Time Is Money!

It's an old cliche that we all know and understand, but to what extent do you really apply it in your business? For example, do you make a phone call when an email would do just fine? Sure, there's something to be said for spending a little extra time building rapport with your clients, but phone calls often stretch out into ten, twenty, thirty minutes when taking five minutes to craft an email would have gotten the job done. Remember, your clients and strategic partners are busy too -- they may appreciate the efficiency of an email instead of a phone call. On the other hand, are you an "email person", who insists on going back and forth via email, when a phone call is clearly necessary to iron out the issue? If something is going to require a lot of back-and-forth, a phone call may be more efficient. If you're trying to come to an agreement about something and you exchange more than two rounds of email, it's time to just pick up the phone. Remember - most resources are potentially unlimited. There's no limit to how much money you can make (someone can pass up Bill Gates, right?). There's no limit (other than self-imposed) as to how many customers you can have, or employees, or locations, or products or anything else. But there are only 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, and you have to spend some of that time sleeping, eating, playing, relaxing and growing with yourself, your friends and your family. Time is an entrepreneur's most precious resource, because it is the only one that is truly scarce. Be stingy with it.