You’ve read the books, blogs, and case studies. You did the work, investing in your brand and marketing. You’ve even completed market research, asked current and former clients how you can improve their experience, and implemented their answers.

But your business has hit a growth plateau. It isn’t growing.

Sure, it is not failing and you’re grateful for that, but you can’t seem to break the code, say the magic words, or uncover the secret to launching it forward to reach new heights. And you are not one to settle for okay or good enough. So what is it that you are missing? You feel like the secret to moving your business forward is something obvious, but you can’t quite see clearly through all the day0to-day noise. And the answer is staring you in the face, though, and you know it. What is the answer?

YOU NEED MORE TIME

You just acknowledged it yourself when you were nodding along, giving me a silent amen when I mentioned that full calendar. You need time away from the day-to-day noise. Otherwise, you are never going to gain enough distance to be able to see the big picture.

You can’t find the answers while your perspective is that of a microscope.

So it’s time to stop getting lost in the details of your business. It’s time to step back, hand over some of the tasks any skilled person can do for you, and take a breath. Hand off the stuff you don’t love doing. Then take another look at your calendar. I bet you’ll find the tasks you didn’t enjoy took up more time than you realized.

You need to block off some time in your calendar where you can sit and do nothing. And I really mean nothing. Don’t answer emails or check on the progress of a project. Don’t let the guilt settle in and motivate you to start running personal errands, either. DO NOTHING!

When you can’t stand to sit a moment longer without doing something, then sit and contemplate where your business has been and where you’d like it to go. Consider it carefully and thoughtfully, focusing on the moments, clients, projects, or orders that have left you feeling accomplished and satisfied.

Why is it so important you get some distance and block out some time to do nothing?

YOU ARE THE BUSINESS

Gaining perspective and time to be able to enunciate what part of your business, you are most passionate about is invaluable to growth. Why? Because we tend to approach things with more enthusiasm when we are passionate about them. And because we often take clients, projects, or orders that are not what we really want to be doing for the sake of paying the bills. It’s easy to get lost in those instances, especially when they are making us money. The trouble is if we are doing something we are not excited to do, we are less likely to thrive. The lack of genuine excitement on our part will bleed through, drawing in fewer clients ultimately. Or, possibly taking up our time, so we can’t draw in those clients we would prefer to take on.

You are the business, and the business is you. It’s part of your identity, and it’s your vision driving it. So if it’s feeling stagnant, it’s time to invest the effort into figuring out what exactly is holding you back.

MAKING TIME

How often have you heard yourself using the excuse “I don’t have time for that”? It is exactly that-and excuse-we all use. What it really means is, “I’m not prioritizing that.” And that’s okay, typically because you have to protect your time and your boundaries. But when it comes to making time to grow your business, if it’s important to you, then it must be a priority. So how do you manage to squeeze more time out of your day? How do you block off time to do nothing knowing you are already stretched thin?

Hire help! Let go of those things we talked about earlier. While those things must be done to keep your business running, they don’t’ need your personal touch to keep things chugging along smoothly. Hand over those tasks, to trained, experienced professionals that can help you get your time back.

Not sure where to start? How can you decide what someone else can do for you and what needs your attention? Start with a phone call, set up a time to talk about your business. There are many trained professionals that have been working with small businesses and companies for years and they would be more than happy to put their experience to work for you. You can let them know the areas of your business you are not crazy about doing yourself, and other areas that you know will be extremely difficult for you to hand over to someone else. There is a starting point, and the only thing that can hold you back is you.