Sponsored by Humanity:
When you own a business, there are many times when you alone run the show. You are both the CEO and the administrator, the salesperson and the accounts receivable clerk. At some point, you reach a stalemate because administrative tasks take up the time you could be using to find new clients.
When this time comes, you need to make the shift from managing your business to growing it. There are many ways that you can start to take a step back from the daily tasks and focus on the big picture items, a few of which are described below.
Use Technology to Your Advantage
Modern technology, particularly surrounding the internet, was made for the aspiring entrepreneur. Use the many apps and programs that are available to make your work as efficient and productive as possible.
Humanity employee scheduling, for example, can save you hours in scheduling team members and assigning tasks, making payroll a breeze. Project management software like Basecamp and Trello creates a centralized approach to ongoing work, whether you have a team of one or a team of twenty.
What’s most impressive is that many of the best apps are free or entirely affordable on a limited budget. The money you make by being able to shift your attention elsewhere far exceeds the nominal cost of the different platforms.
Automate What You Can
As a result of the technology available to entrepreneurs, you can create a sales funnel that generates leads while you sleep. That’s not a figure of speech! Email marketing software and social media scheduling platforms can be set up weeks or months in advance.
Rather than spending time every day trying to beat Facebook’s algorithms, you can set aside an hour a week and load up your feed for regularly published articles. You can have timed email triggers set up to build a rapport with customers and sell products at strategic times. Timers can publish and unpublish limited time sales directly to your website.
Setting up automation or advanced social media publications can take a lot of time on the front end, but it saves time in the long run. If you lack the time to put this all in place, you can ask for help, which leads to the next suggestion.
Outsource and Delegate
Depending on the nature of your business or how long it has been established, you may lack the resources to hire an employee to help with your day-to-day business needs. That’s where outsourcing online comes into play. Virtual assistants, freelancers, and contractors can help you complete the tasks you need so you can dedicate your time elsewhere.
If you have a blog with the potential to generate leads but don’t have the time or skills to write articles, outsource writing to someone else. There’s a compounded benefit with outsourcing to someone with writing, social media management, or administrative skills: it’s their wheelhouse, not yours. So when you outsource, you aren’t only able to give your full attention to growing your business, they’re doing a better job than you would because it isn’t your forte.
Don’t hesitate to ask your peers for help as well. A child can help you with your filing. A neighborhood teenager can assist with social media scheduling for spare cash. Friends and family members who support you may be willing to take the lead on various projects in exchange for a favor or service. Look to your village for help.
Prioritize
Being a successful entrepreneur necessitates having strong time management skills and the ability to prioritize tasks. Use some form of a daily to-do list, and plan your day ahead of time. The ability to see your schedule and the satisfaction of crossing items off a list can be the catalyst you need to help you shift from managing your business to growing it.
