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The back-end of your business is described as ‘anything the customer cannot see’, and because of that, business owners can sometimes fail to pay attention to it. It’s easy to put some rules in place and do your best to follow your original business plan and then think nothing else of it, but that can soon tank the way you work. Things will fall out of place, become more expensive to manage, and ultimately you’ll kick yourself for not having the foresight about this sooner.
So it’s time to focus a little more on the way your back-end operates, and we’re not just talking about the security of your website here! There’s a lot going on behind the scenes, and knowing how to balance how you perform outfront alongside a well-oiled machine out back is key to being a modern business owner. With that in mind, here are our tips for ensuring your back-end operations are as smooth as they can be.
No matter the size of your company, there’s always a chance you’ve forgotten about a detail or two! (Pexels Image – CC0 Licence)
Automate Your Admin
The very first thing to do, in order to save yourself lots of time and plenty of effort during the working day, is to automate as many of your administration tasks as possible. If you have no assistant to do this for you, either because of a low budget or a simple low need for the position, it’s best to get a software program or an AI assistant in place. Even if you’re just working from home and you’ve got an Amazon Alexa in the living room, you can use this tech to supplement your own day to day workings!
Indeed, with just one simple program you’ve got the chance to schedule any and all calendar appointments and meetings with just a touch, as well as send messages, and even post marketing materials online without any extra input from you. At the same time, you’ve got the chance to take this one step further. You’ve also got the chance to automate product needs, sales, and any development research you’re carrying out to appeal to the market in a wider way.
The more you can automate your company’s daily tasks, the more hours you’ll have in the day, which can lead to much more effective branding methods, market research, and lead building. Simply put, if you’re in a position where you’re able to grow right now, this is one of the best things you can do to help yourself out.
Schedule Your Content
Content is king in the online world, and when you’re working in the modern era, there’s a very good chance you started online and focus the bulk of your efforts selling there. This is a very strong foundation to come from, but it’s also one that requires a lot of cultivating, and that means you need a content schedule to help out.
A content schedule allows you to put together a whole backlog of posts, articles, and online polls to generate engagement without needing to rush to write anything. It allows you to have foresight over what the digital world, particularly that of social media, will want from a company like yours. You’ve got time to conduct research, rewrite and edit content if need be, as well as regularly keep already published content updated to the latest versions.
And when you’ve got a strong content schedule to follow, every now and then you’ve got the chance to craft a surprise post to throw out if need be. Say a celebrity suddenly endorses you – a content schedule gives you the chance to focus on capitalising on this opportunity! You don’t have to throw anything out or table other posts for another time, and fall behind as a result. All in all, it takes the worry out of operating as an online entity; the customer will now only see a business that clearly has its finger on the ball.
Managing Your Finances
The finances of your company are obviously your main concern. Where does your funding come from? How do you allocate your budget? And who looks after the books at the end of the day? As a small business, it might be you who works out everything, from taking in profits to spending them and reinvesting them in the company. However, it can be hard to juggle this major responsibility on top of everything else, and it’s often necessary to put someone else in this role.
It might be of use to you to outsource your financial needs to an accountant, if you don’t have the budget for bringing in a professional as an in-house role. In doing so, you allocate resources much more effectively, especially if you have no qualifications in managing finances on this scale yourself. It’s an investment within your own company, and it’s never a waste of time or money if you’re not sure about your own financial capabilities.
But most of all, you may need to do a little more digging. You need to know what goes out of your company on a day to day basis – what are you spending, what are you selling, and how do these balance out on this level of detail, etc. Similarly, you should also keep up to date records as much as possible; this is another thing an accountant can do for you, if you’re often forgetting to move your records on yourself.
Rearrange the Warehouse
How well is your stockroom organized? And if your company is big enough to run its own warehouse, how often do you commit to organizing this as well? Because without regular care and maintenance, it’s going to be hard to operate smoothly as a business. After all, the way you order in, store, and dispose of stock is one of the most mismanaged operations within the business world, and it’s easy to fall into the trap of just throwing boxes on shelves.
And if that sounds like something your company does, it’s time to change the habit. Knowing how your warehouse is run, and being able to adapt to new order loads during times of growth, is essential to having a clean and smoothly run back-end. To start with, it’s a good idea to invest in the right storage equipment, such as industrial warehouse shelving from BILT Industries, and then come up with a storing schedule that does most of the work for you.
Automated management systems, as well as IoT enabled devices, will help you to cast an eye over your entire warehouse day by day. From knowing where your stock categories are kept, to being able to move them on the fly, to knowing when stock needs rotating and when items should be disposed of, automation can take care of the bulk of the admin for you. And on your part, all you need are some trained hands to take stock in and out when need be.
Talk to Suppliers
Once you’ve cleaned up the bulk of your operations, it’s time to get on the phone to outside sources. Namely, any suppliers and vendors you work with; what was the original deal you arranged with them? Did you get it in writing? Is it 6 or more months down the line and you’re not sure how well this deal is working out? Maybe it’s time to renegotiate?
It’s easy to answer this question – if you’ve recently taken on far more orders or grown your customer base, or your finances have changed in some way or another, or the supplier themself has been failing to deliver on their end, you’ve got grounds for a renegotiation. Now it’s time to put the new contract together. Even if the contract still has legs, you have the chance to talk to your supplier about changing a few of the terms.
Of course, they may not agree, but it’s always worth it to seek out a resolution like this as soon as you realize one is needed. Make sure you have a concrete idea of the new way you want the contract to look, and whether or not termination is on the cards in the future if nothing happens here and now. Be open and amenable to the other party’s own concerns, and try to work as a team on the problems in front of you for much better results.
The Takeaway to Keep in Mind:
The back-end of your business matters, and maybe a lot more than you realize. A lot of small business owners tend to forget how to run things behind the scenes when they’re so focused on building a front-end performance. Don’t let yourself fall into this trap.
Stay above it and work smoothly. The more time you spend preparing the way your company works behind closed doors, the better the output on the other side. And remember, expansion tends to come easily to a company that knows exactly what the future holds!
