Small business owners often find themselves working in the business and not on it. This is where things can slide and the business can run you and not the other way round.
Sometimes it’s a good idea to take stock and remind yourself of the basic steps you should be doing regularly to keep you and your business on track.
- Keep Financial Score
Few small businesses have an accurate idea of the daily, weekly, and monthly numbers and financial trends taking place within the organisation. It’s vital that you spend the necessary time understanding your financial forecasts and cash flow. If you lack the financial skills, hire a bookkeeper or an accountant, but insist on receiving monthly reports and projections.
- Set Goals
If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know you’ve reached your destination? By setting goals and objectives you can set out a plan to achieve them. Your goals should be regularly reviewed and adjusted accordingly so that you continue to move forward with your small business. Your goals might be based on finances, customer retention, the addition of new products or services or engagement on your social media platforms.
- Use High-Impact Marketing
Wasting money on ineffective marketing is easy. Seek out low-budget, high-impact marketing strategies to improve your small business. Test one or two new tactics and see which perform best before adding them to your marketing mix. Social media is an excellent low-cost and low-risk way to promote your business. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are a few good tools to build a social presence and attract attention to your business. The key to all marketing success is having a clear customer avatar or profile, knowing their pain/pleasure points and where they hang out online.
- Create a Clear Elevator Pitch
If you had to describe your business and its benefits in 30-seconds could you do it? Too many people focus on what they do in their pitch, not the value that they bring to their clients/customers. If you want to know how to create an exceptional elevator pitch, read Key Person of Influence by Daniel Priestley. This book will revolutionise how you present and position yourself.
- Monitor Trends
No business operates in a vacuum. Events and changes in the global landscape can have either a positive or negative effect on your business. Stay current on trends and issues happening in your industry and local community. Even things that don’t seem relevant on the surface might have an impact on what you do or what your clients do, so keep on top of news and industry information.
- Sharpen Your Sales Performance
A high-return area for business improvement is the sales function. Whether you’re a one-person operation or managing a sales team, you must focus on sales improvement. It’s essential to know your numbers – work out your LAPS and start with the end in mind. How many sales do you need a month? How many pitches do you need to generate those sales? How many appointments do you need to generate those opportunities to pitch and how many leads do you need to generate the needed appointments? Create an effective sales process so that you can monitor each step of your funnel and ensure that each element is working as effectively as possible.
- Develop Best Practices
Keeping everything transparent is essential. That means breaking down silos, communicating effectively, testing, and monitoring and approving your processes in order to keep everything running smoothly. We work on the ‘run over by a bus’ method! Too many business owners have their processes in their head. If they were run over by a bus tomorrow, how long would their business function without them? Clearly written and documented processes ensure consistency of activity, avoid miscommunication and ensure continuity of business function.
- Motivate Staff
Your people are your biggest asset. Talented and motivated staff members can really transform your business. Always hire people on cultural fit first, skills second and hire the best people that you can get. Take time to understand what motivates your employees to higher levels of performance, share your business plan and goals and give them a clear purpose. Be prepared to listen to your team and actively ask for input and insight from everyone in the company, regardless of position or seniority. Some of the best ideas come from the most unexpected sources.
- Know Your Limits
Successful business owners have a clear idea of their limitations. By knowing your entrepreneurial personality type, you can manage your resources and find help in areas of weakness. Be clear on your strengths, what should you do, what should you delegate and what should you delete. This is a key driver to success. For example, if you’re great at sales but less experienced with bookkeeping, focus on sales and hire someone else to handle the books. Know your IGTs (income-generating tasks) and focus on these and don’t be distracted by work that is either not important or could best be overseen by someone else.
- Take a Break
Running a small business is hard work. Sometimes the best way to improve your business and reignite your passion is to take a holiday and recharge your batteries. Don’t underestimate the potential value of spending some time away from the office.
Making consistent improvements to your business is critical for its success and sustainability. From monitoring your cash flow to maximising the use of social media for marketing and recognising what you need to do, delete or delegate can help you focus on achieving the biggest wins in your company.
