Don’t Lose the Passion for Your Passion Project

Wouldn’t you rather be doing what you love?

There can’t be many of us that haven’t been tempted by the hundreds of books available, telling us it’s possible to have every Friday off, build a team culture that reflects your vision, or that you can manage your business from a laptop in the Bahamas. All you have to do is X, Y or Z — it’s really that easy.

Who doesn’t want that?! But is it easy? Yes. Okay, we’re not going to fill you with unrealistic expectations. Don’t (yet!) tell your team their boss is about to start working from the beach.

But we are going to give you a few ideas on how you can make your working life more streamlined, allowing you to reinstate the passion where pain has taken over.

Here’s how to get the passion in your project back

A problem shared is a problem halved. If you’re feeling bogged down and close to quitting because you’ve lost sight of why you ever began – stop right there.

Support is available for entrepreneurs and business owners at every stage of their growth. So whether you’re thinking about setting up, at the start of your passion project, successful, or almost giving up on looking for success – it doesn’t matter.

Sharing our experiences can help others and networking is the ideal scenario for this.

Assess your time spent on daily tasks

First, you need to identify the pain points. What is it that takes up your time each day? Log how long each task takes, for you and, if you have one, your team. Software options can make this process a lot easier and visually indicate where you time is truly spent.

Handle this carefully though. If you do have a valued support team in place, you don’t want them to think you’re assessing their work specifically. This is not what the task is about. It’s about identifying how you can all use your time wisely, to become more productive and make everyone’s working day easier. If you have a good team in place, they’ll understand and support you with this.

Work on it, not in it

Many successful business owners will advocate the importance of spending 90 minutes each day looking at how your business operates and how you can continue to drive it in the direction necessary for success.

Ninety minutes sounds like a lot. But when you consider how many hours you work each month, it’s a very small percentage of that time and will pay long term dividends.

Once you start to see the bigger picture more clearly, because that time is spent ‘on the business not in it’ you will identify gaps. Gaps in resource, in marketing focus, in systems and procedures. The list goes on. 

Don’t be afraid to outsource

Yes, your business is yours, and only you know what you want to achieve from it. But don’t let that impact on your ability to get some fantastic, talented people working on your behalf. Outsourcing can be a cost-effective way to access the skills you don’t have the budget – or need – to employ on a full-time basis. Often you can supercharge or complement your in-house team for very little each month.

And software falls into this category. Having the right software tools at your disposal, and knowing how to get the most benefit from them could be a game changer for your business. And for the sanity of you and your team, we’re about to share a couple. And yes, we will accept expensive biscuits as a thank you for saving you LOTS of hours in the future.

Get software that manages all aspects of your business

Today, there is a software system or tool for almost anything. And many of a company’s pain points can be addressed and rectified. From spreadsheets and finance packages to speeding up the functionality of your database – and more. Much more.

But as with all things in life, not all are created equally. It is tempting to pick small bits of software to plug gaps, rather than making a strategic choice that will help you run the business moving forward. For example, we deal with a lot of companies who have gone for a basic finance package, a couple of simple tools for email and logging time, and are filling the gaps with disparate tools they have found online. 

Nowadays, if you are planning on growing as a business, even growing passion projects can get what was traditionally known as ERP - an integrated business management software. For example, a software such as Microsoft Dynamics^® 365 Business Central will help you to manage everything from finances, sales, purchases, stock, etc. The time saving and improved reporting will save you time from filing paperwork and help you to do the thing that you love. 

The main blocker for passion projects from going for the professional solutions was price. With modern subscription licencing and Software as a Service (SAAS) removing the need for expensive infrastructure, it now does not cost a lot to own a solution like this. The only issue is the time and money to implement a product like this. For Business Central, we have created a "template" implementation, called Fast Financials, that helps smaller businesses get up and running quickly and affordably. 

Do what you love

So, wouldn’t you rather be doing what you love? With the right tools in place, the right mindset and support, you can.

To find out more about becoming a modern thriving business, visit Dynamics Consultants at one of the upcomign events:

The365Crowd event on 22nd May - it’s an opportunity to network while learning about the first steps of modern business.

Accountex 2019 - the number 1 accountancy show in Europe.