A Certain Cause of Failure When Starting Your Own Business

The most important, critical, absolutely essential element to start a business successfully is ….drum roll please…. to be productive. "Are you kidding?" you're probably saying, "That's it. That's all you got for me." Well not exactly, let me elaborate.

We all love to feel as if we are being productive. Our culture is based on hard work and getting things done - anything short is unsettling. Even watching T.V. we like to feel as if we have accomplished something. I believe this is one of the reasons the Discovery channel is so successful. That way, when we just watched 4 hours of TV, we can justify it by telling people that we learned how to put a motorcycle together. Now, obviously, watching a television show is not being productive, but the point is that our minds can often justify unimportant tasks. I refer to these unimportant tasks as "busywork."

Busywork and Productivity

There are a lot of things to get done when you start a business. Some tasks are more important than others, and if you can't distinguish them, then you're headed for some rough waters. You see, it's critical that when you start a business that you experience minor victories along the way. If you consume yourself in busywork then you will become frustrated, and the longer you're frustrated, the greater chance there is for failure.

Let me give you an example of busywork in the start-up phase. I worked in the same complex with an entrepreneur who was in the process of setting up his business. He determined it was critical that he had five years worth of pro-form a financial statements. In other words, he was guessing, and I mean, guessing, what his profit and loss and balance sheet statements would look like 5 years from now. He spent hours a day crunching the numbers, cross-referencing his excel worksheets and making sure everything was absolutely perfect. Well, he never got to find out if all of his busywork paid off. He stopped his business after a few months because he wasn't generating any revenue.

So how do you know if what you're doing is busywork or actual productivity? First you have to know what your goal is. I would advise that your start up goal would be to set up a basic foundation so you can launch your business and begin generating revenue quickly. Second, ask yourself this question whenever you begin a task –"Is this absolutely necessary in order for me to meet my goal?" You will find that at least 50% of your emails you read and Internet sites you visit don't impact your goal. They are only busywork.

Don't Be McDonalds…Yet

Oh, the beauty of McDonalds. Whether or not you like the food, their system of operations is a beauty to behold. Everything has its place. Everyone knows what to do. They have every element of work calculated to the second. Everything flows perfectly so that from the time it takes to drive around the corner of the drive through, your order is there waiting for you - even if you order you hamburger without onions. To be that efficient is a small business owner's dream.

Resist the McDonalds temptation in the start up phase of your business. I'm not saying you shouldn't focus on streamlined operations in your business, because you should. But now is not the time. It's not productive at this point. You won't have that many customers in the beginning. Focus on introducing yourself to the marketplace first. Then tweak your operations as you go. You will find that you'll learn much more in practice than in theory and you can adjust accordingly.

Remember to focus on only those productive tasks that are essential in achieving your goal. Make every day count and avoid busy work. If you do, you'll do just fine.

About the author:
David Mickelson is a leading advocate for entrepreneurs and small business owners. He is currently the managing director of Business Field Manual, LLC. His latest book, Entrepreneur Field Manual will show your everything you need to know on how to start a business.

Entrepreneur Field Manual
How to start a business