Four Bad Business Habits to Break

We all have habits. We have habits that are good and we have habits

that are bad. And the same applies in our business. And in this week's

From Passion to Profit, I'm going to be exploring and looking at four particular

bad habits, what they are, and what we can do to try and break

them. Let's crack on.

Now, running a business is not an easy thing to do. With so much

on our minds, so much to think about, so much to deal with, it's very

easy to and very tempting to fall into bad habits that

may in the short term seem very helpful, but over time, it

has a negative impact, and not just on the bank balance. What I'm concerned

with, what I'm interested in, is what those habits are, but more particularly how

we can wean ourselves away from them and how we can break them.

Now, a habit is just a usual way of behaving. We all have habits,

and it's easier to prevent bad habits than to break them, according to

Benjamin Franklin. Let's have a look at bad habit number one. And that's the

pricing trap. All of us can hold our hands up to this. It's

tempting, especially when you're starting up in business, to attract new

customers by offering discounts, lowering your prices, or perhaps even

doing free work. Now, it feels like an easy way to gain that foothold,

to gain traction. But in reality, this habit can be

damaging. It's damaging to your bank balance. It's damaging

to the perception, your customer's eyes, both current and prospective.

And underpricing your services or your products creates a cycle

that's extremely difficult to escape from. Once your customers are used to

paying a particular price, raising them becomes challenging

without the real risk of losing that business. Now, that's not to say

we shouldn't go in at low prices. Pricing is a very complex arena.

But as a general approach here, we need to be aware of its dangers.

In terms of perception, consistently low prices may reflect

in your customer's eyes current and perspective that your work is

less valuable. What you need to do is to start by selling a fair price

that represents the value of the work, the value of the transformation you're making,

the value of the problem, problem you're solving for that particular client.

Over time, you can increase those rates as your reputation increases,

and it'll help you identify those quality clients that you wish to

go after. Think about your positioning. Think about your brand. What is it you're

offering? Competing on value, not just on discounts, can be a

sustainable approach to growth. What's habit Number two.

Well, habit number two is that DIY approach. We do everything

ourselves. Now, I've been in that situation where when I first started

30 years ago, pretty much everything under the sun I would try to do myself

and, you know, saving cash, what's wrong with that? Now, starting out, you might feel

you need to do it all. After all, nobody has more intimate knowledge of your

business than you. Isn't that the case? But here's the catch. Trying to

handle every single task yourself can actually limit your business's

growth. So when you're bogged down with admin, accounting, cough, cough,

social media, promotion, marketing, everything in between, you're diverting

the energy away from the tasks that will truly make an impact and

drive your business forward. What's the solution? You need to appreciate

the value of your time. Now you can actually calculate this. If

you check out on the I hate numbers website, we've got a calculator where you

can price your time out, but your time has a value. As a business

owner, your focus should be on the growing the business, on the

strategy, identifying where clients are, communicating with them, as

well as delivering your service. Areas where your unique skills and

competence have the most impact is what you should be focusing on.

Delegating outsourcing tasks such as accounts,

bookkeeping, content creation, customer support frees up your

time so you can concentrate what you do best. And it's a great effective use

of your time. In my own business, I have a team, a great team who

are there to support the business and do, for example, some of the bookkeeping

work. Historically I would have done all of that myself, but now that's not a

good use of my time. So think about in your business, what are those tasks

that you're doing that if you look at it and think actually that doesn't add

value? I'm actually limiting the amount of time I've got available for my own

delivery, for gaining new clients, and for growing the business. Getting that

support helps give you the freedom to focus on the bigger picture goals,

helping you grow much faster and more sustainably. If you're

wary about whether you can afford to do that or not, start small. If

needed, pick one or two tasks that you can delegate, you can oversee

and experience that positive shift in the time that it liberates. If nothing else,

once you get into that habit, you can build on it and you'll find that

delegation becomes more comfortable and, and it becomes second nature

as your business grows. It's about delegation. It's not about

abrogating and walking away Habit number three, where

we always look for the lowest price now in the early days is quite

natural. We want to preserve the money in our bank account. We want the best

deals and the lowest prices. But prioritizing the lowest price

over quality will cost you more in the long run. If you're

always focused on the cheapest to do something. So whether that's building

your website, whether that's getting advice from Danny down the road,

whether that's developing your marketing materials, your communications, and

you're going for price above everything else, well, ultimately, if it

doesn't actually do what you need it to, you're actually wasting your money anyhow.

Low cost solutions will often lead to poor outcomes. This

affects your product, your service, and ultimately it has an impact on

your reputation. You need to move away from the idea about cost, cost,

cost, and think about the investments that you're going to be making and the impact

it will have on your business, not just your bank balance. Over time, if

your customers pick up that idea that quality is dropping, if the messages aren't

landing as they should do, you're going to be losing customers and certainly not gaining

them. So all your spending decisions should be based on value.

And you need to think that in terms of money well invested, whatever that

resource is from tax advice, marketing, building

websites, the staff that you hire, the freelancers you engage with,

if it delivers and it brings you what you need it to, then that's money

well invested. Now your customers are always looking for value and they appreciate

it when you prioritize the quality. Bad habit number four,

not seeking financial advice on not seeking financial support.

Now, one of the biggest mistakes that I've seen business owners make is

avoiding professional financial advice, thinking I can't afford

an accountant, for example, I don't need that tax advice. I've seen many

examples where clients have made made decisions about

seeking that appropriate advice, whether it's business structure, how to spend

their money, not doing a plan, and when it comes time to try and

unscramble that mistake, it's too late. Managing your own

finances, I think a lot of it can be self managed, might seem like a

money saver, but if you don't have the expert guidance at the beginning to advise

you how to set up, how to set up your accounting systems,

how to plan, how to make those appropriate decisions, then you're going to be missing

out on opportunities. Not just in tax savings, but in other areas

of your business as well. You may be overlooking those important budgeting and cash

flow management strategies that will benefit your business. Now breaking the

habit is simple. Look in your network. Look for a trusted financial advisor

or accountant. A professional advisor will bring you those

insights into your financial strategy. This will help you

identify those risks and uncover the opportunities that you may have missed

out on. And as all things, it's about attitude and reframing your

mindset. A financial advisor is not an expense, but is an investment.

Obviously the right financial advisor. With their help, you can make better

decisions that will save you money and stress over time.

So let's recap the four business habits that we ought to try and break.

If not, shall we say wean ourselves off. Is the pricing trap

doing things ourselves actually not delegating. You're going

to build capacity by having more people coming in, more

efficiency. But again, you need to make sure you do this as a

quality for money threshold. Always looking for the lowest price. Those

who seek cost all the times effectively there's no loyalty built

up and you will lose out long term. It's value that should be the

driver, not just cost. And not having that adequate financial

advice and financial support. Now breaking these habits won't just help your business

survive, it will also contribute to making it thrive as well.

So folks, what bad habit do you think you have in your business? I'd

love to hear that. Until next time folks. Happy habit breaking.