• Outsourcing and time management to maximize productivity.
• Businesses grow by focusing on activities directly tied to customer acquisition and value.

Q&A Highlights

• Importance of structured schedules and sleep.
• Strategies for jointly managing personal and professional life.
• Key is to not judge oneself; tailor schedules to personal workflow needs.
• Prioritizing the main business constraint until something else becomes more urgent.

Questions or Actions:

• Determine what non-productive tasks can be outsourced.
• Prioritize uninterrupted work blocks for high-impact activities.
• Regular review of business constraints and adjust focus accordingly.