I think we’re all guilty of overestimating what we can get done in one day, and the number of projects we can work on at any given time. Writing a book in a week sounds fine, for example, until you realize that you’ve got a million other projects on the go at the same time! On the flip side, some projects can look so huge that you just never get started. You keep putting it off and putting it off until you decide you’re just never going to get around to it.

There is one way to feel like you’re making progress even when you don’t have much time to work on a project: by dedicating just 15 minutes a day to doing something that’ll take you closer to your goals.

This is enough time to actually see some progress each day, but not too much time that you won’t be able to fit it into your already busy schedule. You may be thinking that projects will take too long to complete if you only give them 15 minutes per day, but they’ll take even longer if you never start! That 15 minute block is a way to motivate yourself, to keep you working consistently, and to help build momentum until you see something through to the end. Continue reading →

A well-crafted mission statement can help you focus on your business better. When you decide to create a mission statement, it requires that you sit down and truly consider what you want to accomplish with your business outside of making money. A mission statement needs to explain why your business exists. It guides your actions (and the actions of your entire organization) by providing a path toward reaching the business’s goals.

Most mission statements encompass just a few sentences that answer:

• Why does your business exists? – If you don’t know why you’re doing it, you can’t do it well.
• Who does your business exists for? – You have to know your audience to deliver the right products and services.
• What product or services do you offer to them? – If you can’t describe what you provide, it’ll be hard to move forward. It’s easy if your product is tangible, such as ice-cream or widgets.
• How your business is unique? – What differentiates your products/services from the competition? Why are yours better?

Once you answer the questions, consider that your rough draft in which you can now find better words to describe each answer, forming a cohesive mission statement. Continue reading →