As a small business owner, you have a lot on your plate. From dealing with employees, creating schedules, keeping customers happy, and juggling your finances, you may feel like your business is going to spiral out of control. However, streamlining your daily operations and improving the efficiency of your small business will do wonders. By streamlining daily operations, you’ll increase productivity, grow your revenue, and reduce your stress! While it may seem complex at first, taking time to revamp your business will help you in the long run. Consider these 3 simple business tactics to streamline your daily operations to run a better small business.
Outsource
This strategy can be hard to come to terms with. Many small business owners want to keep matters in their own hands and maintain control of every aspect of their business. However, this is unreasonable and unrealistic. It’s almost impossible to be an expert in every field of business ownership. For example, you may know all there is to know about creating the perfect latte, but when it comes to marketing your small cafe, you may be stuck. Sometimes, it’s good to let go of the reins so you can focus on your strengths and let someone else take care of your weaknesses. Take a look at the following areas of business you can outsource work to:
Finances: Money is always a difficult area to manage. Keep you and your employees satisfied with FinancePal’s payroll services for small business. Satisfied employees will deliver top quality customer service, helping your business grow and bring in more clientele!
Marketing: Growing your business should be your top priority. However, you may find yourself swamped with other areas of work, leaving marketing on the backburner. Take advantage of free social media management services such as Hootsuite to manage all of your social media posts.
Freelancers: Sometimes you need to get a simple job done that doesn’t require a full-time employee. Hire freelance laborers through TaskRabbit to help you with a myriad of jobs, such as a professional accountant to file your taxes, fixing a leaky pipe, or landscaping.
Human Resources: Owning a small business means you may be unable to afford to staff a human resources department. Outsource this department to services such as Zenefits that will take care of all your human resource worries.
Use Software
Let’s face it, technology is taking over the world. The fast-growing pace of technology is inevitable, so if you can’t beat it, join it. While many small business owners want to stay away from learning about all the new technology that is available, if you take the time to learn about different functions of software and technologies can help grow your business tenfold. Consider these following cutting edge software systems you should implement into your small business to streamline your daily operations:
Communication: Communication is key when it comes to running an efficient small business. Use software such as Slack so all of your employees can reach each other any time of the day.
File Storage: Eliminate piles of unorganized documents and papers by investing in “the cloud.” Use software such as Dropbox or Tresorit to securely store all of your files.
Sales: If you’re a small business, you’re most likely selling something. Whether it’s a product or a service, it’s important to keep track of your sales. Use software such as Salesforce to get insight on which products are doing well and areas that need improvement to satisfy your customers.
Keep Track of Time
As they say, time is money. It’s estimated that most small businesses won’t see a profit until after 2 years or more from their opening. If you want to grow your business, you need to keep track of your time, and your employee’s time, to ensure everyone is being productive. Use management software such as Trello to assign tasks, create projects, and view everyone’s calendar in order to stay on top of upcoming deadlines. With Asana, you can pair it with Everhour, a time tracking software that allows you to view how long certain tasks take. This will give you a better understanding of how to schedule tasks, set priorities, and meet deadlines on time.
Wrapping Up
Overall, running a small business is no easy task. However, you can make your life as a small business owner a little easier with these streamlining tips. So, what’s the wait? Outsource those hard-to-do tasks, invest in the latest software, and keep track of your time to get your business up and running!
