Efficiency and productivity for a business just starting out can provide a positive outlook for its future. As a result, new business owners should be mindful of productivity strategies that help beat the high percentage of turnover rates among new businesses.
Small businesses are responsible for nearly 70 percent of new jobs, so their productivity is to everyone’s benefit. Here are some productivity tips for new business owners.
Embrace Responsiveness
It’s unlikely you’ll find a business that has never made a mistake. From Amazon to Microsoft, even the biggest success stories have their share of poor decisions. Instead of caving to the pressure, the likes of Amazon and Microsoft learned from their mistakes, refining their approach by identifying new KPIs as they introduce new products, expand their sales strategy or adopt new technologies.
Responsiveness and the ability to pivot from temporary failure are key aspects of a successful business. If your business realizes an untapped niche during research, it can be worthwhile to pivot to a strategy to incorporate that niche. Businesses should embrace spontaneity in their plans and creative process, rather than being rigid and beholden to initial plans.
Pursue a Grassroots Approach
Conventional marketing tactics like digital ads and email campaigns play a major role in putting new businesses on consumers’ radars. Still, conventional marketing pales compared to the effectiveness of a grassroots approach, especially upon correct use of grassroots-centric strategies.
The value of word of mouth is immense. Embrace local partnerships, which have the potential to boost engagement by putting the business in view of local customers, who will perceive the business positively if they are partnering with another business or organization they see in a good light.
Businesses that value local partnerships can nurture a grassroots publicity approach, while also learning from other small businesses and creating new networking opportunities.
Streamline Your Work
New business owners should strive to streamline their work, which in turn can improve efficiency and productivity while facilitating customer service and maximizing revenue.
Project management software can help immensely regarding multiple projects occurring simultaneously. This software enables each member of a team to access project items, like schedules and feedback, with ease.
Project management software and unified communication systems can increase communications speed by providing resources seamlessly, elevating customer support by helping staff gain access to relevant information more quickly, and maximizing revenue by focusing on more customer-facing services with a communications infrastructure.
Maintain a Thirst for Knowledge
Even if you consider yourself to be in the top percentile when it comes to knowledge of your field, that’s no excuse to stop learning. Technologies continue to emerge in industries that shift the landscape for strategizing.
As a result, it’s important for business owners to be opportunistic. Opportunism can be a challenge while handling other responsibilities like financials and general tasks, though finding time to educate yourself on emerging technology and competition can benefit and enlighten.
For example, a business may see their competitor is using mobile payments, with further research showing the presence of mobile payments aligns with an increase in sales. This knowledge may prompt them to incorporate mobile payments into their business.
Don’t Push Aside Feedback or Mentorships
Business owners can tend to become overly dependent on their bubble, especially with long hours doing tasks only they can accomplish. Isolation from new ideas, however, can lead to detrimental bias in decision-making.
Ultimately, new businesses should embrace new ideas from those with knowledge and passion, specifically in the form of a mentor or fellow business owners. Some business owners are lucky enough to have a mentor already, though those without one can use resources like BusinessAdvising.org to help establish connections that may turn into mentorships. Successful businesses rarely attain success by themselves. Networking and mentorships play a large role in success.
New business owners have a lot on their plates. Fortunately, these five tips can help boost business owners boost their productivity and put them in better positions to network and engage productively with employees.