.png)
The first quarter of 2018 is gone, we are in the second quarter, and you could still be struggling with the organization of your business in order to achieve the desired growth you projected when the year began. Although small businesses owners may not have the huge budget and many employees to stay organized, you can still succeed by making use of the following tips:
Organize your desk and encourage the same for employees within the office by ensuring that the physical surroundings are neat. Neatness here refers to the organization of the furniture as well as stationary and any other material objects that make up your working space. The vertical storage design is most useful, primarily when working in a small office space. You can add shelves to ensure that everything has a specific storage place and that makes it easy for you to retrieve files or any other item you may need during your work. Furthermore, you need to tidy up your desk at the end of every day. You also need to get rid of office supplies that are not in use but are filling the office space. People are happier working in an environment that is not cluttered as opposed to a messy one.
It is also important to arrange the files in your computer and sort them out into clearly labeled folders which make your references or search for information simple and easy. You also need to respond to emails as fast as you can to prevent the pile-up of unread messages which can be very frustrating and time wasting. Successful management of emails may involve designating specific times for reading and responding to emails. You should also tidy up your social media profiles to bring them up to date. To do that, take stock of all the social media platforms where your business has a presence, delete all accounts that are not in use and leave only those where you are actively posting and monitoring. Furthermore, you can also remove followers who are not following you back and those who are inactive to remain with the active contacts only.
One of the benefits of customer relationship management (CRM) for small businesses is the ability to input and manage data about leads and customers. Your loyal customers are critical to the success of your business; it is, therefore, important to handle their needs efficiently. There are many affordable and easy to install CRM tools that can help you keep track of your customers data so that when you are communicating with them, you know their history and can design ways of selling to them effectively. Some of the most useful CRM tools in 2018 include Zoho, ManageEngine SupportCenter Plus, Pipedrive, Agile, Apptivo and Streak among others. These CRM tools do not only help you sell to your customers, but they also help you save the time you could have spent managing more customers. That time can instead be used to improve your business systems and products.
According to many business analysts, a failed business is the direct result of poor management and poor cash management is the biggest barrier business people have to achieve their goals. Knowing the basic concepts of cash flow can help you plan for anything that might hit your business in the future. You can improve that knowledge by managing the expense receipts and getting expert advice on tax. You need to track all the transactions and purchases to keep your finances in order. You can use some of the financial management software such as QuickBooks, Wave and FreshBooks to track the expenses and sales in your business. These tools will also help you pay employees and vendors, view financial statements and follow unpaid invoices. Furthermore, Wave and FreshBooks are suitable for sole proprietorship and business owners who operate on temporary workspaces. You can also streamline your taxes by seeking the help of a tax or CPA advisor. Apart from that, you can use tax management software like Gusto which updates your company’s tax processes by automatically reporting new hires to the government and handling tax filings. By staying on top of your taxes, you will avoid problems like paying fines or getting shut down. Businesses owners operating in the United States, for instance, must pay quarterly taxes to avoid such inconveniences.
Many people waste a lot of time trying to remember passwords and others even miss business opportunities because of the delays. Besides, the other common treatment of passwords is giving all accounts in different websites the same password. That is very risky because if someone gets access to your password, he or she can access all the private information you have on those different websites. There is one better way though not so safe for managing passwords; using password management apps to organize your passwords. Some of the password management apps with security alerts and which have been endorsed by top companies include Dashlane, Roboform, stocky, LastPass, Keeper, Zoho and Kaspersky. Besides you can go for the 1Password which stores your passwords together in the desktop and mobile app.
Improving the workspace has a high potential of motivating you and the employees and in the end, increase productivity. The workspace look can be enhanced to create an environment that makes work flexible and provides a conducive environment for employees to bring out their best in work. Some of the simplest ways you can improve the workspace include cleaning up cables, including a standing desk and adding some plants to the office. Cleaning cables, for instance, leaves the open spaces tidy and less distractive as opposed to having to glance at intertwined wires all the time which can be mind disturbing. Flowers and plants, on the other hand, boost employees concentration and brings a sense of satisfaction. In fact, plants bring real life into the workspace and studies have shown that plants increase productivity by fifteen percent. The standing desk relieves the discomfort of sitting for more extended hours, allowing you and your staff to stretch your backs burn a few calories and overall keep you healthy to steer the business towards success.
Effective time management is one of the ways that a small business owner can make the best of time and increase revenue earnings. Time management is even more crucial for those business persons who have frequent video chats and meetings. If you do not already have a time management app and is struggling with back and forth messaging and calling to schedule meetings, then it is time you started using one. Do not waste time anymore, time management apps such as Rescue Time, My Minutes and OmniFocus will help you manage your meetings, tasks, trips as well as help you stay focused on essential duties. Your time management plan should also include taking productivity breaks after every two to three hours. The breaks help reduce frustrations and improve focus on work.
For the small business owners who cannot employ people to serve in different areas of the business, you can hire a virtual assistant when the repetitive and mundane tasks are wearing you out. Virtual assistants can help in communicating with clients, developing marketing materials and even suggesting strategic decisions for your business. Besides, if you pay for a virtual office like the one we offer, you will have your emails and calls handled or forwarded as well as full reception service.
You can only work effectively if you choose few manageable tasks for the day. Trying to work on several “important” projects at the same time will only leave you exhausted and disorganized. Most of those projects will be done halfway, and you will close the day having done nothing useful in growing your business. You can organize tasks for each day by planning for the whole week so that you only handle the job designed for the day an finish it. For example, you can work on the marketing plan on a Monday, write job descriptions on Tuesday, follow up on product quality and delivery on Wednesday and so on.
.svg){kind=small}
