As a small business owner, you are one of the hardest working people in the world. Just getting a business idea off the ground can cost you a fortune in time and energy. Many of us spend between eighty and one hundred hours a week developing an idea all the way to launch. We think about what needs to be done during every waking minute, and probably in our dreams too.
But, once the business is up and running, and you’re starting to see results, the pressure doesn’t always reduce. Many business owners are still working sixty hours a week years later. So how can you possibly keep up the momentum of your business? You want to see it continually grow and thrive, but when will you get a break or when will the showers of stress stop pouring?
Managing your time more effectively is something that many entrepreneurs would love to do. There have been several good articles written about the subject. There are several techniques to help the busy business owner do more in less time. For those of you with no time to make more time, here are a few simple hacks you can try:
Detail all the tasks you do as you do them in a day. Tot them up over a week. Are there over one hundred? Two hundred? You accomplish a great deal. Now create two columns. The tasks that directly earned the company money go into one. These might include client pitches, sales, and manufacturing. The administrative tasks that keep your business running can go into the second. This will include managing postage and packaging, accounting, and data collection.
Hiring some help can be an expensive proposition. But if you put a value on your time, it may work out cheaper to employ than not. Think about all those unskilled tasks you have to perform on a daily basis. Now work out how much you earn when you’re acquiring customers instead of doing admin. That’s the value of your time. Less admin means more customers. More customers mean more growth, bigger incomes, and greater success. That surely is worth the cost of a part-time salary?
Some of the day to day tasks can be shortened dramatically by tackling them in a different way. Your invoices can be created and sent to a client in just seconds using an app on your smartphone. Using software and apps to manage this part of your business can save you hours of work.
Think about how often you have to leave the workplace to manage the outbound mail. Just picking up the postage is time consuming enough. Fortunately, there are online solutions for this too. Order the postage you need in bulk online to rid yourself of this daily task forever. According to http://www.onlinestamp.net, you can even save the business cash doing it this way.
Keeping all your documents in the cloud means you can access them and edit them from any device, anywhere in the world, at any time. This can save you valuable hours of commuting too. USB sticks with your presentation can become a thing of the past. Just log on securely from any internet capable device to view it or show it. This means you will always be ready to pitch a prospective customer, or demonstrate your latest ideas.
If you’re reluctant to commit to hiring right now, you can always outsource. Remote services include telephone answering, message taking, and online chat. This allows you to get on with the things you do best. You can be busy building your business. An outsourced company ensures your business is always available to prospective customers.
Attending trade fairs and seminars allows your business to reach more prospective customers in one setting. Instead of approaching a single customer at a time, you can communicate to a roomful at once. There are also places you can reach potential business customers online in a similar manner. Save yourself the time and energy of thirty pitches by attending these events. There’s nothing stopping you hosting an event either.
Keeping your name and your company name in the public eye is key to building momentum in your business. Use events and seminars to bring large numbers of potential clients or customers to you at once. Provide a service for a nominal fee, and you’ll have a captive audience for an hour or two. They will see for themselves what you can offer. A networking event is ideal for this purpose, and takes little effort or time to prepare.
Use online business networking resources to promote your event. Print hard copy invitations and post them out to those contacts you already know. Email invitations can get lost or misfiled. Use your website, or a dedicated secondary site for promotion too. You can use local community centers or dedicated business centers as a venue. They can often provide catering and reception services as part of the hire fee. This saves you a lot of preparation and organization.
Automated email services can be very helpful to you. You only need the content. The software or app will send it out as regularly as you need. Use your networking events to collect email addresses. Your website should also be collating data that allows you to communicate with customers and potential clients like this. It saves you a great deal of time and trouble for your marketing efforts.
Keeping as much of your business online can save you a great deal of time and trouble. Take some time to find apps that will help you run your business in the way that supports you most. Work smarter, not harder is a term many of us have heard. But, it can be the way forward for you if you want to keep the momentum going for your business.
Businesses need to grow to continue successfully. And they need to adapt and change as markets do. You may always feel like you’re playing catch-up. Instead, you want to be pre-empting and staying ahead of things that may affect your business. Try some of these simple hacks to buy you the time you need to keep moving.
Photo by Favour Omoruyi
Milo Senalle
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