Balancing Business, Family, and Time: How Smart Time Management Choices Fueled Success
Nancy Butler started a new life in a new town with two children, only $2,000, and no job. She built a financial planning firm to $200 million in assets before selling it. We can probably learn a thing or two from Nancy about balancing time! You can watch our interview by clicking on the graphic below or read the highlights beneath it:
Nancy Butler shared a variety of tips from her experiences over the last four decades:
*Time management is crucial – for having the time to be with her children, the time to build up her career so she could support her children, and the time to do an excellent job for her clients.
*She initially thought that owning her own business would allow her to create the schedule she wanted as opposed to a job that would require her to be somewhere at a certain time. She learned that this wasn’t automatic; she had to create systems and support to make this happen.
*She started planning her exit strategy about 10 years before she wanted to retire so that the transition would be positive for her, her staff, and whomever wound up buying her business.
*It’s vital to make sure you have the right staff, even if it takes longer to find that right fit.
*Delegation tips:
List what you’re good at and love to do all day.
List what you’re good at and if you had to do them all day long, you’d be miserable.
List everything that you’re not good at, and somebody else should be doing them.
Hire people who love doing what’s on your second two lists.
Hire for personality and ability, then train for skill.
It took her about six months to onboard and get new staff flowing.
*Team: There’s no such thing as “it’s not my job.” You hire people for specific responsibilities, but if somebody is out, somebody else must know how to cover.
*She sold her business in 2007, and the staff she’d hired before she left are still working there.
*Small business owners tend to wait too long to hire. Hiring the right person for the right job will be worth the investment because they can be working on what you shouldn’t be.
*She was initially dead set against having a time blocked week – until she did it. It was the best thing she ever did. (She shared a screen shot of what she does.)
*How did she get over fears or discomforts about changing: If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten.
*Fridays are buffer days: tie up loose ends. Go into the weekend knowing you’ve done what you can and can relax. You walk into Monday knowing you have a plan for what needs to get done.
*VIP clients knew they had special office hours only for them.
Connect with Nancy D. Butler, CFP®, CDFA®, CLTC®, CSA®:
Website: www.aboveallelse.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancybutlersuccess/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXJ9VpV6DNxQHp33Z9brTqQ
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aboveallelsesuccess https://www.facebook.com/nancy.butler.399
About Nancy Butler:
Starting with just $2,000 and no other source of income, Nancy grew an asset management and financial planning firm to $200 million in assets before selling it. With over 40 years of entrepreneurial success, she inspires and guides individuals to create more fulfilling lives and achieve their dreams, while helping business owners boost client satisfaction and profitability by an average of 250%. Her unique blend of personal, business, and financial expertise delivers measurable, lasting impact.
For other Time Management Revolution podcast episodes, visit:
…or wherever you get your podcasts!
For more recommendations on how to improve your time management skills (especially if you’re an entrepreneur), check out The Inefficiency Assassin: Time Management Tactics for Working Smarter, Not Longer.
