Sometimes all it takes are small changes to your operations to make your business more efficient. The real challenge can be making a change in your thinking.
It’s easy to fall into patterns over time that are comfortable but may not be the best use of your resources. As your business scales, these patterns can become more deeply ingrained into your company culture and even harder to break away from.
But here’s the thing: Just because “that’s the way it’s always been done” doesn’t necessarily mean it is the best way to do things. Little inefficiencies in your operations can really add up and hold your business back in the long run, so we recommend taking a step back now and then to do an efficiency assessment. After all, a more efficient business is a more profitable business.
A more efficient business is a more profitable business.
No matter what stage of growth your business is in, here are a few easy ways to help things run more smoothly, so you can save time and money for your business.
3 Easy Ways to Make Your Business More Efficient
1. Set clear goals
Inefficiencies in business often arise when there’s a lack of focus and poor planning. What are you looking to accomplish for your business this year? Are you and your employees trying to tackle too many things at once, leaving your resources stretched too thin?
Establish clear goals for the short and long term and outline a plan to achieve those goals. This will help to keep you and your staff focused on priorities.
When setting goals for your business, remember to make them S.M.A.R.T. goals:
- Specific: Your objectives should be concrete (not abstract) and highly detailed.
- Measurable: Put a figure or value, such as a dollar amount or percentage, to the objective.
- Action-oriented: Identify the actions that need to be taken to achieve your objectives.
- Realistic: Make goals challenging, but consider your resources so you can achieve them reasonably.
- Time-specific: Set a specific deadline to keep things on track.
2. Automate your processes
Technology is a business owner’s best friend (with coffee coming in as a close second). Cutting out the manual processes and using time-saving online tools can help to streamline the operations of any business, especially one that’s experiencing rapid growth.
If you’re like most business owners and you’re frequently on the move, automating everything you can for your business is an absolute must. This is why so many businesses are making the switch to cloud technology.
3 examples of tasks that every business should automate:
- Recurring bill payments
- Monthly invoicing
- Follow-up reminders on late payments
3. Delegate or outsource tasks
When you first launch a business, it’s easy to take on way too much responsibility – even the tasks that you’re perfectly unqualified to handle yourself. This is not only risky for your business, but it’s not at all sustainable. Hellooo, burnout!
No matter how ambitious you are, you simply can’t do everything yourself – and you especially can’t do everything and do it well. Particularly when it comes to tasks related to your business finances and operations.
Delegate tasks to your staff or outsource them to virtual assistants so you can make better use of your own precious, limited time. Outsourcing might seem like an additional expense you can’t afford, but in most cases – like when it comes to your accounting – outsourcing will save you money in the long run. Read more about the benefits of outsourced accounting here.
What should you delegate?
- Administrative tasks that aren’t actively moving your business forward
- Anything you aren’t good at
- Anything you are good at that you could hire someone else to do for you, so you can focus on more important things that will help to grow your business
In short, don’t put off making your business more efficient
The importance of an efficient business can’t be stressed enough, but it’s something so many businesses overlook until it’s too late. Stop spinning your wheels and make the most of your time and money! If you do, your business will be more likely to enjoy many years of success to come.
How will you make your business more efficient this year?
