If you're thinking of launching a new online business, or already the proud owner of an online business, growth should be on your daily agenda. But with so many things happening in our daily lives it's hard to stay focused on growth. In this article, we'll share 5 great habits to keep growing your business without overwhelming yourself.
1. Have a morning ritual
If painting yourself and chanting some magical ritual is your thing, that's cool but that's not what we're referring to here. A morning ritual should be a list of things that you do every morning. Monday to Sunday. It should not take long, but it should gear your day for success.
Here are some ideas;
- Go for a quick jog
Research shows, that going for a short jog in the morning improves mental health, and is just the thing to kick you out of bed. - Write a blog post
Many successful digital marketers including; Neil Patel, swear by the idea that having a blog is the key to online growth. Having it part of your morning ritual will ensure you grow your blog. More importantly, it gives you the sense of accomplishment early in the day, to keep pushing you forward. - Read a success story
Motivation is the biggest fuel for growth however, motivation comes and goes, and we need to keep replenishing it every day. Reading a success story early in the morning might be just that extra boost you need to take the next big step.
2. Share your accomplishments
If you're in an early-stage startup, your biggest friend is word-of-mouth. It's free and proven to be the best marketing tool you can have, and who is most likely to promote you? Family & Freinds! So don't be shy, if you've solved a logistics problem in your business, thinking of opening a new office, updated your site design.. Share it! Elon Musk has broken the crypto market several times with just a short tweet, so just imagine what it could do to your business if family and friends knew exactly what you were doing.
3. Sleep at least 8 hours a day!
Every entrepreneur works 80-90 hours a week. We've heard that story before. But did you know that the most successful were the ones that prioritise sleep? Jeff Bezos and many others prioritise a good night sleep, over other things in life. The idea is simple; A human brain is only able to process and store so much information, sleep is where the magic happens, and all the information is properly organised for more efficient use. So even if you're not big on personal health, an 8-hour sleep should still be very high on your priority list.
4. Check your data multiple times a day
As your day goes by it's easy to get lost in emotions, and other external factors that will severely sway your decision making. In an early-stage startup one wrong decision could quickly lead to disaster, so check your facts often. Apart from keeping you focused, having a constant feed to data coming your way will give you a much better pulse on your business. A few good sources of data to look at;
- Google Analytics - New Users, Returning Users and, Engagement Time
- Google Search Console - Site Rankings, Keyword Impressions
- Social Media - Engagement Metrics
- Lifeboat - Inventory and Sales Reports
5. Daily brain dump
Especially in the early stages of a startup, you'll have a million new ideas, which is great! Unless they start taking away your focus. A great tip taken from the Agile mindset (developer tools to be more efficient), is to; list down all your ideas, but don't act on them right away. At the end of each day, take all the notes, and include them in a backlog (list of priorities for the coming days, weeks and/or months). Once you're going over this prioritisation process you might realise that those ideas that seemed fantastic might not turn out so great after all. And in contrast, what you thought was something minor, might turn out to be the best thing for your business.
Conclusion
In this article, we shared 5 habits that we believe will help you in growing your online business. These included; Having a good night sleep, daily brain dumps, checking your data, sharing accomplishments and having a morning ritual.
Did you find this article helpful? Let us know in the comments below.
