A new year always holds a little frisson of excitement. There is the sense that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. If you are finding the new year has sparked some renewed enthusiasm for your business now is the time to capture that and look forward. Here are our 5 suggested ways to be more efficient in your business this year:
1. Give yourself time to think
Sometimes we struggle to step away from our business, but it is something that is important. By scheduling in time off, especially following particularly busy periods, it gives time for reflection and allows time for creativity to flow back in. You need to have space to see what you can do better, what you can change, what worked well and what didn’t.
2. Engage your clients
It’s worth utilising social media as a place to engage your clients and receive feedback. With the question boxes (and other tools) available on Instagram you can get real-time responses from those who really matter. Keeping your clients involved will also help you stay on track with what the market needs.
3. Get savvy
Machine Vision Imaging and Components are used to make manufacturing processes more efficient, increase productivity, reduce waste, as well as aiding recycling processes. By engaging in smart technology like this you can be sure that you’re streamlining all your processes to be the most efficient you possibly can be.
4. Plan, plan, plan
Most businesses have peaks and troughs of busy periods. By looking ahead at the year and marking these out you are able to work backward and allow for enough time to prepare. Make sure you schedule some time off afterwards. Utilising customer feedback will enable you to ensure you have enough stock to fulfil your orders and will give you some indication of how busy you will be.
In a fast paced world that doesn’t stop for anyone, planning absolutely key for ensuring your business is a success. It also helps your brain by getting all of your plans out of it and onto paper. Remember the saying – fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Don’t let that be you or your business!
5. Bring in the experts
There is no shame in saying that you can’t do it all alone. It’s an essential part of building your business to employ the help of those with the knowledge and expertise to help you expand. Make sure you make the connections with these people long before you actually need them. Knowledge is power, and the more you know about all aspects of your business the more successful you will be. Delegating is great but you need to know what exactly you are expecting of someone and this comes from knowing things inside out.
Do you have any efficiency tips? We would love to hear about them. Also remember, we can only do the best we can with the time we have. If you are finding that it is just too tricky to get everything done then it might be time to sit down and decide whether you would like to outsource more or whether you might want to increase your prices, taking on less work but perhaps boosting your income. Food for thought I hope!