Many established entrepreneurs always have a great deal of help and resources at their disposal. However, they, more than anyone else in the organization, confront an acute scarcity of one resource! time!
There is never enough time to do everything that an entrepreneur is responsible for. Despite this, an entrepreneur will always remain accountable for all the work of their organizations.
The way entrepreneurs allocate their time and their presence—where they choose to personally participate—is crucial, not only to their own effectiveness but also to the performance of their companies.
An enterpreneur’s schedule (indeed, any leader’s schedule), then, is a manifestation of how the leader leads and sends powerful messages to the rest of the organization and that is why creating a routine is important.
Henry Ward Beecher once said, “The first hour of the morning is the rudder for the day,” and successful CEOs or entrepreneurs stick to a routine and focus on their priorities every day and work smartly.
Just like the successful enterpreneurs we read about, Eugene Mbugua, The founder of Documentary & Reality TV (formerly Young Rich Television Limited), who is one of Kenya’s youngest millionaires explained to us in the just concluded #AfterOfficeHours session why he adopted and follows diligently a daily routine that he started some years back.
“My day starts at 3:45 am by working out for an hour and a half then i leave off to the office by 6.30 am. I read for another hour and a half before I commence my day. During the day I lay oversight of the business operation, regularly participate in creating show pilots, and the rest of the time is spent pitching like crazy for more business. I shut down by 8.30 pm,” he said.
This is a daily work day routine that he has adopted making it easy for him to plan and execute his role as a CEO to a number of companies diliigently and in good time
The founder of Documentary & Reality TV (formerly Young Rich Television Limited), Club 7 and My Yearbook Kenya has a number of accolades to his name key being: Forbes most promising entrepreneurs under 30, and a year later, in 2016, he graced the cover of Forbes Africa magazine as one of the ‘Top 30 Under 30’.
He attributed his success to having a proper plan, working on it, learning from and improving on it is a process but once you adapt your routine you become a better entrepreneur.
He also explained that routines help reduce things and help him stay disciplined. If every day I follow my routine, everything else falls in place
He also added, “The thing about routines is that they don’t require us to predict how we will feel in the future but instead ask us to determine how we will act despite how we might feel.”
However he cautioned that being a CEO means a hectic routine with full workloads, and while you have a routine in place also spend time on your self-care as it can be draining. Spend time with yourself, get enough rest, and exercise to stay engaged and active.
Having a routine in place also helps you build your own values and grow from them. Besides, try to do something that is out of your comfort zone. If you don’t leave your comfort zone, you will never explore new opportunities.
During the same session Eugene tackled the topic on failure and how at times it is okay to win in some and lose in some.
Eugene explained how at some point in his journey made a business decision where he ended up losing a lot of money since they hadn’t gotten it right in the first place.
But from that Failure, the lesson Eugene gathered summed it up in a quote that stated, the best way to fail is to do it cheaply, quickly, and never the same way twice.
He also highlighted the importance of having mentors in your entrepreneurship journey. Professionals at all levels can benefit greatly from a mentor or coach.
They will share expertise, knowledge, and impartial feedback that you might not obtain on the job. Seek out someone who has walked in your shoes and will tell you the unvarnished truth while sharing his or her own experiences.
The experience may also help you become a trusted mentor to someone else in the future. The importance of having mentors in your journey as an entrepreneur also came out strongly during the session as Eugene referred to having mentors and forging great networks and partnerships.
He also stated on how he is also helping mentor a number of people. “Mentors are equally important as you are standing on the shoulder of giants and you do not have to repeat the mistakes they made,” he concluded.