5 Tips to Improve Your Small Business
March 9th 2021
5 Tips to Improve Your Small Business Here is a collection of 5 helpful tips for anyone considering starting their own small business or those who are looking to boost the success and productivity of their own small/medium sized businesses! We know how confusing it can be to run a business all on your own and we hope that these tips will bring you some clarity on where to be focusing your attention:
MAKE A PLAN
- While preparing to open your business, or at the start of each new year for your business, try creating a very detailed and well researched plan to follow. Having a productive plan for your business and how you will run it will help to avoid errors and ensure that your business flows the way you want it to. Creating a plan will also give your business a clear and concise direction to move towards, allowing you to stay on a path to achieve your goals more easily!
LEAVE SOME ROOM IN YOUR BUDGET
2. Make sure that you incorporate some "wiggle room" into your annual budget to avoid being sideswiped by unexpected or overlooked costs. As your business grows, so will your need to have a little spare cash put aside to deal with these unforeseen expenses. Building a "cushion" into your budget from the start will take some of the financial pressure off in the long run.
CONTINUE LEARNING
3. It's important to continue learning with & through your business. Learning from our mistakes helps us grow as people, but can also help a business grow, progress and continue to do better. It's also important to celebrate the wins/good times and learn how to continue implementing things that work for your business as well!
MAKE TIME TO REST AND RECHARGE
4. Another important thing to avoid within your business is pushing yourself and your team too hard for too long. Here are some tips on avoiding burnout & ensuring that you and your team are always performing at your best:
- Rest - Make sure you and your staff are taking some time to rest & recharge outside of the office. Rest & downtime should be an addition to proper sleeping habits - not a replacement. Although supplementing extra rest/downtime when adequate sleep isn't an option can still help you push through a busy period more productively!
- Fun Time - While resting & downtime is important, so is having fun! Putting on some motivating music is a great example of incorporating a little bit of fun time into your work or weekend day.
- Mental Health & Wellbeing Days - Try allowing a pre-determined number of Mental Health & Wellbeing days a month that are available for all to take whenever they are needed. With everyone making sure that their own health needs are being met, the entire team will be much more productive and able to produce higher quality products & services!
- Team Bonding - Cultivating a healthy workplace culture is another great way to make sure that everyone is performing at their best. Taking a group yoga and/or meditation class together, going out for a team meal after work, having a game night, or even just carving out some time each month to allow all staff to hangout and chat are a few great ways to get started! Or, check out our previous blog post on creating a healthy workplace environment for more information on this topic.
- Break Time - Instead of having a rushed/stressful lunch break, take your allotted lunch or break period and turn it into an enjoyable part of your day. If staying in the office over lunch makes you feel as though you can't fully relax and enjoy your meal - go somewhere else! If working from home, try moving out of your workspace area while eating.
- Move - Many of us sit down all day while working. This can make your blood flow stagnant & sometimes lead to sluggish feelings later in the day. Taking a few minutes to get up and move your body is a great way to get some blood flowing and bring your energy levels up.
DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF
5. Differentiating yourself from your competition is also an important aspect of running your business successfully! When competition is tough, being authentic is always the best advice, along with these tips:
- Don't sell products, provide solutions. Use opportunities to explain how or why your product can help your customer achieve their goals.
- Be strategic and optimize your pricing. This doesn't necessarily mean you have to lower your prices. Spend some time figuring out where you are in the market compared to your competitors, and how you can use your unique value proposition to fairly price your products/services.
- Support your local community. Not only will you be building your local profile and gaining brand recognition, but you'll be helping local organizations and people who will truly feel weight of your efforts.
- Make it easy for members to contact you. This may seem simple, but make sure all of your social media profiles and general web presence make it easy for customers to call and email you.
- Stay humble and gracious. Don't toot your own horn, and always practice those "thank you's". Take a moment to really connect with your customers, clients and services providers you rely on and tell them how much you appreciate them. In an era of internet anonymity, gratitude goes a long way!
By implementing these tips into the way you run your business, you & your team’s work days will likely become much more productive, smooth and fruitful, allowing you to achieve all of your professional goals with a sense of confidence and ease.