Every entrepreneur and freelancer, no matter the field, has one goal in the early days: Success. That means making your business profitable so you can build a good life for yourself and your family.
I know plenty of people who miss that goal because they lack speed. This matters a lot especially at the start. I’m talking about how fast you take the steps that lead to success. From everyday things like how quickly you type, to how fast you launch your idea, or how quickly you try out different marketing and sales tactics. Without speed, you never reach the point where your business starts to pick up momentum.
We all heard at school that "it’s better to do it right than to do it fast." My experience as a freelancer or entrepreneur just starting out says the opposite. Speed is essential. You need to do things well and fast. If I had to pick just one, in the early days, I’d pick speed.
Is speed the only reason people fail? No. But it’s one of the most common reasons I see among clients, friends, and acquaintances launching businesses.
If you can talk to 20 potential clients a day, you’ll do much better than someone who talks to 3. If you try 5 marketing activities a month, your odds of success are much higher than if you try one every six months. If you build your site in 3 days, you’re ahead of someone who takes 3 years (yes, both happen). If you write 5 blog posts a month, you’re better off than writing one every two months.
Speed matters in your actual service or product too. I know a barber who finishes a haircut in 6 minutes and another who takes 30 for the same job. I’ve seen the difference in their quality of life. It’s night and day.
I’ve been to restaurants where you get your first dishes 5 minutes after sitting down, and others where it takes 20. Same number of tables. The first group thrives. The second group blames the economy or tough times. The difference is just speed.
If you can produce twice as many products or services in a day, your profits jump, since your fixed costs usually stay about the same. And if all these actions help you hit €30,000 in sales a month, you’re way ahead of someone who needs three months for the same turnover.
When you move fast, you get more done and set the pace for your team. You radiate energy and excitement to potential clients and serve your existing ones better.
How can you get faster?
Chase it. Keep the saying "fortune favors the fast" in mind. Learn to type quickly, speak quickly, think quickly. Do more now. Don’t put off what you can do today. Better to do more now than less over time.
Some more tips:
- Don’t fear mistakes, don’t chase perfection. Don’t try to plan the perfect sales call. Just do it and learn from small failures. What you learn by doing beats anything you’ll get from theory.
- Talk less on each call. Say what you need to say, then move on so you can reach more people.
- If you can meet online, do it instead of wasting time in the car.
- If a meeting isn’t needed, skip it. I’ve "saved" plenty of meetings by asking a couple of questions and wrapping things up over the phone.
- Use tech wherever it saves you time. Learn keyboard shortcuts, keep your hands off the mouse. For tasks you do hundreds of times a day, every second counts.
- Delegate time-consuming tasks to others (not always easy at the start).
Think about what you can automate, and what you can cut out entirely from your daily routines and work processes.
Does speed lead to mistakes?
Yes! But you’ll get more done, pick up more experience, learn from more missteps, and figure out what works faster.
Some advice to handle or reduce the downsides of moving fast:
- Accept that you won’t do everything perfectly. There’s always room to improve, and you can usually fix things later.
- When you rush to answer emails, talk on the phone, or finish meetings, you might come off as abrupt or even rude. You might say or write things you shouldn’t. Be ready to apologize—a lot.
- Explain to your team why you’re in a hurry. They’ll understand more. Maybe send them this blog post ;)
- For decisions with big consequences, think twice. Partnerships and hires, for example. If the stakes are high, get a second or third opinion from people who get what you’re trying to do and who you trust. Over time, you’ll learn when to go fast and when to slow down.
- Know yourself. Map out your weak spots and avoid trouble. If you see you can’t handle certain situations well, hand them off. For example, I realized (after years, unfortunately) that I lose patience with slow clients who focus on process over substance. So I let team members with more patience handle those conversations.
Got other ideas? Share them in the comments below.
Is speed enough to succeed?
No. Quality, attention to detail, and effectiveness matter too... and you need a bit of luck. But if you move fast and do a lot in a short time, you’ll figure out what really matters and become more productive. Plus, the more you do, the "luckier" you’ll get!
Move fast, do more today and every day, and succeed! I’d love to hear from you about your experience.
