Many owners put off vacations or stay connected to work while away thinking the business cannot run without their involvement every day. Unfortunately, we will all experience unexpected emergencies that force us to step away for a period. Doing the prep work now will help your business continue moving forward when you cannot be present.

Uncertainty is a given in your business. There are forces you cannot control that impact how your business moves forward. As you face uncertainty in your business, your plan, core strengths and values, and flexibility will enhance your ability to achieve your goals.

We all know it takes money to make money. Yet business owners are intense about watching expenses and not adding anything new that is not necessary or does not have a clear impact on the revenue of the business. In doing so, many opportunities for efficiency and revenue are overlooked. It is time to look at expenses as an opportunity to grow and strengthen your business.

Business owners know what they need to do to work ON their business. Yet many find themselves drowning IN their business. Find symptoms and ideas for how to pull your head up, look around and work on your business.

Your days are busy. Are those activities the ones moving your business forward? Or are they simply tasks that need executing. Spending time on your business allows you to see where things are going, get creative about how you are going to build your business and move you closer to your vision.

Take a listen to the engaging conversation about building personally sustainable success on the Rising Tides Business podcast.

Implementing processes is one way to increase the capacity of yourself and your team. Documenting processes and coordinating with your team on who takes on different steps can provide more space to move work forward. There are three ways process can improve your capacity.

As a business owner, you know that understanding your team’s capacity, planning service delivery around that, and being open with your team about capacity expectations, will help you to be prepared for changes in client and team member availability and needs. Determining the capacity for each team member is not always straightforward. Assess each team member now to be better equipped going forward.

As a business owner, do you know your capacity? Knowing how much you have available in a typical week to service your clients, while still running your business, will ensure you can build your business without burning yourself out.

Year end is a busy time of the year. Year end, according to the classic song, is “The most wonderful time of the year.” Even with all the stress, we can take steps to help make it a more pleasant time of the year. A little thought, preparation, and notes can ensure that next time you will know what to do to enjoy the season.

Having a routine each morning is an effective way to get ready for work with minimal hiccups. Having a routine that works for you and your lifestyle will make you even more prepared for the day and to drive towards success. The key is to make your routine work for you.

With extensive media coverage on the return-to-office movement, it is easier to assume that everyone is going to back to in-person work. Before you jump on that train, ask yourself what you would be trying to accomplish by changing your workplace structure.

Are you a super planner or an anti-planner. Regardless of where you fall on the planning continuum, having a plan to guide you in running your business has many benefits.

Have you thought about what impact you want to make in your community when your business is hugely successful and profitable? If not, it’s time.

We are all working so hard to achieve work-life balance. Balance is focused on equilibrium and very rarely is our life at equilibrium. Instead, let’s focus on achieving personally sustainable success. This approach could be what you need to set yourself free to be the best you.

Do you have an optimistic outlook for the year or has the uncertainty caused you to stop in your tracks. Even in a period of uncertainty, it is important to keep moving forward. Use these tips to ensure you are making forward progress this year.

As the business owner, you can decide the culture you want for your company. You simply need to be deliberate about identifying and reinforcing the behaviors and experiences you want for your business.

If someone asked you what it would take to double your revenue, would you have an answer? The question was posed to me and it caught me off-guard. I’ve pulled together key questions to ask as you build your plan to achieve significant growth.

You may be shocked to hear me say it, but it is okay to work on holidays. The caveat is you need to not be working other times of the week. In preparation for a holiday, read to determine if working on the holiday is right for you.

As the early-release week wrapped up, we were exhausted, but had survived. However, I was disappointed, feeling as if I had failed to move the need or meet my expectations for the week. It was a good reminder that we need to calibrate expectations to reality.