A mantra often chanted by 'business gurus': "Work on your business, not in it." A joke? Not when you consider that most business people work longer hours, face rising costs every year and pay themselves less as time goes on. This is because they are working in their business. C'mon, if you quit your job, you want to be free! You want to be free of the shackles of a J-O-B and enjoy more free time to do whatever you want as you please. Many people are guilty of going through a day without paying attention to the Big Picture. They have no idea where their business is going, when their next product is going to launch, when their next advertising venture will be. They simply act 'on feeling'. No wonder most businesses fail! Working on your business means hiring other people to do the tasks you hate or are bad at, rather than doing them yourself, wasting more time, and producing a *no offence* s*** a** piece of work! Working on your business means planning your day and treating planning as just as important an activity as the tasks themselves. Working on your business means replacing yourself with technology, and letting technology do the work for you. The world has moved ahead, but many people's minds are still stuck in the 'Industrial Age' mindset... Follow these 2 simple rules which I use everyday to run a business: 1. Always remember the 80/20 rule 2. Always create a 'To Do' list The 80/20 rule is so powerful that when businesses started implementing, they experienced a surge in productivity and income. 20% of your efforts often produce 80% of your results in anything you do. Therefore, spend your most productive time on your '20% tasks', the tasks which brings you the most profits. In the morning, always create a To Do list! Don't fill it with mundane stuff like 'Buy two cartons of milk'. Fill it with tasks related to your business. You can include the 80/20 rule in your list by distinguishing your most important tasks! This gives you a clear idea of which tasks are responsible for 80% of your efforts. Fabian