Do you invest most of your time in your business, but it is still not enough to get everything done and obtain the results you were hoping for? Managing a business, no matter its size and its specific, is not easy. Most entrepreneurs work six or even seven days a week to get it done. Quite a few fail and find themselves forced to shut down their business.
If you were expecting to see cash flowing into your bank account while you relax at home or on the beach, think again. However, there are things you can do to make your work easier and improve its results. You will find five easy to follow tips that will surely get you started in the right direction below.
5 Tips on Improving Your Business Management Effectiveness:
1. Get More Organized:
As a manager, you need to be involved in everything related to your business: recruitments and human resources management, bookkeeping, production, acquisition and supplies, sales, marketing, customer service, and more. You probably waste important minutes switching from phone to emails and from papers to computers, struggling to find your way through everything and stay on top.
It is time to bring some order to the chaos on your desk, in your computer, and in your head. There are business management software solutions that can help you control all the aspects of your business from a single platform.
You will have everything stored securely in the cloud, and effective communication solutions within reach, even on the go. You can set reminders when you need to, send notifications to anyone you choose, and monitor any aspect of your business, from productivity to employee performance, cash flow, customer satisfaction, and more.
2. Prioritize:
According to David Finkel, every week, you waste 21.8 hours on low- and no-value activities. He and his company reached this conclusion after surveying key executives and business managers. According to their findings, every week, business leaders spend on average:
- 8 hours on low-value activities they could delegate
- 9 hours on mental health breaks (social media and YouTube videos streaming)
- 4 hours on low-value emails
- 2 hours on unnecessary, low-value interruptions
- 8 hours on handling low-value employee requests
- 8 hours on solving problems they could have prevented
- 1 hour on unproductive, useless meetings
Unless you’re willing to give up your personal life in favor of your professional one, it is time to reconsider the way you spend your time. Are you really accomplishing everything you could in the hours you spend at the office?
Start your day with the really important activities, delegate the ones that do not require your personal input, avoid unnecessary meetings, and interruptions. Set priorities, rules, and protocols everyone should follow before getting to you (be careful, though, because you do not want to appear careless or inaccessible), and turn off your phone if you have to. With a little time and practice, you will learn to plan your days and weeks much better and to use your time more effectively.
3. Automate Tasks:
Automating business processes means using computing technology to manage information, processes, and data more effectively, in such a way as to reduce costs, use fewer resources, and improve productivity.
The most intuitive examples refer to switching from paper to electronic invoices and from site meetings to video conferences. However, the opportunities are endless and not too costly. In fact, many business management tools include easy to implement and efficient automation solutions.
4. Outsource:
It is better to leave something you are not very good at to professionals and pay for the service than invest time and effort in doing it yourself and risk doing more harm than good. According to Statista, 74% of businesses worldwide outsource their IT services in 2018, and 87% plan to maintain or increase their outsourcing in the future.
Besides IT, you can also outsource bookkeeping, customer service, HR management, and many other parts of your business. Just choose your service providers carefully, taking into account not only their financial expectations, but also their experience, reputation, and willingness to adjust their service to your needs.
5. Observe and Adapt:
You had a business idea and a plan to turn it into a success. However, your target customers did not buy into it. You can follow the same plan blindly, hoping it will eventually pay out, or you can use the feedback you receive to adjust.
You may need to change your marketing strategy or come up with totally different products or services. The key is to never give up, but learn from your mistakes and move on. If you’re not sure it is a viable strategy, think of Thomas Edison and his over 1,000 patents, of Elon Musk and his ventures into finance, automotive, and even space.
Final Tip:
Implementing the tips above may take some time and effort. However, it is not something you cannot accomplish. When you doubt your abilities, remember that the only limits to what you can accomplish are those you set yourself.
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