The initial days after starting a small business are challenging. A small business owner is responsible for everything from employee recruiting and administration to customer acquisition. The key to successfully running a small business is to get your hands on some essential tips for managing employees, time, productivity, and money.
Here are 10 beneficial tips for effectively managing your small business:
1. Prepare a To-do list
Begin your day with a plan. Prepare a to-do list and list the priorities at the top. You can divide your day into chunks. Focus on completing client work at first; during the afternoon, you can reply to queries via email and social media or engage with professionals on LinkedIn for business development.
2. Schedule online appointments with clients
Many clients might be unable to be physically present at your office for meetings. On the other hand, you may have clients all over the world. In such circumstances, an online appointment scheduling software like Picktime can help you manage work effortlessly. Picktime empowers your clients to self-book appointments 24×7, and make payments online using credit cards or payment processors such as PayPal, Stripe, and Square. Also, send automated email and SMS reminders to your clients.
You can add your employees to your dashboard and monitor their work schedules and leaves. Picktime simplifies resource allocation and prevents schedule conflict by letting you sync your external Google/Outlook/iCloud calendar with the online calendar. Generate service invoices and send feedback forms to your clients via email.
3. Hire employees with the right attitude
During the hiring process, an important characteristic to look out for is the attitude of the candidate. An employee with a non-cooperative attitude will be harmful to your business. Even if the employee is not an expert but just a beginner in their field, you can always train them to become better. But attitude is hard to build. So look for employees with the right attitude who can gel well with other people and work effortlessly in teams.
4. Employ the Pomodoro technique
You can use the famous Pomodoro technique for time management at the workplace. The strategy entails working continuously for 25 minutes and then taking a short break for 5 minutes. Repeat the same until you finish 4 segments. After that, you may take a longer lunch break. This strategy keeps you from doing needless things throughout the workday, such as playing games or checking social media, and it ensures that you finish your work earlier than intended.
5. Cut costs with outsourcing jobs
As a small business owner, you have to be more stringent on costs. More often than not, the money saved is more than the money earned for a small business during the initial days. You can outsource jobs of content writing, graphic designing, and web designing to freelancers. It will save your costs of hiring full-time workers.
6. Avoid multitasking to reduce the burden
Delegation of tasks to employees is essential to reduce stress. As a small business owner, you have to think about the times when you might not be available due to some mishaps. That will make you learn to let go and allow others to take charge. You might be a multi-tasker but you cannot single-handedly run a business. Trust your employees and their skills and delegate tasks according to their expertise. You can always take daily updates from them and offer them help with a job but do not mistrust them with work.
7. Automate day-to-day tasks to free up time
Small businesses have few employees, and therefore, deadline issues build up now and then. Furthermore, small businesses are always busy managing daily activities and sometimes forget to focus on business development. One method to free up your time as a small business owner is to automate day-to-day tasks. Of course, all tasks cannot be automated, but you can automate social media updates, payroll management, and invoicing. Certain apps, such as Hootsuite, allow you to schedule posts on social media that will be posted automatically at the specified time.
8. Invest in Digital Marketing Techniques
Small businesses need unique and compelling ideas to influence people to listen to them and avail their products or services. Without a doubt, the internet can be a small business owner’s best channel to reach out to the clients they need. Research and learn about digital marketing techniques like online content marketing, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, influencer marketing, and PPC ads. You should hire a digital marketer to help you promote your business online; discuss together, and decide what is right for your business.
9. Measure your business performance
Monitor and measure everything- return on investments, expenses, revenue, productivity levels, and the efficiency of your employees. It provides you with opportunities for determining your strengths and weaknesses and chances for improvement.
10. Keep your employees happy
Allow your employees to work flexible hours if an emergency arises during the day. Reward them for their efforts and stand by their side at difficult times. Be a leader, not a tyrant. Instead of commanding your staff, ask them to finish their tasks on time and seek assistance if necessary. You might also organize a shared lunch or a day out with your team to strengthen bonds. Not all of us are born with entrepreneurial skills but we can develop them over time. Follow these ten tips but remember, there is always room for experimentation. You have to keep trying new methods and figure out what is best for your business in the long run.
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