Working on your business means time spent growing it, such as marketing, follow-up, offers and systems, rather than doing the day-to-day work. Most owners hardly do any. The fix is simple: block out 90 minutes every working day, protect it like a client meeting, and use it for one high-impact task. That adds up to around 30 hours a month.
Busy, but not on the right things
I go to a lot of networking events, and I always ask owners: "What's your biggest challenge right now?" The answers vary, but they usually come down to one thing: not enough time to work on the business rather than in it.
Most owners are busy. But if the goal is to grow, win more leads and turn more of them into customers, they're usually busy with the wrong things: putting out fires and reacting to whatever comes at them. The urgent crowds out the important.
If you never work on your business, it's hard to see how it will grow or reach your goals.
Find out where your time goes
Before changing anything, track a normal week. Split each day into half-hour blocks and write down what you actually did in each one. At the end of the week, go through it with two highlighter pens: one colour for time spent on the business and another for time spent in it.
It can be a real eye-opener. Seeing it in black and white is often what it takes to change your priorities.
The 90 minutes a day rule
I first heard about 90 minutes a day from Nigel Botterill, founder of Entrepreneurs Circle. Block out 90 minutes in your diary every working day, and use it only for working on your business.
Over a month that's about 30 hours of focused work on growth. Done consistently, it builds on itself.
How to make it stick:
- Put it in the diary. Set a recurring appointment with yourself and make sure no one else can book over it.
- Turn off distractions. No email, no calls.
- Pick your best time. Some people do it first thing in the morning; others work better at the end of the day.
- Start smaller if you need to. If 90 minutes feels impossible, start with 30. It will still make a difference.
- Use the first sessions to free yourself up. If you're tied to jobs in the business, spend your early sessions working out how to hand them over.
- Find a quiet space where you won't be interrupted.
How to make time when you have none
- Delegate. Hand over tasks that don't need you. If you don't have a team, think about what extra help could free you up to do.
- Automate. Use technology, including AI, for repetitive jobs.
- Prioritise ruthlessly. Some things turn out to be less important than they seemed.
20 ways to work on your business
Start each session by asking: what's the single most important thing I can do today to move the business forward? If you're stuck, here are 20 ideas:
- Write marketing or campaign emails
- Get back in touch with old customers
- Build a follow-up campaign
- Describe your ideal customer
- Plan a new landing page
- Rewrite or update pages on your website
- Follow up on quotes and proposals
- Create a free guide or download to attract leads
- Facebook ads
- Google Ads
- TikTok ads
- Improve your Google Business Profile
- Script and record videos
- Ask for reviews
- Put together an offer
- Send the three-line email to old leads
- Send a short personal video to prospects
- Develop a new product or service
- Look at your website analytics
- Create new ad images or videos
What it can lead to
One of my clients saw a 20% increase in revenue after setting aside regular time for planning and putting the plan into action. For a simple way to plan that time, see how to write a 90-day business plan.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between working in and on your business? Working in it is the day-to-day work: serving customers, answering emails, fixing problems. Working on it is improving the business itself: marketing, follow-up, systems, offers and planning.
How much time should I spend working on my business? Aim for 90 minutes every working day, about 30 hours a month. If that's too much to start with, begin with 30 minutes and build up.
Want help getting out of the weeds?
Book a free strategy call and we'll look at where your time is going and what to focus on first.