• Survey
  • Book Becky to speak
  • The book: Small Town Rules
  • Shop Local video
  • SaveYour.Town

Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

A row of small town shops
  • Front Page
  • Latest stories
  • About
  • Guided Tour
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • RSS

3 resources to help you get away from your business

By Becky McCray

You and I have too much to do. Our to-do lists overflow, our papers stack up, and we won’t even talk about our inboxes. With all that overwhelming our minds, of course we need to get away from our business. But there is a bigger reason lurking, a bigger reason to get away.

Yoder Hardware, Rod Fry, proprietor. Photo by Jeanne Cole.

It’s lurking because we’re not paying attention to it, and it’s shy. What is it? Our purpose, our direction, our mission. We are so busy working in our business every day, we never take time to step back and work on our business.

You’d forgotten all about that, hadn’t you? Let’s reintroduce you, with these three resources to get you spending some time away from your business, in order to make it better.

1. Are you building a body of work, or a cornucopia of chaos? This classic comes from Jonathan Fields. I love this post so much, I go back to it often. Really absorb this mindset, then go on to the other two.

2. Ask yourself ten questions to strengthen your heart as a leader. Cheri Baker not only asks the questions, she shares her own answers. It’s a good piece to get you thinking about your leadership roles. A tip of the hat to Steve Farber who shared this post on Twitter.

3. Rethink your customers and your direction. Clovia Hamilton went through some precise reevaluation of her small business’s customers and services. While you may not be as thorough, her process makes a lot of sense. Schedule time away to complete the process.

When can you get away?

  • Every week. I spend an hour each week reviewing the last week and planning ahead.
  • Every month. I spend an hour with a mastermind group once per month to review, share plans, and get feedback.
  • Every quarter. I spend a few hours once per quarter in a kind of not-really-a-retreat. I block out time to work on a neglected project or to do some refocusing.
  • Every year. I spend time around the new year each year, reviewing business plans, thinking about direction and focus, and brainstorming new ideas. Then I do some mid-year correction when preparing for SOBCon in early May.

How about you? Are you getting away from your business? How often?

New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Get our updates.

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.
  • Downtown is your town’s core: How to make your case - February 22, 2021
  • Zoom Towns: attracting and supporting remote workers in rural small towns - December 10, 2020
  • In an economic crisis, spend your brainpower before your dollars - November 25, 2020
  • Video: How to fill empty car dealership buildings for the holidays - November 6, 2020
  • How has 2020 changed the challenges rural small towns face? Tell us here - October 20, 2020
  • The Idea Friendly Method to surviving a business crisis - October 6, 2020
  • Join me for the Rural Renewal Symposium online Oct 13 - September 26, 2020
  • Cheap placemaking idea: instant murals - September 11, 2020
  • Refilling the rural business pipeline - July 7, 2020
  • Huge vacant buildings: grants to renovate? - June 9, 2020

April 11, 2011 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, planning

Wondering what is and is not allowed in the comments?
Or how to get a nifty photo beside your name?
Check our commenting policy.
Use your real name, not a business name.


Don't see the comment form?
Comments are automatically closed on older posts, but you can send me your comment via this contact form and I'll add it manually for you. Thanks!

Comments

  1. Trevor Hunter says

    April 13, 2011 at 4:18 am

    Some very good ideas here, its very easy to wrapped up into the day to day operations and overlook the big picture. It can be hard to take a step back but it is the only way to gain perspective.

Howdy!

Glad you dropped in to the rural and small town business blog, established in 2006.

We want you to feel at home, so please take our guided tour.

Meet our authors on the About page.

Have something to say? You can give us a holler on the contact form.

If you would like permission to re-use an article you've read here, please make a Reprint Request.

Want to search our past articles? Catch up with the latest stories? Browse through the categories? All the good stuff is on the Front Page.

Shop Local

Buy local buttonReady to set up a shop local campaign in your small town? You'll need a guide who understands how we're different and what really works: Shop Local Campaigns for Small Towns.

Best of Small Biz Survival

What is holding us back? Why does every project take so long in small towns?

How any business can be part of downtown events by going mobile

Concert-goers talking and enjoying the evening in downtown Webster City, Iowa.

Why do people say there’s nothing to do here then not come to our concerts?

Retailers: Fill all empty space, floor to ceiling

More of the best of Small Biz Survival

Copyright © 2021 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in