5 Tips and Best Practices to Start Your Business Being Strategically Focused

Ask someone to give you directions and you get several ways to be communicated differently depending on the speaker’s priority preference. Some point out landmarks along the way, some say look for particular restaurants, while others just say go that way. In today’s world, we have technology that we can trust to get us there with the least amount of traffic conjunction. But have you noticed the GPS never sends you back the way you got there? I’ve decided it chooses to take me on a scenic tour. The main point is there are several ways to get someone, none are necessarily wrong. So, what are my suggestions of what will help a business start on the right track?

Technology Assessment

When is the last time you paid attention to the software you are using? Software used to come as a one-time fee you could use if the computer internal hard drive lived. Now software has become a reoccurring monthly bill impacting your cashflow if you look closely. From a budgeting perspective, originally you signed up with a discount such as a website hosting, domains, QuickBooks, HP printer ink monitoring, and all those other app services you registered for. It all seemed so simple and easy, but if you were like me last year suddenly these automatic fees you couldn’t explain were hitting your credit card and bank account every month. Because they were small amounts at first you ignored them but then one day, I saw a charge I didn’t even remember signing up and noticed the annual renewals started coming in. Start paying attention and you will notice $20 today and $40 tomorrow start turning into $100 then $300 and on and on.

Remember the old days when QuickBooks was $200, and you received the disc to install on your computer. Now they want you to pay a minimum of $50 per month for online access which adds up to $600 per year – And that is only one software service you are using. Look at social media management apps, social media marketing per click fees, Adobe, Credit monitoring, Microsoft, CRM, and other marketing tools. Even GoDaddy moved from giving you one free email per domain to now start charging $5 per month or $60 per year depending on the amount of GB memory in the cloud. If you have made it this far in reading you will see this point is now 2-fold: technology and cash flow budgeting.

It is time to look at what you use versus what you are paying for. There may be some items you are paying automatically and wasting money because you do not reconcile your bank and credit statements each month, so you have not realized the service is no longer needed or the fees have steadily increased each year and you have not taken time to see how much you are using or wasting. Savvy business owners would pay attention to expenses and ways to lower costs. This one is hidden in the simplicity of small amounts that hopefully do not catch your eye.

The second part is rapidly changing technology may have new equipment, software, or apps that will work just as well or maybe even better than what you are currently using. Schedule some time and look at what technology are you using to help with business operations. Ask yourself:

• Do I love the way this software or equipment works? If so, keep it!
• I like this equipment or software, but wish it could also do this? Research new options to potentially replace or implement what you need. When you are trying to decide to ask your network of contacts what they use. For example, after years of keeping passwords in a paper booklet that I carried with me in my purse, I realized I needed a better way to keep up with all the passwords after I lost my purse on public transportation. I went on my social media and asked for recommendations and found out about the LastPass app. The service was cost economical and user friendly. I have referred it to several others as it comes up as a topic of conversation.

Time Management Adjustments

Have you heard the saying, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it?” If you did not accomplish your goals last year, it is time to fix it. COVID circumstances provided time for a massive amount of people to stay in and focus on what you have. Remember when you complained to family and associates there’s just not enough time in a day. Many of you saved travel time going to and from work to embrace making changes in your lifestyle. Assess what your mandatory time requirements are each day and you will see where you have available time to adjust in your schedule to focus on priorities. Assess if you are a morning person or night person and determine if you can get up earlier or go to sleep later to accomplish daily goals. Utilize tools to help you maintain a structured schedule such as while you are driving play Audible books and listen to the ones you keep saying you’re going to get to collecting dust in the office. Or maybe The 12 Week Year by Brian Moran to be more structured and efficient with your time or The 100-Day Goal Journal by John Lee Dumas to keep yourself accountable to get goals completed. Another option is to put a cooking timer on the desk and turn it to 15 minutes, let the other person on the phone know you have your next appointment in 15 minutes, this will help the person become focused on what they need to say and get to the point of the call quickly. Don’t worry you are not lying, you do have an appointment with yourself to stick to getting something off your to-do list today.

Training

When was the last time you sat in a seminar or workshop or took a class to learn a new skill set? Technology is constantly changing so there may be a webinar or YouTube video you can click on to learn something even if it is 5 minutes. Circumstances have created opportunities for consultants and trainers to put content online they may not have previously embraced. Access to information for almost anything you want to know is now at your fingertips and available at the timeframe you have allotted to learn it. Take 5 minutes at least once a week click on a video to keep your knowledge up to date. You will be surprised to learn how much is out there.

Human Resources

How often do you say, “There’s not enough hours in the day to finish my to-do list?” Have you considered hiring someone to help you? You may say by the time I have to slow down to teach someone, I could have done it myself. But that may be an excuse to keep control of what you have. However, no business grows if you and not willing to let go.

You may have staff that is not as productive as you would like to be. If someone asked them the question, “Have you been provided all the tools to do your job properly?” And they answer No, then as the leader, you have failed your staff. Leadership and management require you to provide the tools necessary to function. When a tool breaks, we replace it. But often training or purchasing updated software is the number one budget cuts when trying to save money. Remember, there is no business without people to run it. Computers and tools require people to use them, so don’t forget about the people that have chosen to support you in maintaining and growing the business. Keep money in the budget, even if it is a small amount to do something to show appreciation for staff. Remember, their paycheck is not appreciation, they earned it. Give a gift card or buy lunch. Personal touch appreciation goes a long way for loyalty and commitment.

Strategic Network

Have you found yourself talking to each family member and friend every day? Not only may it be a potential time-waster depending on what you talk about but may also be impacting your network of connections and influence. Think about it, if you are on a phone call for an hour assess what topics are you talking about? Think of the opportunity cost that you are losing time that you could have been on a call with someone that could potentially help you with your goals and objectives you have plans to accomplish this year.

Next, look at what memberships to associations you belong to. From church to alumni to personal preferences, can you recall 3 members of each group or organization you have direct contact with their cellphone and can say you know them personally? It does not make a difference how many phone numbers you have in your contacts, it does matter how many of them are willing to vouch for you and want to help you succeed.

Finally, think of 3 people or job positions that could help you move a step closer toward your goals. Are they in your contact list already or do you need to make introductions to get on each other’s radar? They may be able to help you, but you need to get to know them better to find out how to make the association mutually beneficial and help return the favor with their goals. There are givers and takers in this world, hopefully, you are not the type that only sees what can that person do for me and not think how I can help them.

In summary, whether it is technology, time, training, resources, or network implementing one of the above recommendations could potentially change the trajectory of your mission to make each day you wake up count for something.