The modern marketplace is highly competitive and anything that gives your business the edge is worth trying. The trouble is many businesses get bogged down in daily meetings, endless emails, and unproductive merry-go-rounds where nothing really gets done. This type of practice is endemic in big businesses and gigantic corporations, but if you run a small business, it really needn’t be this way at all. So how can you make your business a lot more productive?
Staying focussed is the key to efficiency. Unless you are highly focussed, it is very easy to procrastinate, so make sure you devote the first hour of your day to growing the business. Dividing your working day into manageable slots is another useful way of maximising efficiency. Most of us start to lose concentration after an hour, so divide tasks into 45 minute chunks and don’t let yourself be side tracked until the task has been completed.
Technology is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand it helps make hundreds of tasks a million times easier, but on the other it provides an awful lot of opportunities for mindless escapism. Take Facebook for example. How many employees, on average, spend a considerable part of their day wasting time updating their Facebook status and posting messages?
But although social networks can be ruinously distracting, if you make good use of technology your business will be far more productive. Expensive technology solutions such as custom software development are not cheap, but there are plenty of free platforms you can utilise to increase workflow and employee productivity – DropBox and Google Docs being two good examples.
Office space is not cheap. Depending on your address, you could be paying a small fortune for office space. However, this is one area where you can make some real savings if you are willing to compromise. Renting shared office space is perfect for small business. This will give you access to plush meeting rooms and communal breakout space, plus plenty of networking opportunities, all for a lot less money than a self-contained office. If you haven’t considered it before – try it and see how much more productive your employees will be as a result of the extra collaborative opportunities available to them.
Small business owners need to pay attention to their company’s expenses. Use software to keep a track on what you are spending and where. Negotiate better rates with suppliers and if they won’t play ball, find a new supplier who is willing to give you a better price.
Most small businesses fail, not as a result of poor management, but because their cashflow dries up and they can’t afford to pay suppliers. Always make credit control a priority and don’t assume you have work on the books until it has been confirmed.
These are just a few of the many techniques you can use to make your business more effective and productive, so try a few on for size and see what a difference they make to your bottom line.
