Often while meeting with prospects who are genuinely interested in the services I provide, I hear “I Don’t Have Time”.  My response to this, “Can you really afford not to find time to make changes necessary for a more successful, fulfilling, and thriving business?  How long can you continue to ignore your stress and frustration, plus the side effects these are having on your health and personal relationships.”

News Flash: You do have time! We all have time! Why do I say this? Because we all have power within ourselves, as Business Owners, to better manage the time we have and prioritize what is important.

While researching this, I found a blog post written by Josiah Bussing, Mountaintop Web Design, written on August 20, 2019.  The blog listed 5 reasons why Business Owners say they don’t have time.

1. They Are Afraid Of Failure. “For some people, the thought of losing or failing is such a scary proposition that they just freeze or fall back. They would rather “not try” than face the prospect of failing.” Personally, I’ve also spoken with some who are afraid of success.  What if this works and my business booms?  How will I handle that?

2. They Are Fearful Of Stepping Out Of Their Comfort Zone. “To do great things, you must be willing to push the boundaries of your capabilities. The saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” should be rewritten as “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – improve on it!” Business Owners know increasing the circumference of their comfort zone is key to growth.  Tons of articles, books, and blogs have been written on this.  What I loved was the last part of the quote addressing improvement. Most everything in our businesses and life can be improved as long as we do not become complacent.

3. They Don’t Have Confidence In Their Abilities. “Your ability to navigate safely through difficult situations will depend on your confidence level.” I’ve observed Business Owners who pushed off working together because they were afraid to give me a “peek behind the curtain”. They felt embarrassed to let their guard down, admit what they were struggling with, and then lacking the confidence in their ability to change.

5. They Are Lazy.  “You probably have met people who talk big but don’t get anything done…They like to present themselves as game-changers but in reality, they perform more like benchwarmers…The task is too hard – I’m not ready for it yet. Let me think it over.” I must admit I struggled with this one. Yes, I’m sure there are lazy Business Owners who may not wish to exert the amount of time and/or effort towards crafting a better business.  But I look at this one as “The devil you know is better than devil you don’t know.” What happens if I make time to do the things I need to do and no changes occur?  They appear lazy, but in reality I believe Business Owners may be feeling that they don’t have time right now to do other things that take more time with the hope that it saves them time in the future.  They have little to no energy to invest so they don’t make the effort.

The bottom line comes down to this, “Time is a commodity whereby if you invest early and wisely, it will yield attractive dividends in the future.”  Or as sung by the Little River Band, “Take time to make time, make time to be there.”

Parting thoughts:  Do you have the desire to make changes in your mindset in order to trade-in, “I don’t have time” for “I’m ready to make the time investment needed in order to be happier in my business and personal relationships?”  If so, let’s talk about what that would look like and create a plan to make it happen!  You’ve got time!