Entrepreneurs running small businesses have a hectic lifestyle. Small business owners need to look after their employees, deal with clients, and connect with prospective leads. They are also responsible for monitoring the daily progress of their team. In such situations, it is always better to work smart by making the most of the time. This will also save money and let your business operate smoothly even with limited resources.
Find out 10 essential productivity tips that will help you to manage your small business more effectively.
1. Balance Your Priorities
As a small business owner, you have to focus on branding through connections and client servicing. Have a separate team for client servicing and prioritize it. Simultaneously, set clear objectives and deadlines for each task. Ask each team member to complete their task within the stipulated time. Assign tasks simultaneously for one week rather than daily. Let your team update you every day before logging out.
2. Recognize The Strengths of Team
Members
Firstly, remember to hire people with a good amount of experience in website designing, content writing, SEO, human resources, accounts and finance, client servicing, graphic designing, and website development. Make your team understand your business goals and delegate tasks to them according to their area of expertise. Observe your team members and find out their strengths. Delegate tasks that do not require your attention to your teammates while you focus on critical jobs.
3. Stay Connected With Team Members
The business world has evolved to accommodate newer forms of communication that require less physical interaction. Working from home has become the new normal, and as a result, communication tools such as Skype, Discord, and Slack have become popular ways to stay in touch with teammates. Ditch age-old practices communicating via emails. Install these apps, create an account, and virtually manage your team. Get live updates from employees and conduct team meetings on the same app. Share documents, links, and images with teammates in real-time.
4. Go For Online Appointment
Scheduling
Make client/customer appointment scheduling a breeze with free online appointment scheduling software like Picktime. Allow your clients to book appointments online and pay instantly using credit cards and payment processors such as PayPal, Stripe, and Square. You can generate invoices on services and automatically send a feedback form to your clients and customers via email and SMS. Stay organized by syncing your Google/Outlook/Apple calendar with Picktime to avoid scheduling conflicts with personal obligations. Track your employees in multiple office locations and add their working hours and break hours.
5. Chuck Out Distracting Activities
Small businesses are under pressure to raise brand awareness while also attracting new customers. Every hour spent at business development is crucial for a small business. You and your employees must both be on the lookout for new ways to increase output. Don't let your thoughts wander. Avoid checking personal messages and using social media during work hours. Instead of playing games on your phone, try connecting with prospective clients on LinkedIn or writing a blog for the website.
6. Protect Your Data From Threats
Small businesses must be having client information and other sensitive data that must not fall into the wrong hands. Even though external threats can be mitigated by virus and malware protection for your computer network, there are times when an insider, such as an employee, can inadvertently endanger critical data. Therefore, you must monitor the data transferred between your staff’s systems and external devices such as mobile phones, USB keys, and external hard drives.
7. Automate Social Media Posts
For any business, the amount of time it takes to complete a task is an important consideration. The key to success is to complete tasks in the shortest amount of time possible. Small businesses should try to automate repetitive tasks such as social media posts. Use Creator Studio for scheduling posts on Facebook and Instagram. For Twitter, one can use Tweet Deck and Hootsuite. These apps allow you to schedule your social media posts and then have them automatically posted for you.
8. Outsource Basic Tasks
"Content is King," said Bill Gates when predicting the internet's future as a marketplace for content. Today, one of the pillars on which businesses stand is content creation. Although it is a basic task, it cannot be automated or ignored. Therefore, outsourcing these tasks to a freelancer would be a great way to save time. Other tasks that can be outsourced include graphic design, website design, and SEO. It will not only save your time but also help you to save money.
9. Don't Overdo Email Campaigns
Small businesses rely on email marketing campaigns to spread brand awareness. However, emails sent at odd hours invade the precious work hours of the recipients, and as a result, they often hit the unsubscribe button at the speed of light! Limit your email marketing campaigns to no more than 4-6 emails per month. Include a visually appealing design with all the necessary information in the body. The content should be memorable and concise. Writing long paragraphs should be avoided at all costs. The preview text and the subject line of the email should be catchy to attract more open rates.
10.
Monitor.
Measure and Reward
Divide your day into chunks. Begin your day by composing and reviewing client proposals. Alternatively, keep track of what your employees are working on and offer them help if they are stuck. Concentrate on business development at noon. Monitor the progress of freelancers. Measure your performance as well as that of your employees and solicit their assistance and suggestions. Announce monthly rewards for top performers, such as lunch coupons or tokens of appreciation.
Productivity
does not increase by adding more work hours. Rather it depends on how much you
can accomplish in the least amount of time. However, ensure that you do not
lessen the quality of work because that should be your prime focus if you want
your clients to recommend you to other people. You may follow these
productivity tips and add your own methods. Above all, keep your employees
happy with a healthy work environment.
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