7 Weekly Must-Do's For Entrepreneurs

Most entrepreneurs have a lot on their minds, from the daily task list, to the quarterly marketing plan, to annual financials, and everything in between.  Of course, all of these items are important, but I've found it's also important to take running my business one week at a time.  Being mindful of the following "to-dos" each week has helped me build and grow several startups from the ground up.

1. Monitor your key metrics. At my company, CakeStyle, we've created a dashboard (lovingly dubbed “Real Talk”) so we can quickly get a snapshot of the metrics that matter most to our business and how they are trending: daily sales, margins, site traffic, orders from new clients, repeat rates of existing clients, average transaction amounts and inventory levels, for example. Watching closely allows you to detect negative trends early and intervene before they create a major issue.
2. Step back and look at the big picture. Don't lose the forest for the trees.  Take a moment each week to think about the strategic direction of the company.  Where do you want to be in 6 months, 1 year, 5 years?  What steps do you need to take to get there?  Your company and industry won't stop evolving just because you're not watching. Set your own strategic direction or prepare to be surprised by where your business ends up.
3. Keep your door (and your mind) open.  As an entrepreneur, one of your most important jobs is to be available and ready to talk to your team and customers whenever they reach out to you. We have an open floor plan at CakeStyle (no cubes, no private offices), so I like to work on projects that require quiet and concentration from home, and then when I’m at my desk in the office, be completely available to my colleagues. I also stay mentally open-minded: since one of CakeStyle's goals is to lead innovation in ecommerce, we treat all ideas as good ideas, even if they run counter to way it’s "always been done". Sometimes defying convention is the only way to get ahead.
4. Give praise for a job well done.  Be sure to call it out when one of your team members is nailing their job. Everyone loves to be recognized and genuine praise goes a long way for your company, too. By encouraging your team to keep up the good work, you will likely see more of the same. Reward your rockstar team members with a chance to work on interesting new projects in addition to monetary bonuses when they go above and beyond.
5. Try a tangent. Some of the best strategic moves come from the oddest places. Spend just a little time running down a strange idea to see where it goes. Leave the blinders on and you will miss out on real opportunities.  For example, social media market research company Lab42, was developed at startup foundry Sandbox Industries after the folks at Sandbox conducted a market research survey using Facebook as a source for respondents in a highly-specific demographic. They realized they were onto something and spun off Lab42, which is now leading innovation in the market research space.  Similarly, Google encourages employees to spend 20% of their time working creative projects outside of their job descriptions.
6. Maintain that spark.  Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint. Don't work so hard that you burn yourself out or lose your spark.  Be sure to exercise, get a full night of sleep and devote enough time for your personal relationships and hobbies.  Being a well-rounded person will keep you fresh, and make you a better leader and innovator.  Being an exhausted workaholic is actually counterproductive.
7. Walk the walk. Your team takes its cues from you about how they should feel about the state of the business and how they should treat each other and your customers. You are the captain of your company's culture, so be the kind of person you want your team to be. Your mood, emotions and the behavior you model are contagious, so come to the office energized and enthusiastic.