Millennial workers have received a bad reputation for being lazy and unmotivated. A 2016 study has laid some of these criticisms to rest. The study found that millennials are often much harder workers than older generations. An astonishing 44% of millennial workers are “martyrs” in the workplace, compared to only 29% of all workers.
However, their hard work doesn’t always translate into results. This is particularly evident with millennial entrepreneurs. They may be highly determined, but they often like the direction needed to actually be productive.
Here are some common productivity mistakes that millennial entrepreneurs make.
Confusing networking with socializing
Most millennial business owners appreciate the need to build relationships with potential clients, investors, contractors and referral partners. There are many great networking groups for them to build these connections. These groups can be very effective if they are done properly.
However, many entrepreneurs don’t build many meaningful connections through these groups. In actuality, they are spending most of their time socializing rather than building real networking connections.
There is nothing wrong with unwinding by talking to new people, but don’t confuse it with expanding your business. Before joining any networking group, you want to make sure that it aligns with your long-term goals. Decide what you hope to accomplish with the group and set clear benchmarks to measure progress. These benchmarks can include generating at least two new leads every week or finding a new team member by the end of the month.
Not prioritizing time based on your own observations
I was a member of a business incubator in Northern California a few years ago. The executive director was a very smart and hard-working man, but failed to make any headway reaching new partners. When pressed about it, chairman said: “Sometimes people don’t do things wrong, but focus on the wrong things.”
This is a very common problem among entrepreneurs, especially younger ones. Millennial entrepreneurs often have the beginnings of excellent business models. The problem is that they often lack confidence in their own ideas. They turn to mentors for advice.
These well-meaning mentors often lead them astray. Their advice may have worked well for somebody else, but isn’t ideal for young entrepreneur. They often waste time and resources on projects that won’t go anywhere, instead of focusing on building off of their own successes.
Focusing on digital technology trends without a clear vision
JP Prater has emphasized the importance of setting up your calendar for success.
“My best “productivity hack” is guarding my calendar and setting a time aside for actual work. I make sure to not schedule any meetings during the morning, so I go heads-down and get things done.”
This advice is particularly important for millennials that invest too much time on new technology that doesn’t help them meet their goals.
Online technology is fueling business growth in unprecedented ways. However, it has also become a massive time drain for many young entrepreneurs.
The biggest example is with social media marketing. This is a topic that came up in one of my discussions in a Biznik group conversation a couple years ago. One of the members was a 25-year-old entrepreneur that had just finished college. This is a common mistake many young entrepreneurs make.
He admitted that he spent two hours a day trying to promote his new brand on social media. After a few months without seeing any results, he decided to pull back on it and focus on more beneficial things. His Business gained a lot more momentum, which showed him that he had been wasting time on social media.
Social media can be extremely valuable. However, you need to make sure that you invest in it properly. As with any aspect of running a business, you need to establish clear goals and have a solid road map before you invest your time and resources into it. Too many young business owners get caught up in the euphoria of social media, so they end up wasting too much time.
The same can be said about big data. Big data is a new trend that is driving growth across almost every sector. The problem is that many businesses invest a lot of time and money in big data without knowing what they want to get out of it.
Before investing any new technology, you need to know what its capabilities are and what problems you hope to solve. Don’t invest in it until you know exactly how it will fit into your long-term plan.