3 Ways to be a Superhero in your micro business

At the time of writing, it's apparently Superhero Day which seems a tenuous enough reason to write about how we can fully show up in our micro businesses (small businesses with 0-9 employees) as the superheores our businesses currently need.

There's no doubt that trading conditions are challenging, from worried consumers to uncertain global conditions, from additional business costs to simple exhaustion (if only it was so simple). But, there are ways that micro business owners can leverage their flexibility and agility to ride the waves of such times rather than drown in them.

There has never been a stronger requirement for us to be present in our businesses with energy, ideas and creativity. We've never needed to 'evolve' so often or so frequently. This needn't be a stressful statement but rather an interesting one. If the world is becoming a different place, then what opportunities are there for us to be different too? How can we use this moment in time to innovate and use our innate flexibility and resilience to do something fabulous, in a superhero style (see what I did?)

So here are 3 Ways to be a Superhero in your micro (small with 0-9 employees folks) business:

1. Be a human being not a human doing. The most tempting thing to do when times feel uncertain, is to double down and work longer and harder. The urge in many of us, is to assume that effort equals success. But... effort only equals success if it's the right effort. We can only ever really know this by stopping a while, taking in the landscape, talking to others, reassessing the road and refocussing on the goals. If we only 'do' we will never see where we need to 'be'.

2. It's not just you. As a micro business owner, you're likely mostly working alone or with a team you're responsible for. Lonely yes, but worse, you might assume your challenges are just yours. It's easy to allow the mindset to slip from 'we can do this' to 'shit, what are we doing wrong'. Seek out the company of other micro owners, entrepreneurs and people in business. Build relationships you can trust so that you can share and learn in equal measure. It's unlikely that your challenge is so unique that someone else doesn't have an idea, a tip or a signpost that helps.

3. Treat yourself like your most expensive laptop. Bar none, you are it in your business. Rather like your new piece of tech, you need to safeguard the battery, store and rest it well, update the software and avoid keeping too many tabs open in your browser. You are your number 1 asset in the business. Not a cliche but an actual fact. How is your battery care? What is your rest regime? Where it your pressure valve? How often are you updating your software, information & processing power? If what you do is too much for one person, then you need another person, an automation or to address the business itself.

   
   

   If you'd like to be part of a year round club, packed full of amazing micro business owners, then take a peek at Simply Club, Britain's only business membership for micro business owners to help them build lives they love more.