Important Role of Time Management and Good Business Planning as a Major Skill to an Entrepreneur

  

Date Posted: 12/20/2017 9:33:42 PM

Posted By: Alambi  Membership Level: Gold  Total Points: 2017

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IMPORTANT ROLE OF TIME MANAGEMENT AND GOOD BUSINESS PLANNING AS A MAJOR SKILL TO AN ENTREPRENEUR
ABSTRACT

Time is a unique resource, while people talk about saving time, the fact is that time can never actually be saved. It cannot be stock pilled like materials or money for use in the future period and time lost is never recovered, therefore one should not waste even a second of his or her precious time.
Time can also be described as the point or period at which things occur which can be real and clock time which is relative to an entrepreneur.

Whatever you don’t use, you lose. It’s a law. If you tie your arm to your body, leave it there long enough, you’ll never use it again. It’s over for the arm. The same goes for all human virtues; Ambition unused declines. Strong feelings unused diminish. If you don’t use today, it’s lost.

WHAT IS TIME MANAGEMENT?
It is a process by which you accomplish the tasks and goals effectively. The real importance of time management lies in the fact that you have too many tasks to do but you do not have enough time to do them. This means that unless you plan very effectively, how you will use the time you will have a lot of problems such as: Incomplete tasks, unachieved goals etc.

CONCEPTS OF GOOD TIME MANAGEMENT TO AN ENTREPRENEUR

TIME SCHEDULING
This will help an entrepreneur to arrange activities to be performed within a given time through use of diaries and time charts. This will help in avoiding over-scheduling and scheduling every minute of the day and leading to possibility of achieving as an entrepreneur.

PRIORITIZING OF ACTIVITIES
This helps an entrepreneur to arrange tasks with their importance and urgency and evaluate your work items in order of importance and picking out only the important issues

and the ones that need to be accomplished immediately and handle the first set reasonable priorities for each work period and stick to them.

TIME CONCIOUSNESS
An entrepreneur should avoid wasting any time because time once lost is never recovered.

KEEPING SPECIFICATIONS
A good entrepreneur should handle a specific task within a given time limit by setting deadlines and adhere strictly to them. Avoid postponing activities because procrastination is the greatest thief of time.

DON’T PROCRASTINATE, BUT DO ASK WHY YOU ARE TEMPTED
If a task is genuinely urgent in your business entity and important, get on with it, however, if you find yourself making excuses about a business action, ask yourself why. Maybe you are concerned about ethics or you don’t think it’s the best option.

TIME MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES
Use of deadlines- This will help an entrepreneur to arrange activities to be performed within a given time through use of diaries and time charts. This will help in avoiding overscheduling and scheduling every minute of the day and leading to possibility of achieving as an entrepreneur.
Delegation of responsibilities- This is by allowing others to do part of your work in a business entity especially in a partnership business plan.
Prioritization- This will help an entrepreneur to arrange activities to be performed within a given time through use of diaries and time charts. This will help in avoiding overscheduling and scheduling every minute of the day and leading to possibility of achieving as an entrepreneur.
Reducing paper work-This is by using the 80/20 rule which states that work will always extend and increase to fill time available meaning that achieving perfection is impossible and it is perfectly in order to do a job up to a reasonably acceptable level in order to save time and accomplish other tasks as well.
Make a list-This helps by wanting to set reminders on your phone and computer and the list should have the probability of being attainable, personal, home and work.
No blame game of circumstances-The best way to do time management is to immediately accept our faults rather than blaming others and shifting the reason from course of action. This helps to focus on priorities.
Action plan-List all the things that you have to do for the entire week. However, don’t put too many things as it may not be possible to accomplish everything which leads to disappointment.
(h)Defined Goal setting-Once tasks are prioritized go about setting a clear goal i.e. a particular task has to be completed for that day and within the stipulated time. Perseverance is one of the most important qualities that one requires to achieve something regardless of the odds against you.
Time management is important especially to an entrepreneur since they are venturing into an alien environment with so many unforeseen events. In such cases, their methods of work priorities and job requirements undergo changes which enable them to manage their time in a better way without trouble and delays. In the initial stages of owning a business, entrepreneurs must engage in proper planning and follow up.


IMPORTANCE
It helps entrepreneurs to fix priorities in their work thus approaching tasks of their businesses systematically.
Good time management helps entrepreneurs to be in a position to make a follow up which might result in changes in priorities.
Entrepreneurs are able to do enough preparation for different activities in their planned and preferred list of tasks.
Entrepreneurs may be in a position to decide the work which they do themselves and work which may be performed by subordinates or fellow employees and enable them delegate activities.
Good time management enables entrepreneurs to anticipate the pros and cons of some of the activities which may require more time, better planning and higher allocation of other resources.
It helps in creating good morals among your workers resulting to better business planning of the enterprise.
There is quick decision thus benefiting overall working of your business enterprise.
It reduces stress which might result from mismanagement of time in the business.
There is more production which is the main goal of good time management.
Less rework and mistakes due to good time organization.
It helps entrepreneurs to improve their self-confidence and have much time for their business.
Entrepreneurs will be able to improve their focus and results to setting up milestones effectively for their business.
BUSINESS PLAN
This is an outline of an entrepreneur’s goals and objectives and how to intend to achieve them. Most entrepreneurs do not realize the importance a business plan to the growth and development of a business.
A good business plan has
Executive summary
Company description
Market analysis
Organization and Management
Service/Product Line
Market and sales
Funding request
Financial Projection

IMPORTANCE OF A GOOD BUSINESS PLAN
Helps in getting funds for your business (a good financial analysis of your business will motivate investors to see that their money is in safe hands are they know they will get profit from their funding of your business entity.
Helps in spotting potential problems before they occur (A good business plan helps an entrepreneur to forecast into the future and look at trends that could occur that may help or affect the business.
Helps entrepreneurs to stay on track (a good business plan has future plans and helps targets made to meet what the business entity attains to achieve.
It helps in managing the business better(With a good business plan, entrepreneurs may find out that managing business becomes much easier and better and knows what goes where and who is responsible for various duties.
Staying on the budget is much easier (A good plan allows you to plan how money will be properly allocated to various aspects of the business enabling one to find out cheaper alternatives to what to venture in to the business and helps stay in the budget and avoid unnecessary spending on the business which saves money that can put back into the business. This is simply since many businesses fail, not because they are unprofitable, but because they ultimately become insolvent i.e. unable to pay their debts as they fall due.
Helps to decide whether to start or continue with the business (A good business plan allows entrepreneurs to know when a business is not doing well especially when targets in your plan are not met. This does not mean the idea or business is bad but maybe a different approach is needed for the business.
Helps in developing and communicating a course of action (A business plan helps an entrepreneur to access future opportunities and commit to a particular course of action making all other options effectively marginalized and the company is aligned to focus on key activities.
To better understand your competition (Creating the business plan forces you to analyze the competition. All companies have competition in either direct or indirect competitors, and it is critical to understand your company’s competitive advantages.
To reduce the risk of pursuing the wrong opportunity (The process of creating the business plan helps to minimize opportunity costs. Writing business plan helps assess the attractiveness of this particular opportunity, versus other opportunities.
To attract potential partners (Partners also want to see a business plan to determine whether it is worth partnering with your business. Establishing partnerships requires time and capital, and companies will be more likely to partner with your venture if they can read a detailed explanation of your company.

To position your brand (Creating business plan helps to define your company’s role in the marketplace. This definition allows you to succinctly describe the business and position the brand to customers, investors, and partners.

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