If you’ve followed me for a while, you already know who Business Dad is! But for my new friends, here’s a quick introduction: Business Dad is my father, Vincent Vandeputte, who is the founder and owner of rich e-learning platform SwiftSkills.org and has his own podcast called Business Dad on Personal Leadership and Entrepreneurship.
He’s been on the show many times before to discuss sales, productivity and mindset, but today we’re focusing on exponential growth as an entrepreneur – an area in which he continues to excel.
This is the fourth and final installment of my success series (if you missed the earlier episodes on money, productivity and health – 160, 161 and 162 – go back and check them out!) that I’ve created to help set you up for your best year yet.
As we enter into 2023, I hope the 6 tips for exponential growth we’re sharing in this episode inspire you to take action NOW to hit your Big Ass Targets (BATs)!
Tip #1: Apply the 80-20 Principle
Where a lot of people go wrong in their business, according to Vincent, is not prioritizing the right things.
Ask yourself: are you putting your resources (both monetary and energy-wise) towards the right things?
Both Business Dad and I apply the 80-20 principle (also known as the Pareto principle) to our respective businesses, which states that 80 percent of outcomes or outputs come from 20 percent of causes or inputs.
As a result, it’s critical to determine what’s going well or what moves the needle so you can do more of it, while also identifying what’s not working and changing it or leaving it behind.
Business Dad says it like this: “If I make a list of 10 things we can do [in my business], my first reaction is ‘what are the 2 things on this list that if I ONLY do those 2 things, will have an 80 percent impact on my results’?”
It's important to keep in mind that you easily overestimate what you can get done in a large amount of time, and underestimate what you can get done in a short amount of time.
“People overestimate what they can accomplish in 6 months, and underestimate what they can accomplish in 2 years.”
That's why you need to keep your eyes on the prize a.k.a. your target, and just start with the things that will make a difference right now.
If you want to get Business Dads' 100 weeks calendar (in Dutch) to help you to stay focussed on your goals and achieve more than you ever imagined in only 2 years time, you can get it here.
Note: I have a really fun exercise on finding out what the 80/20 in your business is, find out in today's episode (around min 15) how you can easily draw out your 80/20.
Tip #2: Visualize and Revisit Your End Goals Daily
Business Dad practices visualization regularly and focuses less on HOW he will get where he wants to go, instead focusing on WHAT he wants to do.
Visualizing your goal – your ‘what' – isn't just a little trick to help you with your mindset, it's actually scientifically proven that when you visualize reaching your goal, dopamine is released in your body which will make you feel a lot better.
So, when you draw out your target, add little milestones that you can tick off in order to get that dopamine fix of feeling accomplished. This will help you to keep on working on your projects for the long run.
If you can visualize yourself reaching your endgoal, it will be so much easier to overcome the obstacles you'll be faced with during your journey towards your goal – because believe me, there will be obstacles!
That doesn’t mean he never focuses on the how (that’s important, after all) – but he doesn’t let himself get bogged down or overwhelmed by all the steps it’s going to take to get him where he wants to go.
Business Dad often uses the Eiffel Tower in Paris to illustrate this point: “If Mr. Eiffel had thought about how he’s going to get all this iron down the Seine River, how he’s going to convince people to give him the authorization to build it, how he’s going to get the financing and so on, he would have found hundreds of reasons NOT to build the Eiffel Tower.”
So, in order to reach your goal or target, you need to focus on your goal (what), visualize it, add stimuli, and make it as fun as possible and your ‘how' will figure out itself!
Tip #3: Don't Be Afraid of Failure
If you do the right things and do not give up, you will be successful — even if it takes you longer than you thought it would.
Business Dad doesn't like to use the word “failure” at all; instead, he prefers to reframe failure as “falling” because when you fall, you can get back up. He also firmly believes most things are achievable within just two years IF you're focused, consistent and optimistic. This may require a major mindset shift, but if you take failure off the table and turn your attention to taking the right actions, you're far more likely to hit your BATs.
In other words: Think of success as something that is inevitable for you, and act accordingly.
Same thing goes for deadlines – if you consider deadlines as ‘desired timelines' you will never have to change your target, you only have to adjust how long it would take you to reach it.
Tip #4: Manage Your Energy Wisely
Instead of thinking about managing your time, shift your focus to managing your energy (or managing yourself using that energy).
In order to do this, Business Dad recommends determining your priorities (the things that are most important and beneficial for you and your business) and focusing on those things rather than wasting time and energy on things that may SEEM urgent but aren’t going to move the needle forward.
This ties in to the 80/20 principle we talked about earlier: you need to focus your energy on the things that will make an impact.
Focus on what really matters, and adjust your (and your teams') focal point accordingly so you always keep working towards your target.
This often requires a perspective shift, meaning you may have to zoom out and look at the bigger picture rather than zooming in on the problem, challenge or task at hand.
Don't be afraid to question yourself and try to revisit your vision ideally every single day to keep your focus and preserve your energy.
Tip #5: Get in the Flow
Set yourself up for success by creating an environment that puts you in a productive work mode.
For Business Dad, that means reengaging with stimuli that puts him into the flow. He puts on the same music every single morning when he walks into his office, which signals to his brain that it’s time to work.
I do something similar – whenever I really need to get something done, I listen to Selena Gomez’s Revival album.
I've been doing this for years now and it works every. single. time.
That helps me spring into action, and before I know it, I’m in the flow and ready to go.
Tip #6: Ditch the To Do List
Business Dad doesn’t make to do lists very often anymore. Instead, he has lists of his short-term goals and BATs (Big Ass Targets) – and those guide his actions.
When he gets overwhelmed, he creates a mind map that helps him organize his energy and better understand his priorities.
Putting everything that's on your plate in place, visually, by making a mindmap can really help you get back to your zen zone.
Organizing the energy you need to complete certain targets can bring clarity on where your energy actually needs to flow to.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with writing daily to do lists if those help you. Just make sure you’re keeping your BATs top of mind and aligning your actions with them.
Business Dad and I hope these 6 tips will help you grow your business exponentially in 2023!
I’ve included a quick recap of all the tips right here, so you can screenshot this article and bring these tips along the next time you need to get into a growth mindset.
Tip #1: Apply the 80-20 Principle
Tip #2: Visualize and Revisit Your End Goals Daily
Tip #3: Don't Be Afraid of Failure
Tip #4: Manage Your Energy Wisely
Tip #5: Get in the Flow
Tip #6: Ditch the To Do List
Listen to this episode via Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and search for episode 163 of The FastForwardAmy Show.
To help you become even more successful, get things done and build the foundation for a freedom-based life and business, the Business Dad has created a 100-Week Planner.
This 100-week calendar will help you focus and do the things you know you need to do, whether that's working on a project, building a house or scaling your business. You can get it for FREE (in Dutch) through https://businessdad.be/100weken.
PS: Looking for more support as you enter the year year? It's not too late to grab my FREE End of Year Success Habits Workbook! Print it out, complete the exercises (including a mind map) and plan to make 2022 your best year EVER.
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