How many daily habits do you have?
Most of us have things we do every day come hell or high water. We don’t even think about them, they are HABITS. Maybe it is brushing your teeth, working out or having a shower? Habits are routine behaviours that we perform automatically often without conscious thought. They play a crucial role in our daily lives, shaping our actions and decisions and ultimately our long term outcomes and they aren’t easy to change.
I have been interested in habits for a long time, mainly because I am incredibly routine driven and find it very unsettling when I cannot follow my chosen routine. Kids, partners, work and life in general often feel like they are ganging up on my need for routine and habit and so I have had to find ways to build in my non-negotiables that help me cope.
Habits can be positive or negative and can lead to improved health and productivity or hinder our personal growth and success. To this end if we want to run a successful business we really need to ensure that we develop healthy business habits and try to stop unhealthy business habits.
Mike Michalowicz in his book Profit First says: “A financially healthy company is a result of a series of small daily financial wins, not one big moment. Profitability isn’t an event; it’s a habit.”
So what are good business habits? I think there are a few and ultimately you need to find what works for your but overall for me they are the following:
- Frugality – I try to not spend what I don’t have right now. I want never to be in a position where tomorrow’s sales are funding today’s spend. This is a stressful place to find yourself but an easy trap to fall into with so many adverts and businesses contacting you promising MASSIVE SALES if you just invest £XXXX today in this new system, person or bright shiny object. I have no doubt that some of these systems do work but I prefer to put a little away in a special pot and save until I have enough to invest. Not sexy but a good habit to get into.
- Business bank accounts – a business bank account is an absolute must in my opinion and I don’t care if you are a sole trader or a limited company. Keep the business revenue and expenses separate from your day to day as much as possible. More than that though, get more than one bank account or more than one pot and allocate use to your incoming cash. Separate out your tax and your VAT regularly (don’t try and save it all in a mad rush at the end of your tax year or VAT quarter. Separate out the money for the bright shiny thing you are saving for and your payroll, rent and static expenses. Make moving money into these pots a daily or weekly habit.
- Accountability – have some. Another person, a big note on your bathroom mirror or a reminder in your diary – whatever works to make sure you get the important but not fun things done. Make yourself time to do the things you NEED to do but don’t WANT to do and make it a habit to get them done. If you need someone to body double you – get someone, if you are a people pleaser – tell someone you need to do it and get them to check in with you to tell them how pleased they are you did the task. Whatever works but make it weekly, monthly and make it a habit
Developing good habits is hard, make small changes to start with and build up to bigger changes. You aren’t going to be able to maintain everything all at once so start with a small step in the right direction, reward yourself for doing this for a couple of months and then add to it. Consistency is key and small daily actions accumulate to significant changes.
