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As a small business owner, you’re likely familiar with the constant juggling act of managing various tasks and responsibilities. But have you ever stopped to consider how much time is wasted in your business each day? While you might think that you’re running your business efficiently, chances are there are still areas where you’re losing time and money. If you’re not using the resources available to you, then you might as well be throwing your money away.
Even if you’re not in a position to hire employees, it doesn’t mean you need to go it alone and struggle each and every day. There are things you can do to boost efficiency and productivity and ensure that you are pooling your resources and putting your efforts where you need them to be.
Use Outsourcing Companies
Businesses worldwide have long used outsourcing companies to help them carry out tasks and functions vital to running a business, tasks that they don’t have the time or skills to do personally. In many cases, it can be more cost-effective to outsource than hire a team or department internally to carry this out for you. By outsourcing, you can save on the costs of hiring, training, and maintaining a full-time team while still getting the job done efficiently.
Typically, the most common tasks to outsource from any business include Managed IT Services, cyber security, accounting, customer service, data analytics, and web design. To determine if outsourcing a task is right for you, simply look at how much it would cost you to hire someone to do this for you, how much of your time it takes, and your expertise. It’s quite likely that outsourcing is the best compromise for some aspects of your business and that it is well worth the investment.
Automation
If you’re not using software to automate tasks, then you are doing yourself and your business a disservice. Automation means you can collate the time you need faster and have fewer mistakes. There are so many tasks you can automate within your business, and it helps you reduce the time spent doing them manually. Some great ideas for automation include;
- Social media scheduling
- Email marketing
- Customer support
- Reporting
- Chatbots
- Lead management
- Administrative tasks
- Communication and so much more.
Set A Schedule
If you find yourself flitting around doing different tasks but not getting much of anything done, then you need a strict schedule. A schedule allows you to devote blocks of time to one specific task before moving on to something else, ensuring that you stay focused and productive.
This could be that you spend the first and last hour of each day replying to emails, that you schedule social media posts from 10 am to 12 pm, arrange meetings for the same time each day, and so on. Break down all of the things you need to do on a regular basis, assign them a block of time, and eliminate all distractions until you’re done. If you’re using the other points in this post then everything else is taken care of during the time you’re unavailable.
Hire a VA
A virtual assistant, or VA, is a person who works remotely to perform tasks for you to ease your workload and boost efficiency. The exact tasks will be based on your business requirements and the services provided by the VA. What is offered can vary, and they will complete them at a predetermined time scale or working day so you can get on with other tasks without being bogged down with menial issues that still need to be taken care of.
These are 4 simple ways you can level the playing field as a small business owner and boost efficiency. By outsourcing, automating, scheduling, and hiring a virtual assistant, you can ensure that standards are maintained and you’re not overworking yourself trying to do it all alone.
