The One Question to Ask Each Day

Business owners are torn in a hundred different directions every day.  It can take up most of the work day just fighting fires, serving customers, and answering employee questions.  It’s easy to lose sight of what can be done to move your business forward the most.

That’s when “the one question” can come in handy.  It’s something you can ask yourself at the very beginning of each day, even before checking your email.

The one question is, “What’s the one thing I can do today which will bring the highest payback  and will boost my profits?” Other ways to say it are “What is the most important thing I can be doing now?” or “What is the best use of my time at this moment?”

Usually it’s not answering emails, putting out customer service fires or answering routine employee questions or even serving current customers. Although those are all important and essential, none of them will take your business to the next level.

It could be meeting with a power partner or referral source that sends you a lot of business, designing the next campaign that will bring in a higher level customer, or researching new products to sell.  It’s going to be a task that gets you working “on” your business instead of “in” your business.

If you like this idea, consider writing the question on a sticky note and posting it to your bulletin board so that you can see it every day.  Keep in mind that the answer may change frequently, depending on circumstances, so there may be several sticky notes.

Try asking yourself this one question each day: “What’s the highest payback thing I can do today that will boost my profits?” Then concentrate on doing it, and watch your business grow.