From the expert: Growing your business by using the power of pause
Mar 05, 2024
From our 2024 resident scholar Anna Halfpenny of Ruby + Foster
If you’re an entrepreneur of a service or product-based business, this blog is one you will want to read in FULL.
We are constantly told that the key to success in business is to hustle, grind, act fast, etc. Well, I’m here to tell you a little secret. Taking a pause is just as effective, if not more, for your business. And by a pause, I mean a pause to work on your business rather than frantically in it. You need time to think, evaluate, pivot, and perhaps take different actions.
As entrepreneurs, we get bogged down in the daily grind of operating our businesses while managing all the other things involved in our lives (our kids, families, activities, etc.).
I’m here to tell you that when you inject some time to pause on your business that will change the trajectory of your business.
Today I’m sharing something I like to do at the beginning of each month as do my clients. This is also a great way to lead into a new month. Let’s dive into it:
Evaluate and reflect
Look at what’s working in your business. What key marketing aspects are driving results or not? “Be honest,” as David Beckham would say to Victoria. For some reason, we tend to keep holding onto things/processes that we believe are working out of habit or because we are simply comfortable.
Ask yourself: Are you showing up as your true self in your marketing? Are you really communicating your product/service clearly in your marketing channels? Are you showing the value you offer to your customers? Most importantly, are you representing your business as you had envisioned when you first launched? If not, it’s time to adjust.
Learn
Entrepreneurs must be lifelong learners. We live in an ever-changing world, and when it comes to marketing our businesses, we tend to stick with what we know. Ask yourself are you adapting and learning news ways to market your business or are you stuck doing the same old thing and feeling frustrated with the lack of results?
Sometimes our greatest opportunity is right under our nose if we simply take time to explore. It could be a new social media strategy, a new email marketing approach, a partnership you never thought of that could catapult your business if you only took a few moments to learn more.
So you need to push yourself to adapt and be that learner!
Implement
An idea is nothing without acting on it. Just because you said you will do it, doesn’t mean it’s done. Action needs to be your best friend in business. Your actions don’t need to be big – they simply need to take place. You might have the right intentions of doing something, but if you don’t take the steps, you will only disappoint yourself. Trust me. I’ve done this many times.
The good news is that you take time for the pause it gives you the opportunity to take what you learn and decide what’s best to move into action.
Hopefully, this little blog gave you what you needed to move forward and if you need help in taking that pause reach out to me at [email protected]
Now off I go do this myself!
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Anna Halfpenny is a professional brand builder with over 20 years of marketing & brand building experience helping global and national brands achieve their business goals. Some high-profile brands she has worked with include BMW, Canadian Tire, Molson Coors, Boston Pizza, Roar Organic, Ontario Charities Gaming Association, Winners and Havergal College.
She’s a big supporter of female entrepreneurs, a Mentor at The Forum, an advocate of the performing arts community and a board member of Orchestra Toronto.
In 2018, she launched her marketing firm, Ruby + Foster, which works directly with founders, CEOs and entrepreneurs to help them clarify, focus and expand their businesses to where they need to be.
She recently launched a small business arm to support the new and small business community through services that are scaled to their unique goals & needs.
To learn more about ways Anna works with smaller brands like yours, visit rubyandfoster.com/smallbusiness
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