Using your time wisely is one of the smartest ways to get ahead in business. You just need to know how! Productivity hacks for business owners and work smarter tips are up for discussion on the latest episode of More Details, Please. Hosts Angela and Emmanuel kickstart the conversation with their insights. They’re also joined by award-winning businesswoman Courtney Lorenz, owner of Cultured Kombucha Co., the largest kombucha manufacturer in the Midwest.

Listen to the episode: Time is Money: How to Work Smarter, Not Longer on More Details, Please, hosted by Angela and Emmanuel Williams.

Are You Being Busy or Productive?

The phrase ‘time is money’ reminds us that time has value – and if we don’t spend it wisely, it can hold us back in life and work. Moreover, poor time management doesn’t just affect productivity; it can impact your bottom line. That’s why it pays to work smarter in time-efficient ways to get things done.

If you’re an ambitious entrepreneur, it’s easy to focus on how busy you are. However, this mindset can hold you back.  Angela says, ‘There will always be something to do. Being busy is a natural part of being in business. But “busy” is a buzzword right now. What you need to ask is, are you being productive?’ 

Courtney also shares her thoughts on this. ‘I think we often allow busyness into our lives as a form of self-sabotage. I think it’s our way of choosing to stay where we’re at because it’s simpler than choosing to be present. It’s simpler than making a hard decision to change something.’

Busyness also makes us feel like we’re hitting our goals. To illustrate, we know that the brain loves it when you check off tasks from your to-do list. Feeling productive releases dopamine, a feel-good hormone. However, as Angela highlights on the podcast, don’t confuse being busy with being productive. Instead, set meaningful tasks. Here are some tips:

• Instead of asking, Am I doing enough. Ask, Am I doing the right things to work smarter?
• What if you did less but with more focus?
• Focus on outcomes, not being busy. Results matter more than how much you do.

Productivity Hacks and Tools to Help You Work Smarter

Emmanuel and Angela started DetailXPerts, their mobile cleaning company and built a franchise network over 23 years ago. So, they know what a heavy workload looks like. One of their favorite productivity hacks for business owners is deep work sessions. These are uninterrupted blocks of time where you focus on important tasks that require your full attention. 

‘Deep work sessions have allowed us to achieve goals in a few hours that would normally have taken months, even years, to put together,’ says Emmanuel. For further reading on how to boost your creativity and productivity, check out the book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport. 

As well as deep work sessions, there are other tools and techniques to help you work smarter when there’s a lot going on. For example:

• Pomodoro technique. E.g. Set a timer and do 25 minutes of focused work followed by a 5-minute break. Then repeat. 
• Check out task manager apps. These tools help you prioritise and help you organise the stuff you need to do. 
• Your phone can be a huge distraction. Try a digital detox app like Forest, Freedom, or Focus.
• And don’t forget the power of saying No. Instead, prioritize what you need to do. 

Emmanuel also emphasizes the importance of not setting unrealistic deadlines. Otherwise, you put yourself under pressure, and this can affect your focus and your well-being. Moreover, accept that being an entrepreneur is not always plain sailing. Things can go wrong. See your mistakes as learning opportunities. Don’t miss the episode: How to bounce back from failure.

Passion, Purpose, and Kombucha

Courtney Lorenz, owner of Cultured Kombucha Co., also shares her insights on the podcast. She has turned her passion into a purpose, selling kombucha, which is a fermented tea that can support a healthier lifestyle. ‘I experienced autoimmune issues for many years,’ explains Courtney. ‘And when I discovered kombucha, it made an incredible addition to my day-to-day and made an impact on the symptoms I was experiencing.’

Her passion for this fermented drink started with selling a couple of buckets of kombucha at her local farmer’s market. ‘When I think back to the fact that I started this business with zero acumen, right, I had no idea getting into it, what it meant to really run a business. I just knew that I had a great product, and it had a great intention behind it,’ says Courtney. Now, 10 years later, her brand is sold in about 650 retail stores. 

For more conversations like this, listen to Angela and Emmanuel talk about living with purpose and leading a happier life.

Working Smarter to Avoid Burnout

When Courtney talks about her entrepreneurial journey, she confesses that ‘go’ was the only mode she had when she was building her business. There was no holding back. 

With a background in culinary arts, nutrition, and holistic health, Courtney has featured in Forbes, received five 40 Under 40 awards, and was named Alumni of the Year by both the Great Lakes Culinary Institute and Central Michigan University. 

However, longer hours at work pushed her close to burnout. ‘I could tell that other areas of my life started to suffer – relationships, my health and wellness, and energy towards others.  That’s when I knew I needed to re-evaluate.’ 

Listen to the full episode of the podcast to hear some of the ways Courtney’s learned to work smarter and motivate her team. She also discusses her love of Reiki and meditation, and the importance of work-life balance. ‘I know that if I don’t take care of myself, everything else is going to suffer.’

In a previous episode, Angela and Emmanuel have also discussed How to find your joy in entrepreneurship.

Scaling Your Business

Courtney has helped scale multiple businesses, including Cultured Kombucha Co. During the podcast episode, she shares her thoughts on how she makes it work.  ‘A lot of days it’s just straight up hard, but it’s a good hard because it makes us really evaluate what we are doing with our time, how and when. And so, we’ve had to take a hard look at what portions of our process we are best at and what someone else can do better for us.’

Equally important, personal growth is a part of Courtney’s success story. ‘Holding myself accountable, accepting that if I want something different, it’s me and only me who’s going to make that decision to see the transformation.’ She also talks about how consistency helps her stay focused and in control. 

For more conversations on scaling your business, tune into the podcast episodes Entrepreneurs share their secrets and tips and How to future-proof your business.

Conclusion

To sum up, you can learn to work smarter and adopt a business management mindset in various ways. Emmanuel, Angela and Courtney share their experience and productivity hacks to help you achieve more without running yourself into the ground. So if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by your business responsibilities and to-do list, hopefully this podcast episode will inspire you and help you focus on what matters.

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