The journey to success is a marathon, not a sprint

While deciding what to write this month for the Coonabarabran Times, I couldn’t believe that it has been nearly 12 months since starting out on this journey. Throughout the course of the year I have come to realise how much I’ve learnt about the process of story-telling, which is not an accountant’s natural skillset.

Initially there were no dramas, with plenty of inspiration available. However, over time, more and more business commitments and personal priorities had to be juggled. Inevitably there will always be conflicting choices to make in regard to investing time, and unexpected events that can cause stress and derail even the best of plans.

I was lucky enough to recently hear from an author and expert in time management who presented to the Forsyths leadership team, with some simple but very effective advice. When planning anything in business, to always ask ourselves ‘what has the most impact in the long term?’

It seems that we are always trying to move faster and get more things done in today’s fast-paced world and it so easy to get caught up on short term results and instant gratification. To be successful it is much more effective to invest in things that make a difference long term.

Here are a few tips for tackling this thought process:
1. Think quarterly, plan weekly, act daily. Having a long-term plan is great, but you then need to start setting some clear and measurable goals that you can use to formulate a plan of attack. This will prioritise your time and energy on the right activities and help avoid distractions.

2. Stay ahead of the curve. By being proactive and thinking ahead you can anticipate changes in agriculture or other industries you may operate in, and gain a competitive advantage through innovating, or simply by being better informed.

3. Invest time in learning. As the world of business continues to evolve, you have to stay up to date with the latest news, trends and technologies. Investment in continued learning always helps make better decisions. This can be as simple as listening to a good podcast (I’ve previously mentioned Seeds for Success which is worth another plug as it is relevant to agriculture in our region, and easy to listen to while travelling), or reading The Land which is full of great informative articles that provide good down to earth good advice, and of course the Coona Times!

4. Build strong relationships. Building better relationships with your colleagues, customers, and community will take time but will provide benefits for years to come.

5. Most of all, look after yourself. Make time to do something other than work and very importantly strike a healthy balance between work and down time with those you love. Any business whether it is a farm or otherwise will benefit from a plan. It might take ten years to get where you want to be but having a simple plan will get you started.

This is my last article in this series and so I hope you have gained something along the way with me. For now this is me signing off and I hope to see you round! If you are starting off or growing a new business come and see the team at Forsyths for help with setting yourself up for success!

Andrew Freebairn
PRINCIPAL – BUSINESS SERVICES