RUTUJA BANDI
- Sep 5, 2023
- 4 min read

SMSB #01 - 1 Business, 8 Golden Rules

Updated: Sep 6, 2023

Read time: 4 minutes.

Hi there!

1. Peak Productivity

I do not believe in making every single second of your work week productive. If we can't paint pretty pictures, spend time with our family, or watch a movie that wastes time, what's the point of living?

In fact, I can get "growth" tasks done when I have taken Sunday off to chill. It doesn't matter if I work for 8 hours a day or 2 hours a day. What matters is how much our business is moving forward. And personally, I do not think you have to do everything; once you finish 10 things, do more.

NO. You don't need to. You deserve a break; go enjoy life.

2. How to have fun?

When running a business, managing your own time is a boon and a drawback at the same time. I have noticed that to stay motivated to work and put myself through uncomfortable situations, the results must be worth it and more.

To make myself feel like it’s worth it to constantly put myself in scary situations, I need to maximize “FUN” time.

Some things that have worked for me are:

Sundays are no work days, reserved for painting
Lunch and dinners must be spent with family or watching a fun movie
Must go to the beach at least once a month
I have to treat myself to yummy food and occasional shopping sprees

The more fun I have, the more excited I am to try new things.

3. Focus on 2 things at a time

I have made this mistake, and I think a lot of entrepreneurs do as well. They focus on a lot of Big Goals at the same time. My golden rule is to focus on 2 Big Goals and 5 tasks to complete for the day. Anything more, and I can quickly get overwhelmed.

This is what my list looks like:

MONTHLY GOALS - Start Newsletter, Create new Lead Magnet

DAILY GOALS - Finish client XYZ's work, Write 3 reel scripts, Install whiteboard, Watch Jay Shetty’s podcast episode, Send contract and invoice to ABC

4. Hire freelancers to delegate work you don’t like to do

Hiring the right people is difficult. Here are some red flags to keep in mind before onboarding a freelancer or team member to help; compiling the best ones for you here:

Poor communication skills.
Doesn’t show up to meetings on time
Misses deadlines
Doesn’t ask questions
No systems in place for tracking work tasks
No social media presence/website

5. Some frameworks to follow when you have a team

For me, managing people doesn’t come easy. After some research and making a ton of mistakes, here are some learnings:

focus on outputs and results, not on the number of hours worked
create a calm team culture
get everyone to collaborate and put their ideas on paper before having a meeting
you can assign tasks in your project management system, update on a common messaging group, and record tutorials on Loom or as a Zoom screen recording; you don’t need to have meetings for that.
meetings are for clearing roadblocks and mindset growth
let your team members choose their work schedule but invest in their productivity and upskilling and make sure they know the rules of the game

6. Strategic decision-making, what to focus on?

Branding is about figuring out how to get people to connect with your brand.
Focus on making a great product/service first, then focus on sales, then scale your marketing.
Do 1 thing well, then do 3 things well consistently, don’t try to do 100 things at once
Focus on building your business for long-term growth, not just to make money.
Solve the root issues of your business, don’t try to fix the issue temporarily by finding “hacks”
There are only four ways to get customers: warm outreach, cold outreach, paid ads, and content creation. Create a strategy and execute it, don’t just follow the crowd.
Focus on growth daily, not just when your sales are slow.

7. 3 Secrets that have made me more money

say no to everything, so you have time to say yes for growth
make each hour count; it has to bring you joy, make money, or help you make money in the future (automation, for example). Focus on what works for you; if you are good at video, make reels and youtube videos; if you are great at writing, start building an email newsletter; focus and grow what you are good at
you have to stick around until you see the compounding happen, don’t give up

8. 10 business foundation decisions crucial for growth