How To Break Out Of Average
How To Break Out Of Average
If your business is average right now (and you don’t want to be), read this.
Photo by Joshua Earle
“Average is the top of the bottom” — Johnny Wimbey
Average is cool when you don’t put any effort into something, but average is a stab in the heart when you’re putting all your time and money into being the best.
The average annual revenue of a small business with no employees is $44,000. The average for a business with 1–4 employees is $387,000.
Where does your small business fall within this spectrum?
Is that where you want your business to be?
If your business is batting within an average range right now and you don’t want to be, let’s talk about how to get your business into an above-average plane.
Multiply Your 10,000 Hour Count
This is one of my favorite shortcuts to getting your business to bat above-average: multiply your 10,000 hour count.
10,000 hours is a nice benchmark to define someone who’s logged in the time to become an expert at something.
To multiply your 10,000 hour count, hire people who have logged in their 10,000 hours already and join forces with them to help you reach your goals.
It’s impossible for someone to be an expert at everything, and if you don’t have people on your team to help produce high-quality work, then you’re doing the disservice of not allowing your startup to live up to its potential.
Think about it — the difference in skill level between someone who has spent 10,000 hours on business strategy or social media management and someone like you who dabbles with it is going to be stark.
If you want to be the best, invest in multiplying your 10,000 hour count and spread it out to different areas of your business.
Sail Uncomfortable, New Waters
The most obvious route of batting above-average is to receive the support and skills to help you perform above average.
When you build a business without continuously upgrading the inputs put into it, it’s highly unlikely that your circumstances will change.
Just like an athlete would bring in a trainer to get them to the next tier, you can do the same by bringing in a coach or taking a course.
Inject some kind of new knowledge into your world, but here’s the kicker — make it as uncomfortable as possible.
If the topics and conversations you have with a coach or within a course are all within your comfort zone, then it won’t push you out of the current bracket that you’re in.
To truly break into a new tier of performance, you need to work on evolving what’s uncomfortable for you and master it.
Sure, you can improve the things you’re currently decent at, but mastering that isn’t going to be transformational for you.
It’ll only move the needle a tiny bit. You’ll learn a couple of new things, but it won’t help you experience a massive change.
To get your business into an above-average plane, you have to confront the things you suck at and invest your time in turning uncomfortable into comfort.
Are you building a healthy business that’s poised to grow? Grab my free checklist to find out.