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Enjoy the rest of this month's newsletter.

Clare

P.S. Feel free to pass this newsletter on to friends and colleagues.

Many people spend a lot of time working on their business. But they can spend so much time fire-fighting, reacting to the latest demand from clients, dealing with employees that they lose sight of what's important.

One of the most important skills any business owner needs to learn, is how they use their time.

· Are you focusing on the right things?
· Do you know how to maximise your time for the greatest results?
· Are you just trying to keep your head above water - especially in the current climate?

You need to adapt to the changes that are happening every day. Technology moves faster than a speeding bullet, the economy has been more down than up over recent years.

Business is more competitive and new opportunities open up all the time. If you can't see the wood for the trees - you might just miss it.

Find time for your marketing. When you're busy it's easy to think that you don't 'need' or 'have time' for marketing - after all you're busy. It's important to keep the marketing machine ticking over.

Even when you're established you still need marketing activities you do each and every week and find the time to do it.

Keep an eye on the figures. Some of us are better than others with facts and figures but keep a regular check on what's coming in and what's going out.

Set aside time each week to organise your finances, rather than do it all in one go (usually when the Tax return is due). Keep on top of invoices due and expenses to be paid.

Regularly review your progress. This starts with the business plan and continues on a weekly, monthly and annual basis. It should be the underlying reason behind everything you do. It helps you to focus on the important things and not get distracted or waste time. Learn from your experience and adapt as needed.

Know your limitations. You can't do everything - although you may try to. Work to your strengths and get someone else to fill in the gaps in skills or knowledge.

Delegate as much as you can so you have more time to focus on what pays the bills. It's a more cost-effective use of your time.

Do something different. You may always have done it this way and it may work but it could be even better if you changed things? Get feedback from your clients, customers and employees on what's working and what's not.

Take time out to think about your business. Get a different perspective, shake things up a bit and see what you need to change to improve.

Set aside a few hours each month and work with a colleague, mentor or coach to focus on the 'bigger picture'. Pick one new project to work on that you've been putting off.

Celebrate your progress. Sometimes we spend too much time looking at the negatives but celebrate the good times too.

If you'd like more tips and information take a look at Transform Your Business, give me a call or email me and get a boost for 2011 - www.clareevans.co.uk.

Until next month.