Most Business owners look at their business the wrong way. They slave away for long hours, doing everything in their power to make every detail of the business run just right.
But, slaving away for hours on end is not probably not why you started your own business in the first place—nor is it how a successful business should be run.
Rather than working for your business, your business should work for you. In fact, it should be capable of running without you. Not because you’re not needed—but so that you can spend your time developing and growing the business.
So, how do you create a business that works for you? The answer is to think smart, plan and create systems that do much of the grunt work for you. And in today mass of technology this is easier than you think.
Start With a Plan
The first step is to start with a vision of what you’d like your business to ultimately achieve. Specifically, answer key questions such as:
- How big would you like your business to become in terms of revenues and profits?
- What is your end-goal: to sell it, to take it public, to give it to your employees?
- What is your time frame to achieve this goal?
Answering these questions forces you to think about your long-term goal, and it allows you to create an actionable plan that helps you get there.
Once you have goals in place (which is often years in the future), you need to figure out your one-year plan—what you must accomplish this year in order to make progress. For example, think about what new products or services you must develop in the next year. What new hires must you make ? How many new customers must you acquire?
Create Systems & Processes
One of the most important things you’ll need to do this year, and every year, is to create systems. While most people think of “systems” as sophisticated processes that typically require software, they’re actually just procedures or processes for completing a task, documented so that the task can be done methodically.
For example—think about how your company should handle inbound phone calls. You probably know how you’d like each call to be answered, but a documented system in place could address:
- How to greet callers
- What questions to ask and what information to collect (e.g., name, telephone number)
- Whether to have a live operator or automated system
- Who should answer the calls once they are routed
- How long a caller should have to wait until the call goes into voicemail
Once you have an established systems for a processes in your business, it can be completed without you. All of your employees will know exactly what to do, and training new employees will be a piece of cake compared to explaining everything every time.
Start by identifying the systems you must build first. To do this, think about where your company has the most problems, where mistakes are most often made, or where you find that you’re spending a lot of your time. Systems will help solve these reoccurring problems, and thus, free up your time.
Over time, you should build a system for any process that occurs in your business that is performed frequently and that, if completed in a predictable, consistent manner, would increase the value and profits of your business.
You can then think about how you can save yourself time and money by automating or simplifying these systems or processes using technology. With the array of cloud technology you don’t need to spend big in order to get sophisticated systems that were once only affordable by big business. Xero Cloud Accounting software has over 500 add-ons that can automate and simplify your processes. We can assist you identify the most suitable systems for you.
Set Aside Planning Time
The big “chicken and egg” challenge here is that it takes time to plan and to build systems, time which most business owners are currently spending maintaining their business’ daily operations.
The solution is simply to force yourself to set aside 15 minutes every day to step back and document your systems. By the end of just one month, you’ll see your business running more smoothly. It will start to work for you. And that’s the way it should be.
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If you would like to discuss your business and get a fresh perspective on how we could save you time, money and make being in business easier, call us today on 9380 3555 or use the book a meeting button below. As cloud specialists and Xero Gold Partners we can help you harness the power of modern technology to get a better understanding of your business, create efficiencies and put you in control!
