As you may have heard or seen running a business, especially a small business can be draining. So many jobs and not enough hours in the day or enough people to share the load. The biggest killer of small businesses is managing processes and administrative tasks.
There are so many elements to a business and sometimes you forget that. A few tweaks can make things run better meaning the business overall will operate better.
We have put together a few areas that you can help make your day and business run a bit smoother. If you think of more let us know and we can add them to help everyone.
Go Digital
Use technology to help streamline what you do and how much time you spend doing tasks.
- Automate payments
- Automate Marketing
- Automate customer interaction
- Use digital accounting software (scan receipts, run reports & so much more).
- Use online messaging & calls
- Create a digital diary and sync across all devices
Get connected
Keeping on top of customers, suppliers and sales can be difficult.
- Use a CRM/Database to keep track of all communication
- Automate messages, newsletters or auto-responders
- Create an online meeting portal for people to manage appointments with you, remove the back & forth
Eliminate distractions
There are so many things that can stop you in your tracks and lead to a job taking longer than it should or not being the best because you took your eye off the ball.
- Turn off sounds on PC, phones or tablets
- Close and lock yourself away
- Choose the right location for the right job (noisy coffee shops for accounting might not be the best move).
- Answer emails at different parts of the day or in chunks
Stay organised
This one is key. If you work in a mess the likeness you will portray this to your customers and your work will inevitably be the same.
- Keep a diary, digital works best sync across all devices
- Keep email folders organised, delete old or unused emails
- Keep servers and PC/hard-drive folders organised and clear
- Plan, Plan, Plan – this is for anything
- Keep notes, try planning what you are doing tomorrow before tomorrow comes then you can walk in knowing how to attack the day
See whats working
This is basic but something that many miss and should use more to get the best results and assist growth.
- Use analytics to monitor what is working
- Send automated polls or surveys via social media or email
Focus on what you’re best at
We left this one to last so you can really let it sink in and remember it. This is the one point many business owners hate and will argue with. Outsourcing.
With so many tasks to do it can be overwhelming. Getting a VA to answer your phone calls or perhaps someone in to hang a shelf or even bigger tasks like managing marketing does not mean you are a bad business person. Quite the opposite in fact.
Did you know that the best business men and women out there understand the importance of delegation of work to staff and/or outsourced companies or individuals. This is good so you can focus on the core part of the business that got you into business in the first place. You can focus on moving the business forward and growing.
Non-essential tasks or tasks that a specialist can do means it gets done right, quickly and all parts work together effectively.
If you need advice on implementing these into your business give us a call.
