If you’ve started your own business then chances are you’re highly motivated to achieve.
You’re a doer, someone who makes things happen and someone who likes to come first in everything you do. This drive and determination doesn’t mesh too well with the domestic business environment.
Entrepreneurs and small business owners are particularly hard hit by the burden placed on them by government red tape. As your business grows the administrative load shifts from statutory returns and labour disputes to employment equity compliance.
The trick to small business success is to free up your time to focus on what you do best. How do you do this?
Know your strengths
There are thousands of management books and self-help guides that feature tips and techniques for improving time use. The common thread running through these publications is planning.
You will never extract maximum value from your day if you address tasks on an ‘as and when” basis.
Proper planning requires that you carefully assess your own strengths and weaknesses and the resources available to you in your small business before deciding how to allocate the daily, monthly and yearly business tasks.
A common mistake is to assume that you, the entrepreneur, should be responsible for the sales and marketing function. Too many start-ups fail because of a technical or finance-oriented business owner plugging away at the selling function.
It’s far better to align your skills with the role you play in the company. If you’re a software programmer by profession, then use your skills in that department and rather appoint a sales and marketing guru to keep the revenues rolling in.
If you’re good at finance, budgeting and strategic planning, then that’s where your focus should be.
Another frequent failure of small business owners is an inability to relinquish control of business functions as the company grows. You have to avoid being all things to all people and trust those you have appointed to follow your direction.
Instead of keeping your hands on the reins, use the time it would take to do mundane tasks to oversee the critical business functions.
Call in the experts
Small business owners should steer away from mundane tasks such as keeping books, updating payroll information and maintaining customer databases.
It is critical that you free your time to concentrate on your area of expertise, handle the planning and strategy functions and keep an eye on all other areas of the business.
Ways to achieve this goal include working smarter, outsourcing or hiring additional staff. The problem is that not all small businesses can afford staff to handle every aspect of business.
If cash flow limits you to being a one-man show, you should consider outsourcing non-core business functions. Bookkeeping is probably the most obvious of these.
You should find a reputable accounting firm to handle the whole gamut of accounting functions, including invoicing, debtors and creditors, ledger postings, payroll and preparing monthly cash flow and other management reports.
An accounting firm can handle some of the onerous red tape alluded to in the opening paragraph. It can complete and submit VAT returns, file company taxes and prepare books to balance sheet for sign-off by the auditors.
Make sure that technology works for your business and not the other way around. A typical example is when you allow unqualified staff to attempt to resolve complex computer or network problems.
You can save thousands by outsourcing your information technology function to an appropriately qualified firm. The value gained by having problems quickly resolved and ensuring near 100% IT system availability shouldn’t be discounted.
Use smart technology
There are hundreds of devices that allow you to conduct business on the go. Small business owners have no excuse for being unreachable.
Make sure you invest in a smart phone that enables you to keep business contacts, synchronise with your desk top computer and send and receive emails.
Your aim should be to automate wherever possible — or follow the age-old ‘work smarter not harder” strategy. This may sound obvious, but you’ll be amazed how much time is wasted generating handwritten invoices, or crunching numbers manually rather than using a spreadsheet.
Something as simple as setting up signatures in your email program can save time. The best way to automate is to choose the correct software for your business.
Whether you go the open office route — or stick with licensed products — you need to match software to business processes. Popular choices include the Microsoft Windows operating system with its comprehensive suite of small business products, Office Small Business 2007.
If you’re opposed to the Microsoft monopoly you can try the free equivalent at OpenOffice.org. Accounting software also makes the entrepreneur’s life a great deal easier. Local accountants favour products such as Quickbooks and Softline Pastel.
Hire the right staff
As your business expands you have the opportunity to hire new staff. Make sure new employees are a good fit for the company.
A workforce that ties in with your vision and work ethic will commit to the business for longer. Small businesses should never underestimate the value of staff retention.
When people leave a large corporate with hundreds of staff it’s easy to plug the gap. If you employ only a handful of people then just one resignation can cause severe disruption.
You not only lose a critical employee but have to divert resources to pick up the slack and spend additional time in finding and training a replacement.
One way to motivate your workforce is to ensure they receive adequate training. Job satisfaction is not always about the month-end remuneration.
Sending your employees on carefully selected training courses can improve their skills sets, increase job satisfaction and improve the service you offer to your clients.
An entrepreneur is forced to wear many hats, but don’t do so to the detriment of business performance.