Secrets of efficiency for small business

It is exciting to start your own business. You have an idea, trust in yourself, dream about victories. You do not sleep enough, because do most of the tasks by yourself. Become hoarse because there are more critics than helpers around. Sometimes the whole world is against you –does not understand, does not appreciate.

A brilliant idea, a large-scale plan, a wonderful device, a smart program – all for the benefit of others. Why does the whole world resist? Tension characterizes: the homework was done carelessly. You have not caught tail-wind yet.

How can you approach a moment of public acknowledgment? There are not secret formulae or success pills. You can only work more selfless and more effectively.

About work schedule and delegation.
Daytime dedicate to people, nighttime to products, documents and technologies. It is better to use day to speak with clients, to encourage employees and to tell others about your products. You can develop conceptions; write plans and structure documents at night.

Provide with work others and only after harness yourself. You must dispense work between employees, make decisions, appoint executive officers and divert money. In addition, it would be better to provide field of operations to your partners and colleagues. Avoid being a bottleneck, which ca not be found, detoured.

Periodically work at different levels. Cold calling, sending goods abroad, working with comments – all these operations must be thoroughly known by you. In that way you will be able to understand technology, form own opinion, replace employee fallen ill, get out of force majeure.

Work in pairs and recheck each other. There will be fewer mistakes, when some specialists read program code, user’s manual, official letter. Do not avoid mutual recheck, then you will not have to blush and apologize to customers for mistakes.

Switch your attention rarely, diversify clearly. Do not distract yourself. You write a program – continue creating as long as possible. Making documentation do not interrupt as much as possible. Spare two half an hour periods every day for email and messengers. Enter social networks only if you after receiving notifications (or switch them off).

About saving time and speeding up processes.
Minimize technology usage, tame creativity and lower your perfectionism. Most part of work can be done without special soft (for example, you can write a plan in a notepad more quickly than spend your time to open text editor or planner). You should create visualization and prototypes without folly. Stop yourself when you will reach reasonable results.

One should visualize an image of future results. You can develop an algorithm or write bullet point plan of future communications before you start typing or ringing. You will surprise but the fifth part of work will be cancelled because of irrationality.

Create, observe and support communication policy. You must answer on letters briefly or tell when you are going to make a decision. You must notify customer that you received the letter. If you keep silence, customer will send you another letter or call in office, so you will lose more time.

Propagandize pithiness. Short emails, one-page texts, minute conversations, standing conferences. Do not let bureaucracy to slow down your commands. Use sample documents and keep base of standard answers. Do not complicate processes and procedures. Simplify, drop out, get rid of.

Save time, not money. Do not spare money on team building. It shortens the distance, promotes understanding. You should propagandize healthy lifestyle less likely would be sick and infected. Order lunches in office – will save time on walking and will have chance to solve working problems in informal atmosphere.

About organizing work and collective.
Provide with job, but keep tendering the market. Deliver products, clean the office can relatives of your employees, but their salary must be fair. Select a solid candidate and after that let you colleagues nominate alternative ones. If you act in other way, you would grow company of people, who are dissatisfied with their salary. Therefore, you will loose pace, loyalty and competences.

Respect work of "quiet" professions. Do not distract these people. Forbid even to greet and say goodbye, shake hands with the programmers, accountants and analysts while they look at computer screen. Some specialists need time to get involved into work and fall in productive trance – do no break flight of ideas.

Use floor, ceiling and walls. Announcements, instructions, timetable of shifts – all of this are regularly printed, but is not read by staff. You should consider an opportunity to write on windows and other surfaces - information will be always available, at hand and at the same place.

Cultivate the spirit of entrepreneurship. Nothing is common, owners pay for recources. Breakage, damage, losses should be considered as emergency. Fighters for human rights, who want drink coffee with milk, can buy coffee-machine if it is in the budget or they can collect cash or buy from budgets of future bonuses.

Learn the basics of law and accounting. Enthusiasm should not overshadow insurance or market realities. Scout for fords and detours. It is better to do business, than to pay visits to a regulator, tax inspection or prosecutor’s office.

About clients, competitors and strategic planning.
Search for constructive solutions, do not reject possibilities. You can respond with defensive position on an argument, defending correctness of the approach, product advantage. Do not be short-sighted; get ahead your internal wrangler. Consider whether the question can push you to product improvement and correction.

Actualize, update and sort customer base. You must keep contact information about clients not to observe the law, but as the basement. Business is nothing without customers. Differentiate accesses to localize leaks and to prevent theft. Update client profiles as soon as possible, perform secondary and related sales.

Refresh knowledge about your competitors. You evolve and improve products, but competitors are not asleep. They disassemble and decompose your products and services. You should listen or read what they say about your company- instantly you will understand your own weaknesses and areas of forthcoming growth.

Build forward-looking plans. Constantly think about the strategy, create future trends, and explore alternatives. How to react if your business was copied or somebody significantly improved characteristics of products? If somebody steals customer base or you lose best sellers? If international players come to the region or government will implement licensing.

Prepare trump card. Think about detours and even for them build back up plans. Hope for plan A, but make sure that others know the role in plan B. You may not have time to react, when unexpected happens – prepare plans not to think, but act.

Productivity is measured not by spent time, not by amount of efforts, but only by achievements. No wonder they say:"the potential – result = pride". A key element of success – benefits offered to the customers and paid by clients.

Business makes sense if you create added value, increase customer’s satisfaction and bring positive emotions. It will be a jet engine carrying you to greater heights, where the resulting capabilities will enhance your favor.

Author: Oleg Braginsky
Translation: Lubov Komarova
Source: ECWID