Running a business is hard work. Especially when it starts to go. It’s brilliant, of course. But when you’re used to putting your time into the nuts and bolts of running your business, it can be hard to divert this time to other aspects of your business. Your time is precious. Giving your time to the right areas is what allows it to succeed. A lot of people get caught out during this stage. The statistics themselves are rather telling. 50% of all businesses fail during the first five years. Even if you make it past that, it gets harder because 66% of all businesses fail during the first ten years. You want to grow your business, you need to make sure that it is streamlined the best you can. With the severe competition out there it can be harder than ever to shine above the rest while also staying compliant wherever you need to be. These tips can help you think of new ways to streamline your business.
Take A Step Back From The Time Killers
It’s easier said than done. Sometimes you have to be firm with your own time. This applies to every industry you can think of. Whether you’ve set up as a restaurateur or own your own building firm. Being sure you take a step away can ensure you have more time to spend on what matters. Not only that, you can easily run yourself into the ground by trying to put out fires and not focusing your efforts on the most important areas in the business. If you burn out, or make yourself ill by overworking it could be catastrophic. When you’re focusing on the main areas of your business you could use an IT support and advisory service to take care of others. If you’re not in an office environment, but are sick of the phone going off all day, maybe you need to hire a receptionist or someone to take your calls allowing you to truly focus on the work. If you take a step away from the things that waste your time and can truly start to focus on helping your business grow.
Don’t Take A Risk At Being Compliant
Take tax for an example. If you’re spending hours trying to calculate your own tax you could be making huge mistakes while also spending time away from the main running of your business. If you’ve got the money, think about hiring an accountant. Not only can they help you pay the right amount of tax, but they might also know of some grants or reliefs your business might be entitled too. If this isn’t an option, there is a lot of automated accounting software out there you can use to make things a lot easier. Compliance comes in a lot of forms. Buildings might be inspected so that they hit regulations. Food inspectors might come to your restaurant. Try to approach these in the most logical way possible and ensure you don’t kill hours of your time by trying to crunch the numbers. Especially if your business is suffering in other areas. Sure, it’s going to mean an outlay of more money, and if your business is struggling you might not have the capital. But if you do, try to consider it an investment instead of outright expenditure.
Get Your Recruitment Right
You can waste such a huge amount of time sifting through applications. You can cut it out by being better in your recruitment process. You only want the best, or at least people with the right amount of experience to join your business. It’s a huge step. So make sure you get it right. There’s nothing worse than hiring the wrong person. First, make sure your job advertisement makes it clear what kind of experience you want and what qualifications are needed. Remember, the less experience they have the more time you’ll need to invest in them to bring them up to speed. If your advertisement is clear it’ll eliminate a lot of people right off the bat meaning less time to sift for yourself. When it comes to the interview, make sure you have someone with you. Even if you run your business completely by yourself, having someone with you gives you a different perspective and a sounding board. They may stop you making a silly mistake or pick up on something you’ve missed entirely. Plus, there is a lot of employment law you might need to get your head around. If you have someone who is experienced you might not need to worry about this so much as they’ll be able to direct you.
