Save Time and Make Money
A business owner should equate time with money. What is your hourly rate for doing ownership activities versus tasks such as shipping product or entering data? Since the summer is something of a “slack” time for some businesses it is a great time to improve your time saving skills!
Start by running your operation today as though it was peak season. That is, create a real model of the way you ran your business last year. Then determine how you want to run it this year. List all the things that got in your way of making money. Then eliminate activities, delegate them, find vendors who can provide a service and create systems.
Put New Systems in Place
Now is the time to put new systems in place, especially those that free you from the daily tasks that are unessential but always demanding. We like to tell people to hire another person when you can afford half their salary. Why? They can do the $7 an hour tasks and free you to focus on the business driving activities such as marketing. Marketing is the one activity that will separate your business from the pack.
When was the last time you attending a chamber luncheon or mixer? Amazing the number of time saving ideas and people who provide time saving services attend these meetings. When they talk to you, ask them how much time this will save you this year? Will it free up an employee from data entry so they can make sales calls?
Network with Sales People
Get all those cards from sales people you never have time to see. Make a list of all the ones who have offered you services in the past year but you were too busy to listen to their proposal. Then call them and ask them how they can help you save time. Then make a list of all the non-urgent, unimportant, time wasting activities you do each day. In fact, I suggest you make a list of the top ten time wasters and post it where you can review it each morning such as making a desktop shortcut. Root these weeds of your life out ruthlessly.
Stop Checking Email
Here is a time waster: checking email every hour. If it is that important they will call you. And whenever you get junk email, opt out! Then make a list of the urgent but unimportant activities such as meetings without a purpose and popular but unessential activities. Review this at least once a week and try to reduce those items in the following week’s schedule. Now make a list of the things you really like to do and want to do.
Amazing for many people how little time they spend in this most critical and important area. Here are some examples: take your daughter to the movies for no reason; surprise your wife with flowers and dinner out; take someone you like fishing; or play a round of golf with a buddy. You work this hard for a reason such as having a great family life not seeing if you can set a world’s record for hours worked. Put first things first starting with your personal life. Your business is there to serve you, not vice versa!
For help getting control of your business call Jim at 888-820-3466.
