In my conversations with business owners, there are issues and problems that seem to arise over and over again. They’re the same problems most owners deal with, the same ones I deal with. We found this article by Roberta Matuson to be very practical and helpful - 7 common mistakes business owners make and how to avoid them. I’m all about avoidance when it comes to mistakes! Take a look and let us know what you think. Do you have any other tips to add to the list?

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I've been in business for over 20 years and have seen my share of mistakes made by business owners — many that certainly could have been avoided. Here’s my list of common mistakes business owners make, along with advice on how to avoid following suit.

1. Failure to hire for fit.
Think about a job that you worked in that didn’t work out. Was it because you didn’t have the skills to do the job, or was it because your values did not align with the organization’s?

I’m betting it was most likely ...

Atomic Habits has been recommended to me a number of times so it got moved up to the top of my reading list and it did not disappoint!

In some ways, it’s just really practical. Habits take time. The more often you do something, the more it becomes a habit - whether good or bad.

What makes this book stand out in my opinion is how James Clear says we are to achieve the habits we want. It’s not about motivation, it’s about systems. Small actions over time equal big results.

My 3 biggest takeaways are:

• It’s practical. The framework for creating good habits professionally and personally is easy to understand.
• In order to lead your team well, you need to have good habits. An owner cannot expect his/ her team to have good habits if they don’t model that behaviour themselves.
• It’s self explanatory. Following the methods of the book will allow you more bandwidth for greater productivity in your life and business. 

Right now is the perfect time of year to read this book as it's the be...