MCP092: Breaking the $5 Task Cycle and Focusing on Higher Value Work w/ Michael Stewart

Today’s #MeetCoolPeople episode is a practical one. I got to chat with Michael Stewart, growth strategist and founder of Business Planning Plus. Michael has been in marketing since the late 1990s, so I knew we’d have plenty of ideas to swap.

What stood out in this conversation is how we both see so many business owners, especially solopreneurs, working way too hard just to keep things moving. Michael specializes in showing leaders, big and small, how to actually step back, trust their plans, and build a business that runs without them being stuck at the center.

Here are a few things that really stuck with me:

• Don’t Skip the Plan: The most successful businesses have simple, clear plans. Most people honestly spend more time planning a vacation than mapping out what success actually means for their company.

• Automate and Delegate: If you do something more than twice, look for a way to automate it. Michael echoed what I always preach: anything you repeat (emails, follow-ups, instructions, etc) can be templated, systemized, or handed off. Even big companies miss out on this.

• Know Your Value Tasks: Michael shared Brad Sugars’ concept of, Are your daily tasks worth $5 an hour or $5,000? Most business owners spend way too much time on low-value tasks and get stuck earning low-value returns.

• Write Down What Success Looks Like: Instead of overcomplicating your business plan, spend an hour setting out what your business should look like in a year, what you love doing, and what you need to stop.

• Make Tiny Improvements: You don’t need to overhaul everything overnight. Michael suggests even tiny daily tweaks add up fast, and that’s what actually changes a business over time.

Michael is someone who’s been in the trenches and coaches from real experience.

Want to connect with Michael?

Find him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mj52art/ or head over to his website at  http://www.askmjs.co.uk.

=====

Want to see how my team and I can help you convert more casual connections into clients? Grab my FREE 8-part audio mini-course at https://buildyourfollowupmachine.com/ and discover the step-by-step flow I help clients with in their email follow up machine!