7 Tips for Being a Better Small Business Owner
It doesn’t matter what type of business you’re running—when you’re a small business owner, following a few tips can go a long way. The following pieces of advice are great for both solo-entrepreneurs, business owners who manage employees, and basically all of our clients here at The Payroll Company. Just because you’re running the company, it doesn’t mean you have to work yourself dry!
Find inspiration from these top suggestions from other successful businesses. These 7 tips can help you get a good gauge on how your company is stacking up. Where can you improve? And what’s going well for you now? The right tools will definitely help your company shine.
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Fight for your customers’ best interests
A recent poll showed that 91% of small business owners say that their customer service strategy is a driving factor for their success. Becoming a reliable resource to your customers is a great way to keep the phone ringing. Growing your business will come more naturally if you can honestly say—and show—that you always work with your customers’ best interests at heart.
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Find motivational fuel
It’s important to keep morale high no matter what type of work you’re doing. Keeping employees happy (as well as yourself) is a good sign that your company culture is healthy and positive. Staff development is always welcome by employees. Create a system for more flexible hours for family leave, start some spontaneous appreciation activities, or just make a better effort with verbal affirmations to keep those good vibes flowing.
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Create a support network
In this article from INC magazine, business owner Laura talks about the importance of having a personal support network with fellow small business owners. Sharing your triumphs and struggles with people who have different backgrounds, or even those who have “been there, done that” can give you some valuable insights on how to approach workplace challenges.
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Have a future vision
This tip is huge for the business world—and for good reason. Leadership means deciding on a clear path for growth and setting attainable, relevant goals for your company’s progress, sales, or other assignments can help you measure your success from quarter to quarter or year to year. If you already know what your 5-year goal might be, the next step is to break it into smaller, actionable pieces.
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Stay up-to-date
Most business owners find value in continued learning, not just staff development for employees, but for the business owner, too. It’s often a good idea to check out the latest news in your industry through related blogs or other publications related to your organization. If you need a good place to start for general business practices, check out this top business book list. Working your way through these titles can give you some great insights from today’s creative business experts.
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Work in your sweet spot
This rule applies to both your niche industry as well as time of day. Not all business owners may have the flexibility to work whenever, but if possible, try to arrange your tasks around your own, internal clock. When do you feel most focused? Put those high-concentration assignments in that chunk of time. Ideally, your money-making activities should be prioritized over the random daily office activities. (Read our post on Small Business Owner Productivity for more ideas!)
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Delegate the tedious tasks
Knowing your strengths will help you make the most of every day. And oftentimes, delegating can be your best friend as a small business owner. Keep your spirits high by allowing yourself the chance to only do the work you particularly enjoy doing whenever possible. Other than that, your only role should be the work that you are extremely good at doing. Is there anything on your to-do list that you can pass off to someone else? After all, you can’t be the leader, the human resources department, the marketing and advertising lead, and the technician, too.
Small Business Help from The Payroll Department
There’s no need to spend precious time on your bookkeeping if that isn’t something you enjoy, or if it isn’t a strong suit. If payroll processing or bookkeeping duties are on your list of things to do every month, please know that The Payroll Department is here to help. Because we’re solely devoted to managing our clients’ bookkeeping and payroll needs (including payroll taxes!), you can trust that your employees will be paid accurately and on time and that books will be kept up-to-date, and worry-free.
Outsourcing can be one of your most powerful tools as a small business owner. For guidance analyzing how your company is doing over the short- and long-run, don’t hesitate to give our offices a call at 317-852-2568. The Payroll Department is here to take the headaches out of your administrative work, so you can get back to doing what you do best.
-Paige of The Payroll Department Blog Team
