There’s no such thing as a perfect business

How to decide what to "fix" in your business

At any given time, there's something wrong with your business. It doesn't matter whether it's a one-person business or a multimillion business.

• Products are not up to the expected standard

• Marketing is not working

• Delivery and shipping issues

• Warehouse operations are not efficient

• Customer service is poor

• Financing is struggling

• The website is not updated

This never-ending to-do list can easily overwhelm a founder. It's like no matter how much you do, there's always going to be something that's pending!

Most founders tackle every item on the to-do list as if their business depends on them. This is a common mistake. They apply the same rigor to every task and eventually find themselves spread too thin. You feel like you're working hard, but the business is going nowhere, and you wonder why.

Every business is imperfect at any given time. Accepting this hard truth is what will make you a good founder.

At any given time, there will be something that needs "fixing." Deciding what to fix and what not to fix is the name of the game.

How to decide what to fix in your business

1. Decide your #1 business goal

There should be one goal for every business. Decide what's yours. In most businesses, it's going to be sales. You can decide on a revenue goal or an order-based goal.

Example - Get X number of orders per month

2. List down everything you're "supposed" to fix

List everything you feel you're "supposed" to do in your business. Don't leave anything behind. Every little task matters. There's something cathartic about getting them out of your head. You can use a good old notebook.

3. Apply 80/20 rule

According to the Pareto Principle (a.k.a 80/20 rule), 80% of your outcomes will be derived from 20% of actions. That means 20% of your tasks will generate the most results. Apply the 80/20 rule to the task list.

Deciding what's important and not important is this exercise's hardest part. That's where the first step comes in handy.

Question every task. Will this help you achieve the #1 goal in business? If you have 20 tasks, point them based on their importance from 1 to 20.

4. Execute rigorously

Once you decide on the most important tasks, forget everything else. Don't even think about them. Start doing the top 20%. Once you execute them, you will have another list of things that needs "fixing." Whenever you're overwhelmed, repeat the exercise.

That's how you keep your sanity and move towards your business goals. Always remember, there's no such thing as a perfect business. There'll be something that needs "fixing" at any given time.

Deciding where to put your finite resources is what a good founder should do.

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