5 time-saving hacks for small businesses

5 min read
1 year ago

Any small-business owner knows how difficult it is to manage their company and keep track of deadlines.

Most organizations in the world believe that time is their most precious asset. Therefore, the more wisely you utilize your time, the better your performance will be.

Most small businesses take about 2 to 3 years to see profits and about 7 to 10 years to become successful.

How will you manage your time efficiently while running your business as an entrepreneur? Here are some time-saving hacks for you!

1. Do an audit

You might already be familiar with the concept of time audits. Just like auditing accounts is important, so is auditing your time.

Many people believe that doing this is simply a waste of time itself. Still, unless you actually see where you’re spending unnecessary time, you won’t be able to improve your time-management skills.

Spend time alone and ask yourself about the tasks you’ve repeatedly been doing daily.

Are they actually useful?

Do you spend hours thinking of what kind of emails to write to clients when any junior employee can help you out with the same work?

Once you have a comprehensive list, you can work more efficiently.

2. Introduce automation

In today’s world, automation has become a big deal. So it comes as no surprise that day-to-day tasks often consume a lot of your resources’ time, one of them being manually managing all your employees.

Automation does the job quickly and reduces any chances of error. For example, instead of asking everyone to sign in to the attendance logbook, you can install attendance software with a biometric that will require the employees to only scan their fingerprints or eyes.

Moreover, real-time push notifications are available in all automation software, enabling you to see how much time has been saved and how.

3. Utilize your waiting time

This might sound surprising, but if you utilize even 15 minutes of your wait time, it can prove to be really effective.

For example, if you’re waiting for a potential client outside their office, you can quickly pen down a thank-you note to another customer and mail it to them. Or you can update your to-do list and see what shipments you need to order in the office.

If you’re prepared, you can always use any sort of downtime productively and develop innovative solutions.

Additionally, the feeling of accomplishing even a minor task while waiting around for a bigger one will boost your confidence. A sense of accomplishment will also be a huge pro for your further actions.

4. Go digital

Another great way of saving time while working is to use digital platforms to spread awareness about your brand.

For example, handing out business cards is a big part of networking. But most business cards are paper-based, which makes receivers forget about your cards and even throw them away.

What you should do, instead, is combine technology with networking and hand out NFC business cards. Since these cards are electronic ones, you won’t have to waste time reprinting your card stack.

Instead, you can update your contact info on your clients’ and customers’ phones with a simple tap!

You can also digitize the way you connect with your clients. For instance, you can have a meeting with them on Zoom whenever you want instead of spending time planning and attending a physical meeting.

5. Plan your strategies meticulously

As a business leader, you will encounter various challenges and problems, especially when it comes to project management or marketing campaigns.

Even if you can’t anticipate every hurdle along the way, planning your moves well in advance can take a huge load off your shoulders.

There will be a lot of emerging requirements that will require you to think cleverly and come up with solutions within the given time limit.

Use tools and flowcharts to open up your mind and help you plan faster. For example, you can draw different possible scenarios with flowcharts and try to think of ways to solve each scenario within the minimum time.

Over to you…

Most employees working in small businesses feel that miscommunication is the major problem behind time mismanagement. So, try to think of ways to make your communication processes crystal clear.

Ensure every employee is clear about their task and everyone works together to create something innovative.

In case you have found a mistake in the text, please send a message to the author by selecting the mistake and pressing Ctrl-Enter.
Alex 9.8K
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