Be Better at Business in 2015: 6 Simple Hacks to Improve Your Small Business this Year
1. Create Healthy Rituals
As a small business owner, your health is more important than anything else. No one is going to pay your mortgage if you get sick enough to not be able to work. So stop working yourself into the ground and start taking better care of yourself.
Establish daily healthy rituals that are non-negotiable:
- Make sure you're getting enough sleep - even if that means a sneaky (and refreshing) afternoon nap every day.
- Eat healthier, even if that means packing your lunch everyday or paying someone to prepare meals for you.
- Exercise. For the love of god, exercise. Walk or ride to work if possible, conduct meetings while walking around the block, always take the stairs. Whatever you can do to fit activity into your day, do it.
With your improved health, renewed focus and clear head, you'll be able to achieve more this year than ever before.
2. Outsource
If you're not already outsourcing, you need to start. Thanks to the interwebs, you now have access to literally hundreds of thousands of workers ready and willing to tackle those tasks that you either don't have time for or dread the thought of doing yourself. But where do you find all these willing minions you ask? Well, check out Fiverr for small one off jobs like redesigning your logo or . There are a range of 'gigs' available all for just five dollars (bargain). If it's a larger job you want to outsource, take a look at Freelancer.com where you can find everything from book-keepers to website designers even virtual assistants for very reasonable rates.
Of course, if you wish to outsource to local contractors (or sub-contractors) then you should use the power of Service Central. Get your local contractors and subcontractors here: /
So take the work of your to do list and put it on someone elses. You'll thank yourself when hours free up that can be better spent expanding your business or doing something you love instead of something you have to do.
3. End the Useless Meetings
Speaking of meetings — let's ditch them! Well, not entirely, but consider one or more days a week where you never schedule a meeting. That way you'll have at least one entire day where you are free to, you know, get down to business. Not just talk about it!
And when you really must have a meeting, make sure you set a clear agenda before-hand. Ask for a time-limit and make sure have a reason (or a good excuse) to leave after that time so one directionless meeting doesn't sap up your entire day.
Here's a great Linkedin post that talks about how not to waste time in meetings, including how to avoid their inevitable chit chat, back and forth, and general lack of effectiveness.
4. Be More Productive
You're a small business owner, so I don't need to tell you there are not enough hours in the day. Whether you’re a solopreneur (see what I did there) or even if you’ve got a small team to help you out I'm sure you know the stress of a seemingly endless to-do list. So instead of working harder? Work smarter instead. Learn to be more productive so you can tick of those to-do items faster. Take a look at this list to find ways to be more productive.
5. Get an Expert to Help You
There's no shame in asking for help. Especially if you're asking for an outsiders opinion on how to improve and grow your business. That's where a business coach comes in. You can find business coaches by approaching someone you know or admire directly. But it's also possible to find business coaches online. Check out the tips in the Forbes article. This can come in the form of a face-to-face with someone who lives in your area, a skype call with a coach from somewhere else, or if you want to take baby steps, an email series, guide or course on how to make the most of your business.
6. Get Your S*** Sorted
There are so many parts of running a successful business it can be hard to balance everything and make sure everything is running as smoothly as possible. Luckily there are a huge range of options available online to help you get your s*** sorted. From online invoicing like Freshbooks to Customer Relationship Management via the likes of Insightly, email delivery services such as Mailchimp to help you keep in touch with your customers and (of course) our own works management platform, Eaco. With all these option available it's never been easier to punch above your weight in terms of professionalism — no-matter how small your small business.
