Is your dream of running your own small business a little more complicated than you expected?
Fear not because there are resources that can make your business run more effectively and make it flourish. Small business owners hold the jobs of marketing, payroll, admin, and so much more. We all know that’s not exactly the dream that motivated the business venture in the first place. Whether you run a day spa, coffee shop, or a Realtor your skill set is where your talents lie. DON’T ignore that! Growing individual talents is where the most success is realized. However, you must not ignore the BUSINESS part of your small business. If you run a karate school your skill sets may not be accounting, but invoices still need to be paid. So HOW is anyone supposed to succeed? We’re here to share a few tips and tricks that will help you maximize your small business potential!
Know Your Strengths & Hire Your Weaknesses!
Be realistic about your strengths and weaknesses. If you can handle balancing the company checkbook and keeping track of all your income, expenses, and keep good records of everything coming into and out of your company but can’t handle the idea of having to spend hours on social media to promote your business, then hire someone to do your online marketing. Same thing if you can handle marketing yet are inept with keeping business records, hire out for someone to manage your books.
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel!
If there’s a proven method or service that can help you accomplish something in your small business then utilize all the resources you have available! Don’t think you have a better solution for everything that needs to be accomplished. For example Quickbooks already exists and has been a proven asset to many small businesses to keep track of their financials, so don’t think you can create your own Excel Spreadsheet to do all the same things in a reasonable amount of time. Use your time wisely and work on your business, you will be extremely better off in the long run! Don’t forget also to utilize your local small business development centers! They oftentimes offer education and mentors free of charge.
Know Your Target Market
Do the research to discover who your target market is so that your marketing efforts don’t go to waste. Not knowing your target market can cost you hundreds, it would be like marketing a maternity clothing line to a team of football players. Know the benefits of your products or services and determine what need that benefit can satisfy, then brainstorm to list what type of customers have that need.
Use Tools like Boomerang and SMS Scheduler
Boomerang is an add-on to your gmail account that will allow you to schedule when you send an email, likewise SMS Scheduler will send out a text message at a later date/time. Why would you need this? Maybe you’re burning the midnight oil and remember that you need to touch base with a client and you don’t want be unprofessional and wake up your client by replying to their message at 2am! Boomerang and SMS Scheduler will allow you to send it out at a more suitable time of day, just set it, and forget it!
Hootsuite
Hootsuite allows users to have one local platform to keep track of multiple social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. You can view your feeds within the program and schedule your posts to go out so they hit your connections just at the right time!
Delegate
If you have employees, make sure you’ve hired ones you can trust. Don’t become the micromanaging boss that is constantly over a shoulder making sure things are getting done. Delegate out responsibilities and trust in your team. This leaves you open to tackle the more pressing and big picture tasks that will keep your business growing.
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