We all got into business to change our lot in life, to make ends meet and to make things better. We all want to grow our businesses, yet no matter how many fantastic ideas you come up with, no matter what kind of strategies you dream up, there are only ever so many hours in the day. And inevitably, when you’re running a small to medium business, some of that time has got to be spent on admin.
Luckily, there are a whole host of ways to save time and money when you’re running your own business, but first you’ve got to be aware of the ways in which you’re operating. This means being analytical about every process you have and trying to work out if there’s a better way to do it.
Time Is Money
We’ve all heard the saying “time is money” but, if you’re a small business owner, then it’s something you need to be particularly conscious of. Naturally this applies to every business owner, although it’s especially important when a business is in its initial growth phase, or during periods or accelerated growth and expansion.
We all know that business owners and entrepreneurs wear multiple hats and are specialists at juggling everything from accounts to payroll to marketing and sales, but whilst jumping in and helping out in every situation is often the first instinct of entrepreneurial business owners, you’re effectively devaluing your own time. More than this, by spending your time ineffectively working in your business, you are reducing the amount of time you’ve got to work on your business.
This is because, as a business owner, your primary role is to spend your time as efficiently as possible, so that you can strategically grow your business and make sure it’s the success it ought to be.
Inefficient Working
There are numerous ways in which your time can be spent ineffectively; it could be anything from the processes you use through to the systems you’ve got in place, or even just doubling up by doing jobs that someone else is already doing.
The first place to start when thinking about how to be more efficient is to look at your processes. This may sound technical, but a process is simply a sequence of procedures joined together; processes use resources (time, electricity, devices, money etc.) to turn inputs (data, designs, materials, parts etc.) into outputs (either your finished product or the inputs of other processes until the goal is reached). Essentially, the faster you can get from input to output, the less resources will be used and the more time you’ll have to work on your business.
Hence, if not managed properly, your processes are likely to be the biggest thing consuming your resources, so it’s crucial to evaluate them regularly and ensure you’re working as lean and efficiently as possible. If you’re still working with out-of-date systems, you may find your processes are being drawn out more than is required to meet the goal.
Making Changes
Fortunately, there are some quick and easy changes that you can make immediately, which should make your working day more efficient from the outset;
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Emails
If you don’t have an effective system to manage your emails, they can very quickly get on top of you. For once thing, it’s important to check and answer your emails regularly throughout the day to prevent them building up into an unmanageable task. Secondly, by using some of the many tools supplied by your email provider, such as creating folders, using to-do lists or filtering your emails and collating them into groups based on priority or sender, you’ll be able to manage your emails more effectively.
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Scheduling
Good scheduling is often quoted by successful entrepreneurs as being one of the most important factors in their success. Whether you choose to schedule your entire working week or just specific projects, it’s a good idea to use a calendar that can sync with your emails, such as Outlook, to schedule in tasks and block out your time for specific periods. And, most importantly, once you’ve set yourself a working schedule, stick to it!
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Know Your Rhythm
One of the most important things you can do is understand how you work and play to your strengths, by planning the most important tasks for when you’re most effective. For example, if you’re a morning person, then schedule the biggest tasks for the start of the day, but if you work better in the evenings then leave them until everyone else has gone home and you can get some peace.
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Take Note
The most efficient entrepreneurs always say that writing things down is the best way to stay efficient and make sure things don’t get forgotten. It’s advisable to keep a notepad with you at all times and get into the habit of writing everything down, as this not only works as an aid memoir but also helps you to sort out what needs dealing with and when. To-do lists are also the best way of keeping track of your tasks, prioritising jobs and preventing you from getting distracted or thrown off course.
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Remind Yourself
Once you’re got your schedules and to-do lists organised, it’s important to make sure you use them and stick to them, especially if some tasks can’t be done immediately and must wait some time to be completed. Setting yourself reminders is the most reliable way of making sure everything stays on track, so try to set up a system that works for you. For example, if you’re using Outlook, then you can easily sync your reminders with your calendars and to-do lists, although reminders on your phone can work just as well.
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Keep On Learning
It doesn’t matter what business sector you’re in, your industry will be constantly evolving and changing so it’s vital that you are too. Unfortunately, this is an essential element that many business owners overlook, often due to a lack of time or mistaken prioritising, yet failure to do so can be detrimental, if not outright dangerous to your business. Without continuous learning, not only will you never know if there’s a better way to do things, but you and your business will also stagnate and, eventually, be overtaken by your competitors. At the very least, you should set aside regular periods to learn and share industry news, although best business practice would be to dedicate a little time each day to keeping abreast of the latest developments.
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Evaluate Regularly
Whatever systems and processes you set up, it’s vital that you evaluate them regularly and update them as required. For example, it’s wise to keep up-to-date with new technological advancements to see if they could make your business more efficient, or cut out excessive stages or waste whenever you can. If you become an expert in your business’ systems and tools, then you’ll quickly be able to see where efficiencies can be made.
Speak To Us
Every business is different, so there’s never going to be one solution that will make every business more efficient, but with a little creative thinking you can probably save yourself both time and money.
Having worked with many businesses of all sizes for over 30 years now, North West Digital have pretty much seen it all and can help you find much needed efficiencies in your everyday document management systems. Whatever your business or sector, we have a document management solution that can help you save time and money, freeing you up to focus on what matters most – the continued development of your business.
If you’d like to get in touch, you can contact us in any of the following ways; by phone on 0161 477 8950, by email at info@ or by filling out the contact form on the website for one of the team to get back to you.