Being good at any sport takes practice, and significant effort to improve the way things are done to get better, and we constantly and consistently measure the outcome of the effort, review the impact of changes, and vary the training regime as a result of the review process for a better outcome.
We accept this as normal in sport, why is it so hard to get the same idea accepted in a business?
The most difficult word in the English language for a small business owner is “no”. In most cases, it needs practice, the customer,(or worse) the potential customer is not always right, at least, right for you.
Be careful, be consistent, be firm, and know which customers add more than the take, not just from the cash account, but from the energy, commitment, and time of your biggest resource, your people.
Prioritising activities is a constant challenge.
Most small business people see the task only in terms of money, or the apparent urgency of the matter. Few consider that their time is the most valuable resource the small busines has, yet they willingly spend huge hours at their desks.
Your time should be like a supermarket shelf, to put a new product in, one must be taken out. Exercising the same discipline to the tasks for which you allocate your time will gradually see a priority allocation system evolve as you remove the sometimes urgent but not really important tasks in favour of the more important tasks.