Guest Blog by Karen Wessels, co-founder of VA Connect & co-founder of SnappSales
Being consistent in life both personally and professionally is an aspect that everyone needs to aspire to in order to be successful. Being consistent at work and at home creates room to rectify mistakes and work at your best.
I have made being more consistent one of my key resolutions to work on this year, so it’s appropriate that I share some tips on how you can be more consistent in your business.
Accountability
With accountability it is so important to recognise what your strengths and weaknesses are as this is one of the backbones of being consistent. Knowing what you are good at and focusing on that, will ensure accountability. Simple ways of doing this are to recognise your mistakes and rectify them, but also look at where and how you went wrong and what you can do to avoid a similar situation in future.
Discipline
When we speak about being disciplined in your work ethic, especially when working from home, we talk about setting rules for yourself in order to be consistent. Great examples are : Sticking to schedules and deadlines, resist the temptation to procrastinate, but also schedule breaks to avoid burnouts.
Objectives
It’s very important to establish goals for yourself and your business, both long and short term in all areas of the business such as Marketing, Brand Establishment, Social Media and Sales Strategy. This is to make sure you know what to expect from each area and to anticipate a response to any crisis. It also helps to measure which areas you can improve on.
Focus on Tasks
Do your level best to avoid distractions and make an effort to be consistent in your approach to how you will handle all tasks in your diary, business as well as your home tasks.
Plan B
Another important pillar in being consistent, in your business. This includes making sure you have contingency plans for leave, breaks, emergencies or any unexpected events that might keep you out of the office for a while. This can include, employing someone part time (like an intern or a Virtual Assistant) or investing in equipment such as an iPad or tablet to keep you mobile.
Persistence
You will hit stumbling blocks on the way, but the key is to be persistent and not give up. This is what Plan B is for, when those obstacles do come your way and you start to feel discouraged. Invest in resting time and look at what major tasks you can prepare for the day before or schedule time to complete major tasks piece by piece, to avoid a backlog and stay on track.
Being consistent has many benefits for your business and personal life as it can be what separates you from your competitors. Clients love working with people who are consistent and predictable in their work ethic as it establishes a reputation for yourself in your field and makes you relevant.
Karen Wessels is the co-founder and COO of VA Connect, a South African virtual assistant platform that provides outsourced administrative support; and is also the co-founder of SnappSales, a company that generates quality sales leads for its clients. Prior to establishing both her companies, Karen spent over 10 years in different sales, marketing & admin support roles. This experience has equipped her with the invaluable skills required to run her two successful business ventures. Follow Karen on her Personal Website | Twitter | Facebook | Google+
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