4 Methods Of Streamlining Your Small Business
You need to make sure your small business isn’t dragging any dead weight to stay competitive. Here’s how you can streamline your company.
Starting a small business is the dream for a lot of people, but without the proper knowledge and smart choices, it can quickly turn into a disheartening nightmare. According to experts, a staggering 90 percent of all startup businesses fail within the first year.
There are many reasons businesses fall flat during their first year. They’re still carving a niche for them in their market, building customer bases, and developing products. Getting through this perilous first year is essential in ensuring the long-term viability of your business. One of the best ways to do so is by streamlining your operations.
The following are four easy ways you can make sure your business remains operational and streamlined during your first year.
1. Learn to Outsource
Hiring full-time employees for a small startup can be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming. The problem is while you need experts to work in your team, you might not be able to afford the salaries of experienced applicants. Your other option would be to hire untested applicants and train them along the way, which could use time and resources you cannot spare.
Instead of agonizing over this dilemma, you should instead look for business-process outsourcing services. These companies can provide you with the experienced personnel you need to ensure your business is running smoothly. They also often work for less costly rates than full-time employees, perfect for the budget of a fledgling business.
2. Consider Automation
Digital technology has given you so many advantages you can use to make your business smoother and faster. Automated processes aren’t just for factories and assembly lines. You can get in on the digitizing action as well!
An example of automation you can use is timed social media feeds. Building a customer base and expanding your visibility online is crucial if you want to attract buyers. But you may not have the time to spare to make social media posts regularly and no budget to hire a social media specialist to do so for you. Instead, leverage the automation capacities of social media platforms that allow you to schedule posts, letting you grow your influence while you work.
3. Invest in Employees
The era of hyperspecialized employees, who are trained and hired to do only one thing in your company, is at an end. Today, it’s much more efficient for your business and company structure to invest in giving your employees multiple skill sets and roles. By expanding their repertoire of talents and increasing their responsibilities, you won’t have to hire more employees. You can rely on the expertise of a select handful of highly trained workers instead. Just make sure to compensate these skilled individuals appropriately
4. Keep Track of Time
Nothing increases your productivity more than keeping accurate records of how much time you and your employees spend on a particular task. By knowing precisely how long it takes to accomplish a given goal, you can gain great insights into how your operations are working.
For instance, if you see that you are spending a disproportionate amount of time on one step of your production process, you may be doing something inefficiently in that department. Invest in good timekeeping, and you can be surprised how quickly things change.
Now more than ever, the world needs smart and capable business owners to keep the economy going. Ensuring the survival of your small business can be the beginning of uplifting your community